Talented Nollywood actress, producer, director and publicist, Foluke Daramola, speaks about her career, the life of celebrities, her marriage and why she does not plan to remarry, and other issues in this interview with us.
If you were not an artiste, what other profession would you have pursued?
Well, I am not just restricted to being an actress because what I read in the university was International Relations and for my Master’s, I did International Law and Diplomacy, so, I do a bit of international and local politics as well. So, what I love doing most is what I am doing being in the international politics scene and acting.
How was growing up like for you?
It was fun even though I lost my father when I was about two years plus or three but thank God for the kind of mother I have. We were five but one died and despite the fact that she lost my dad when we were young, she still did not remarry. We just celebrated my dad’s 30 years remembrance and everybody was just asking us how come our mother did not remarry.
So, I would say we were one of the very privileged children that she went all out to put everything to take care of and at the end of the day, we are close knitted. It was one that was based on values of God. Also, we had so much love in-between us and we were very happy.
So, what are those childhood memories you hold dear?
The memories that I hold dear are those 10-10 days I would say and just watching all of us grow now and seeing our children is amazing. Then, when I was much younger, I used to look at myself in the mirror and talk to myself and now becoming an actress, it just shows that the talent that I had then that I didn’t realise, I thank God I was fortunate to discover it. Those are the things that I wish to hold dear and then, having a close-knitted relationship with my siblings and my mum.
What is it about womanhood that makes you happy?
Of course, my children, the fact that I could bear children. Maybe the life that I came I didn’t have children. Starting from when I started having my kids, I just look at them and say to myself did this person actually come out of me? And then the mentoring part, it is not an easy task, I would say, but it is one that is very challenging but it is a wonderful experience. And then the fact that you are able to imbibe the values someone has imbibed into you is something that is a miracle. So that part is one that I would not exchange for billions of pounds or dollars in the world.
What motivates you in life?
It is God because it takes God for anything to be. Then my mother because she has been a source of strength and I just look at her more like an enigma, then my children and my profession because I believe that true value is not in how much money you own but how much of life you have imbibed into.
What are the best and worst things you have heard about yourself?
One thing about me is that I am not a pretentious person; I am very realistic. I don’t deceive myself; I try to be myself at each point in time and I believe that true celebrity is not in materialism but in value like I said earlier. When I was in school and they wrote all sorts about me, it didn’t really make any sense to me because I just felt that was part of stardom then. But when I got married and I started having problems in my marriage and the press wrote things about it, it affected me. I grew to understand that it comes with celebrity especially in Nigeria.
But the sad thing about it, is the fact that we try to emulate the show business abroad, but what we don’t understand is that the way they would have placed a celebrity and what that celebrity is worth, when the celebrity now decides to start messing up or start coming down, people will understand the height that person is coming from and then the low that person is actually going to. But here in Nigeria, it is not the case because we have not gotten anywhere near height, so at the end of the day when we are forced to start living a lie or a mirage, automatically you can’t get good people to be celebrities. It has to be negatively influenced because for me to be able to live the life of a true celebrity, it is very expensive, demanding and it is not one that the average Nigerian artiste can afford.
Acting is the creative thing that I like to do. I made a 2.1 in the University of Ife; it does not mean that I could not have gotten a very good job but because of what I like to do I am there. Every dog has its day and if my day has not come, really I am not complaining because what I love doing in life, I am doing it and the comfort that I need to live, I have got it. So my low in this show business is the fact that we have not even started to build true celebrities. Let the press build true celebrities, and if you now decide that you want to start tackling that celebrity, people will understand.
I am like the voice of the artiste now, when you are pressured, you would not want to do anything derogatory or dubious just to make a life. When you do something dubious and you get caught, people will still blame you for it but if you don’t get caught, you will be celebrated. And that celebration is what brings more and more corruption in Nigeria and it cannot be curbed because we don’t celebrate values, we have lost it somewhere.
What is your phobia if you have any?
I hate dishonest people; I cannot stand proud people with anything. I don’t like people living a lie and I don’t like people that dwell so much on materialism because it is valueless.
Which is the most challenging of all the movies you have produced?
Hmmm … I have done quite a number of challenging movies. The first that I directed when I was eight and a half months pregnant with my daughter that was Emi. I was about going for my maternity leave but I invited my director and he said they needed to postpone it because they had some jobs to do and I needed to do that job. Since I have been reading about directing, I thought after giving birth I would do some training before I start directing, but, when he told me he couldn’t do it, I told myself I believe I can do it and I had to do the role of a twin, I went ahead and directed and produced the movie, that was really demanding.
Another movie that I would say was stressful and was worth the while was ‘Oju Ojori’ (sharing formula of will) in Nigeria. It was capital intensive, challenging and it had over 15 star celebrities that I gathered together there.
Then the one that is like the peak of the pack is that I just released, ‘Wakati Eda’ even though my marketer has not given me money and then pirates killed me, but it was one that I spent so much money and time. I had over 25 star celebrities there; we spent about seven to eight million naira and we premiered at Sheraton and in London as well. And then at the end of the day, you still did not make the money. Those were the really challenging things and that has made me go back to my drawing board because how can I be spending so much money, energy and time and I will not make profit out of it?
So are we expecting anything from you soon?
Yes, I am coming out with something different, but it is still showbiz inclined. It is my reality show ‘Irawo Otun’, something like what Big Brother does. I just believe that we can bring back our values - traditional values that we have missed. The average white man wants to know about our tradition; they want to know what Africa entails. We Africans take our tradition for granted.
So when is the reality show starting?
We have already started selling the form but we are looking at going into the house at the end of the year or the beginning of next year, after which we are going to shoot a mega movie. I am not going to let the cat out of the bag just yet. We are looking at inviting directors from America to come and shoot with us.
What are your hobbies?
Hmmm … reading and cooking. I enjoy cooking and I love spending time with my kids because I just discovered a lot of things when I spend time with them. I don’t have friends, so my kids are my best friends.
I learnt you run a non-governmental organisation (NGO). What is it all about?
It is not an NGO; it is like an NGO enhancement based, it is called Fulfilling Desires. It’s like a talk show but that which enhances NGOs. It will serve as a platform where notable Nigerians can contribute money for person(s) that need urgent or immediate operation for instance. So, it is a combination of celebrating people but at the same time impacting into people as well.
My first time acting was in Palace. I was Jide Kosoko’s daughter and it was really exciting. I met Uncle Tunji Bamishigbin and he said I was going to be part of the movie for something passive and low and behold, it was a major role. It was something that was really golden to me and I can never forget, and at every opportunity, I give him kudos because thanks to him I wouldn’t have discovered that part of me.
Who are your role models?
I have quite a number of them. I have Joke Silva, Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett and Richard Mofe Damijo who is able to combine politics and acting now. For directing, I have people like Amaka Igwe, Lola Fani Kayode, Tade Ogidan, Tunde Kilani and a host of others. In the international scene, I am a freak for Angelina Jolie any time, she just trips me and she is just someone that I am in love with and she does so much on humanitarian as well.
Have you ever been embarrassed by your fans?
Of course, several times. Some of them would ask me if my boobs are real, some would just walk up to me, scream and embarrass me and do all sorts, but over time, I have learnt to manage it. Like my godfather uncle Yomi Obileye would say, in your worst of mood always force a smile as a celebrity because you just might not know, that person you meet today you might end up not seeing again and where the mouth gets to, the leg can never get there. So, I try as much as possible to be nice even though I am one person that is very down to earth.
There is no situation I cannot adapt to, if you take me to the ‘agberos’ now, I can adapt very well and anywhere. That is what you call being diplomatic. There is hardly anywhere you place me that I cannot find my feet, that is what is called celebrity. Celebrity-hood means sacrifice.
When people see you and say this is a celebrity, let us see how she will react to you, and then you react nicely, that is the trip because you are not different from the next person, you are just opportune to be where you are. And it is those people you are looking down on that actually got you to where you are.
Who is the woman Foluke Daramola?
Well, Foluke Daramola is a very blunt, simple mother of two children and one that reverences and loves God. One that has so much respect for her mother, one that acts but it does not change anything about her and one that is not easily swayed by what people say or do. She is one that believes that when you are right, you are right. Sometimes when you make a mistake even when you are right, you just stand by the mistake you have made and it doesn’t mean that when you fall you are out, it means that you are learning from that fall.
What is your most valuable fashion item?
Jeans trousers, I am a tomboy. I have always been a tomboy from when I was much younger. But now that I am a mother I have to dress respectably at times because my kids are extremely inquisitive and smart. Some times, my daughter will say, mummy how come you don’t wear skirt? So I have to attune my dressing to suit that of a mother once in a while, it doesn’t mean that I will give away my jeans. But my casual fashion item is jeans.
How has it been being a single mother?
Well, I will say interesting. I always tell people something that when you enjoy doing something, it won’t seem as a stress to you at all. I enjoy being around my kids. When people ask me if I don’t plan to get married and I say I don’t plan to remarry, they just think that I am just trying to deceive, but no. It just means that if I decide to remarry now, it will affect the physche of my kids. The kind of job I do is very demanding, my kids are relatively very young, if I get married to another man, it will take part of my time and then I will make a mess of whatever it is.
So, being a single mother for me is fun, it is something that I am learning more and more things from everyday. Though sometimes they can ask very embarrassing questions and it just depends on the way I handle it and sometimes when they ask such questions and I feel I have not given them the right answer, I ask people that have gone through it. But what I make available to my kids is enough love because that is what is fundamental. If a child does not feel loved in anyway, he will feel deprived and less than him/herself. So love for me is even more fundamental than any million or billions of naira that I can give them.
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