Jennifer Eliogu means many things to many people: actress, singer and master of ceremonies. The mother of two, who is billed to perform at the Women in Leadership Conference in Atlanta soon, dropped three new singles a few weeks ago. In this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, she speaks on her music career, family and scandals, among other issues.
IT was reported recently that you would be performing at the African Women in Leadership Conference in Atlanta. How did you get on that platform?
You see, sometimes, people look at the greater picture, but they don’t see the little beginning. I cannot say that I got on the platform because I am the best. I think it’s just by God’s favour. Someone listened to my songs and said they were beautiful. So, I contacted the organisers and told them I am into music and that I am an African woman. I also told them that I have paid my dues as an actor and that I’m also paying my dues as a singer. I also told them I could send them my songs and they said: “Okay.” So, I sent them about three of my songs and they said: “Oh! This is nice!” I’m one person who doesn’t let opportunity slip off my hand. When you want something, you go for it. When you have a passion for something, you go for it.
Would you say your music has been accepted by the Nigerian music audience?
I am not singing to impress anybody. I’m living my dream. I am revealing my passion for music. Besides, my kind of music might appeal to one person and not appeal to another. I sing songs that suit my personality. It’s a process, so I take every opportunity that comes. I have a live band of 10 members. We do birthdays, weddings etc. It’s the beginning for me. But the pace at which this is coming is amazing for me. Professionally, I’ve had Silk Band for less than two years. But my band is good. We’ve got some young, very vibrant and brilliant musicians in my band. I had started doing live performances before I started recording songs. For me, I love to do live performances. I go to the studio, record with my voice, without auto tune. And then, I’m able to play the same way I sing in the studio on stage.
I think people are beginning to accept that you are in music for real. Could you share with me some of the challenges you have been facing since you launched your music career?
You see, the fact that people know me as an actor makes it almost difficult. One is trying hard to convince people that one can also sing, in addition to being an actor. Some people claim that most Nollywood actors try to sing, but they don’t get it right. However, I don’t let that discourage me because I’m not everybody else. And truthfully, if anybody wakes up tomorrow and says, ‘I want to sing’, I don’t think anybody has the right to hold him or her back, except him or herself. If you believe in yourself and your gift, then, explore it. I’m not going to let somebody tell me whether I’m good or not. So, I will be sincere with myself. If I’m not good at it, I’m not good at it.
The challenges that come with it are that people say my songs are mature and that I am more on the elegant side. This is me. I’m not a very good dancer, but I try. I have songs that are danceable. But really, I wouldn’t go the extreme or lose my personality because I need to play songs of today. But I have plans. I’m working with a couple of people. So, I will end up doing collabos with a few people. But the truth is, no matter what the genre of songs I do, I’m not going to lose my real self. That’s the truth.
How would you describe your genre of music?
That’s where I have a problem. I don’t know because I just love music, generally. I do a bit of R n B, Soul and highlife. I grew up loving Highlife because my father loves Highlife. Then, my mother loves love songs by Gribs Richard, Everly Brothers etc. So, I grew up singing to those songs. And then, I have people who love reggae. So, I started loving reggae because my elder sister loves reggae. So, you find out that I do a bit of everything, including inspirational songs. I’m a very good Christian and I don’t need to prove it by wearing a very long dress or by not wearing makeup. But I have a beautiful relationship with my God. I have the gift to write, so I write my songs. Someday, I’m going to do songs written by someone else. But so far, for every song I have written and sung, people always wonder who wrote the song.
How do you get inspiration to write?
I don’t know. For instance, I just did a new song I will be performing at the Women in Leadership Conference. How did I come about it? I just thought we are talking Africa, so we should address something that has to do with Africa and not love, beauty or just being a woman. In other words, I feel we should talk about our roles as women and mothers. We are home keepers and if we do the much that we can, each and every one of us will be better for it. It just occurred to me that I have beautiful songs already, so why don’t I do something that will last for a long time? Then, I came up with another song; I played it because I like to play my songs for people to criticise or commend. Everyone who listened to these songs said they are beautiful. It’s encouraging when you hear that. So, I have selective hearing right now to people who say, ‘Why don’t you stick to movies? Why don’t you stick to producing?’ No, I don’t want to listen to them.
When did your love for singing start?
I started writing songs a long time ago. I will tell you something. I did a song, Fantasy, in 2003, but it has just been released. The video was shot in the UK. I’ve always done live performances for fun and I do MC jobs. As far back as 1999 or 2000, I was supposed to do a song with Sammy Okposo. We went into the studio and Sammy said: “You have to do this song; you are a good artiste.” So, I said, ‘Okay, tomorrow now. Let’s not do it now. Today, I am not ready.’ But we ended up not doing that song. There are few people who know that I sing. But I was doing it for fun. People would call me to come do sound tracks for their movies. I did lots of Karaokes. We sing a lot in my home; my mum has an amazing voice.
Acting- wise, what have you been up to and how do you intend to combine both?
You see, it’s interwoven. Abroad, most actors are singers and most singers end up acting. So, why can’t we do it in Nigeria? You want perfection, but nothing is perfect anywhere. There is no perfect human being. Accept people for whom they are and encourage them if you can. Where you don’t like what you see, close your eyes. Do you know the trend? If one person says, ‘I like it’, then, everybody likes it. Also, if one person says, ‘I don’t like it’, then, everybody says, ‘I don’t like it.’ So, I just put it out there and allow people feel free to listen and comment. Every song I put out there, I get commendations. How many of my songs have you heard? You have to listen. As I said, I do different genres, mostly love songs for humanity, for my beau and for my children. I did a song and I intend to do the video; and I’m going to dance because I want to challenge myself.
I wonder if you are still challenged, as it were, as an actor.
No! It’s been 17 long years.
When last did you hit location?
I think November or December when I shot on Emem Isong’s set. The movie, Lonely Heart, is out now. I appreciate that because they are people who know the talent that you have and they appreciate you for who you are. I don’t believe I have to play a lead role to be a good actor. Give me one scene and I will give it my best. I go the extra mile to deliver my role and get you to say, ‘Oh! She killed it!’ I can only dream to have roles that challenge me. There is a script that I wrote and I’m talking to a group of people to see how we work on it. There is a character in that script which, if I have to play it, I’m sure it will get people saying, ‘What the hell!’ It’s not nudity or vulgar, but it is something that challenges me so much that people are going to be like, ‘Wow!’
You claimed to be a very good Christian, but how do you balance it with some of the roles you have played?
Spirituality has become commercial. But your relationship with God is personal. God knows the real me; He knows my heart. Naturally, I don’t act roles that are over-bored. But if I have to interpret my role by having to kiss someone in the movie, I will. This is what I have chosen to do. And if God did not sanction it, I won’t be excelling in what I’m doing. But as a Christian, I know what is right and what is wrong. And I’m a mother; I am still raising my children. When you are single, there are so many things that could pass. We are human beings, so we make mistakes and learn from them. I’m not one that dwells on mistakes. If I try it and it doesn’t work for me, I won’t try it again. I don’t see anything as impossibility. But there are rules I have laid down for myself, which I will not cross.
Is any of your kids interested in acting?
My daughter, I think. And you know how girls do. She wears your clothes; wears your wig and your shoes (I wear size 39 and she wears 37 now) and so on. Every time she wears my shoes, she will say: “In another six months, I will inherit these shoes.” She wants to hold the microphone and sing; she also tries to write something and sings it to me, which makes me laugh.
How does her father feel about it?
She is a little girl. Generally, daddies are excited about their daughters. So, it’s okay. When they are growing up, it’s good to see them wear short dresses, makeup and all that. Every parent is excited about that. And then, you guide your child and the path you want him or her to toe.You tell them life is not just about making up, dressing up, appearing before people and singing. You also have to know that you need to have a relationship with God. And when you do that, every other thing falls into place. I try to do that every day. I’m not a very religious person, but I have a beautiful relationship with God.
Are you done making babies now?
You know, sometimes, you say you are done and then something happens (laughs). So, I don’t know. But so far, I have two: my daughter is eight and my son is five.
Two is not enough…
You know how much dem dey pay for school fees? My mother had seven and I am number four. Well, we lost our baby brother. And I have a wonderful life. If there is a next life time, I want to have my siblings. I just have an amazing family. Everyone cares for everyone; your success is everybody’s happiness. My elder brother is into entertainment as well. He lives in Hong Kong and has a clothing line. Then, my young brother is a doctor/pharmacist in the United States. The elder is a lecturer; my immediate elder sister is a newscaster with NTA and my younger sister used to work with Zenith Bank. So, I just have a wonderful family. But overall, one thing we have is love and laughter.
Among all the scandals that have ever been written about you, which one hit you the most?
They all hit you. But if you’ve noticed over the years, I’m not one that dignifies scandals. Yes, sometimes, there is an atom of truth, but people blow it out of proportion. We all go through challenges in life. I’m not that person who wants to sing about my challenges. I cry to God and I talk to my family. I know that every piece of advice and support I need, they have. The last time I checked, people’s opinions cannot buy a cup of garri. What is the point? They never have anything positive to say. You’re going into a marriage, they say, ‘Don’t worry, she go soon come out, no be actress? It’s so negative; it’s not good.
You pray for people. Because the truth is, people do not know the challenges we have, as actors and actresses. You work twice as hard to keep your home because your business is everybody’s business and your business is everybody’s business. So, you need God to work with you, every step of the way, to make it work. Outside the industry, people are going through a lot. But you don’t know because you don’t know them. And then, you confide in your friend about your problem. But she leaves you, run to the nearest market place, refurbish the story and tell it the way it suits her. So, you find out that sometime, you just want to shut your mouth because the only one that can change anything is God and I go to Him. I don’t need anybody’s opinion. If I have to talk to anybody, it’s someone who probably might give spiritual advice or someone who will add value.
How does your husband handle the fact that you are beautiful and men will definitely want you?
That’s one of the challenges people have. I cannot tell you that my marriage is perfect. Like in all my interviews, I keep saying, yes it is a challenge, but the challenge is not because I’m an actress. My challenge is not because I am promiscuous, unless it is coming from the devil himself. I’ve never been known to be promiscuous. But people chose to say what they want to say. It’s their business. As I said, their opinions do not pay for anything. I cannot buy anything with their opinions; so, it’s okay. But what I am saying is, we are human beings. You have your shortcomings and I have mine. There was a time they wrote that I was ill, but I don’t know where that came from. Someone said I had ulcer or asthma and then, it went viral. Is it now for me to come out and start shouting that it’s a lie? How many of these stories are you going to debunk?
Some of your fans still believe that your marriage has crashed?
As I keep saying, when it comes to my personal life, any day I make up my mine to speak about my personal life, I will speak about everything that concerns my personal life. But to answer questions, just to quell people’s taste, I won’t do that. I always keep my family out of the media. Someday will come when you’ll sit down and we’ll talk about it. And that is because I want to talk about it. But to talk about because people want to hear it is not going to happen.
But would you say you made the right choice about your marriage?
I didn’t choose because I finished secondary school in 1992 and I started having suitors. So, every now and then, my father would say to me, ‘You know that my friend’s son is due for marriage. And I would say, ‘Ogwuefi, don’t start…’ He was concerned about me settling down. He felt you’re young, you’re beautiful but your profession is not the right one. That’s what people used to think. Those days, it was almost a taboo to say that your child is an actress. Today, people come to beg so that their children can act. That’s how time has evolved.
So, when I met my husband, after two years, I felt like, okay, I’m ready now. It wasn’t like I said, if I’m not up to this age, I will not marry. And I didn’t marry too early anyway because I was 29. I was mature. But sometimes, you don’t make the best decision based on age. You make the best decision based on God’s grace and then your ability to discern. Do you understand? So far, we give God the glory.
How do you ward off male admirers?
I have a way of warding off nicely when they become very persistent. If I have to be rude to get you off my back, I will be rude. It’s also fun when you have admirers. You wake up every morning and you say, Thank you, Lord. You’re not the prettiest, but then, you will be counted among.