Ogundimu, has been off the movie scene. But if you think she
has found another passion, then, you are wrong. At the
moment, the mother of three is battling a debilitating ailment
that has since removed the shine from her acting career. In
this interview with TheNationOnlineNg, she ventilates her
pains and hope, among other issues.
You seldom appear in movies these days. So, what really is
responsible for this?
I have been ill.
So, how do you feel now?
I am still very weak. I was at the clinic and the doctor
revealed that, even if I have the money readily available, I
can't undergo the surgery now because I have lost so much
blood. So, I was given some drugs to help boost the blood
back to the level it should be.
Which hospital is that?
It is called Beachland Specialist Hospital in Arepo, Ibafo,
Ogun State.
What is the nature of the ailment?
My period comes like 10 to15 days; then, it will stop and
come again. I menstruate twice in a month. I noticed it last
year before my husband passed away. Anytime we had
intercourse, I would always bleed. I took it for something
else, so I didn't really pay attention to it. But when he
became sick and we couldn't have intercourse any more, it
(the bleeding) stopped. Then, I didn't have time to study it at
that period too.
But what I noticed is that my menstrual circle changed, so I
would menstruate twice in a month with very heavy flow. So,
at that time, I just felt it was one of the signs of menopause
because I am way above 40. But last year, I had to go to the
hospital to complain and the doctor said I had fibroid, even
before the tests and scan were conducted. When the scan
was done, it was discovered that the fibroid was fully grown
in my womb.
You said during the period your husband was sick, you
were not having intercourse. But were you having the heavy
flow at that time?
Then, it was normal. But the only time it became abnormal
was when we had intercourse, so I thought I was
approaching my period.
What do you think is exactly wrong with you? Don't you
think it might be a spiritual problem?
No; I don't think so. You can only say something is spiritual
when you don't get a solution to your problem. But in my
own case, I have been able to find out what the problem is
and the remedy. Every woman has fibroid, but it is only
when it is overgrown that it becomes a problem that needs to
be attended to. When it started, I had people who shared
their own experiences with me and I was directed to the
hospital.
So, how have you been coping, financially?
Well, I am presently in Ibafo, Ogun State, which is close to
my home town. When my husband passed away, my family
asked me to come back home, so as not to be left alone in
Lagos, where I don't have anybody. So, I came home and
rented an apartment. But my children are in one of the
boarding schools in Lagos. I didn't want to change their
school.
Whenever they are on vacation, they come here and we
spend time together. Sending them to one of the best schools
in Lagos is part of my huge financial commitments. But I am
glad that I can do that for them because I want them to have
the kind of education that I didn't have.
With your state of health, you definitely need some help. Is
anyone living with you?
Some of my siblings do come over to help. But most of them
are married and I cannot force them to come and stay with
me. So, whenever they volunteer to come, I am always glad
to have them around. If not that it went online, nobody knew
I was sick. I am a very quite person.
Why did you have to make the ailment hidden for this long
without going public with it?
I am just a private person and I just felt I could raise the
money and go for the surgery before anybody could know
that I was sick.
I don't go to functions anymore because of the state of my
body now-I am so lean. Nobody will see me without asking
what is wrong with me. Even the last time I was on location,
many of my colleagues felt I was dieting and they
complained that it was too serious.
As a crossover actress and one who is popular in both the
Yoruba and English sectors of Nollywood, one would expect
that you would have a lot of people coming around you.
As I said, the news just got online some days ago and I have
been receiving calls from every one of them, promising to do
something in any way they can. Most of them didn't know I
was sick and the news going online has drawn their attention
to my plight. I also got a call from the AGN president,
Ibinabo Fiberesima, asking me to send my details and home
address; she promised that they will visit me.
How much do you need to undergo the surgery?
N500,000.
Are you sure the N500, 000 you are requesting for is just for
the operation?
I pray the money will be enough. The actual money for the
surgery is N350, 000. But I just feel I'll need some money for
my upkeep till I am able to stand on my feet and get back to
work. That is the reason I summed up the whole money to
N500, 000.
But do you think you need as much as that to undergo a
fibroid operation?
Yes, that is true. But it is a private hospital and for someone
like me to come out and say I need N350, 000, people will
say I should be able to afford such an amount of money
because I am an actress. But people do not know what I
have been doing all the while. I have single-handedly been
training my three kids and I have been struggling to ensure
they go to the higher institution, which I did not attend.
Also, the treatment and drugs that I have been taking have
cost me a lot of money. Right now, I don't have any other
business I am doing apart from my acting career. I was
hoping I would be able to save some money and set up a
business. But all that is on hold now.
Does that mean your in-laws were not in support of the
union?
The circumstances that surrounded my husband's death are
best known to them. He was married to five wives and he
died at the age of 41. After his death, they sold one of his
property in Abeokuta and shared the money among us his
wives and gave a whole building to my children. After that,
no calls to even ask about the welfare of their children.
What is your position among the wives?
I am the second wife.
Didn't you know he was married?
I never intended to go into the marriage. But sometimes in
life, some things take place that you do not plan. You know
when you are in love with a man, you believe everything he
tells you. When we were courting, he only told me he had
someone that bore him a child. When I was pregnant with
my first child, he took me home to meet his father, who
asked me if he had told me about my senior (the first wife);
so, that was when I knew.
I didn't understand what he was saying until he told me that
the man I wanted to get married to already had a wife and
a child living with him. I left and told him I was going for
abortion. But he went to my mum in Ibafo to inform her
about my decision and she came down with him to Iyana
Ipaja that same day to plead with me. He knew I am the
only child of my mother and that she was already looking
forward to having grandchildren. That was how I found
myself in a polygamous home. And then, I was working as a
clearing and forward agency at NAHCO, Ikeja, Lagos. I had
my own apartment, so he was always at my place. But he
was a lovely man and a good man. He took care of me. But
you know, when there are so many women involved, it is a
different story.
Is it that you do not have friends in the industry because you
said none has paid you a visit?
(Laughs) That was before! You know, it is said that no matter
the multitude, there will always be a disagreement. But at
the moment, I am not fighting anybody. So, I have been
receiving calls and prayers from most of them, promising to
come and pay me a visit. Most of them didn't know I was
sick. As I said, I am a very private person.
We have had cases of stars seeking help from the public. So,
is it that you people do not save for the rainy days ?
I understand what you are saying. But in my own case, I
have been managing on my own all the while without asking
anybody for assistance. But the truth of the matter is that the
money we are paid here is nothing to write home about. It is
all about helping your colleague, when he or she wants to
shoot a movie. So, it is whatever the person has that you will
collect. All the stories they tell about some people collecting
N600, 000 for a roles are lies.
But most of you live flamboyantly; so, where do they get the
money from?
I don't know o! I only know about myself, my sister. Yes,
some of them earn well and are into other businesses. As I
said earlier, if I get back on my feet and start working, I will
get something else doing aside my acting career. Some
make money from the movies they produce, especially if the
movies sell well.
Having been in the industry for over a decade now, what can
you say about your experience as a producer?
I have done three movies: Temidun, Origun Meta and
Abiamo honeypot. I would have produced another one, but I
don't want to produce any movie that will be below the
name and standard that I have been able to build for myself
over the years. But my first three were hits in the market.
That was when movies still had values. What we have now
are marketers who always complain about low sales.
And I can proudly say I was able to make good use of the
proceeds from those movies. I opened a wholesale wine
shop, but that is history now because that was where I was
collecting money when my husband fell sick. And you know
how business is, once you don't add more to it, it will
collapse.
I learnt Tope Alabi brought you into the movie industry.
Why have you not sought her assistance?
We were in the dance group, Sunny Wonders Performing
Group, before she left. We were into dramas and stage
plays. But after a while, we met again and I stayed with her
at her parents' home, which was not far from my uncle's
house where I was living then. But when we met, she started
telling me about finding my way into the Yoruba movie
industry, instead of wasting my time with the group that
promised to take us abroad to perform. That was how she
introduced me to Alade Aromire Group. But I don't have her
contact and that is the reason I have not been able to reach
her for assistance.
I am someone who does not like to bother people.
Sometimes, when you expect help from a particular person,
you might end up being disappointed. And at the end of the
day, you will feel bad. That is the reason I don't like telling
people about what is happening to me. I am a fighter, if not
for the fact that Mr. Idris Bello of Shybellmedia got in touch
with me and asked what was wrong. I told him I was sick
and he came visiting the next day.
When he saw me, he told me not to keep mute on the issue.
He said I should let people know about my state of health,
stressing that those who would come to my aid will do and
those who will talk will talk. I told him they would say, 'Is she
not an actress? Why wouldn't she be able to afford such an
amount? And he told me that I have my life to live.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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