Ola Samuel Says Nollywood Actresses Are Not Husband Snatchers

Ola Samuel, a prominent Nollywood Yoruba actress has been on the silver scene for over 10 years and today, she is a household name in the industry. From just a cast in a top notch movie, she has grown to become a producer whose dream is to be on the same pedestal with the likes of Funke Akindele. In this chat, she speaks on the perceived notion that Nollywood actresses are husband snatchers and other sundry issues

How many Yoruba movies have you featured in and when did you start producing your own films?

I started featuring in Yoruba movies 10 years ago under the Babatunde Omidina (Baba Suwe) group in Lagos, specifically at the Ebutte Metta area of the state. To be modest, I have featured in 20 different Yoruba movies. The prominent ones I played active roles were ‘Inspector Ayinke,’ ‘Ako Igbin’ and ‘Iyawo Adugbo’ among others. I got the motivation to go into acting watching icons like Aunty Joke Silva, Uncle Olu Jacobs, Iya Rainbow and Ogogo. I wanted to be like them and even surpass their exploits in the industry. After years of service, I decided to do my own thing as producer of my own films.

I started doing this since 2015 and God so good; things have been going on fine. Though it has been stressful but thank God, with dedication and hard work, I have been making progress in my works. I have produced three solid films that are already doing great in the market. They are ‘Tanimola’ Part 1 and 2, ‘Olaiberu’ and ‘Adun Aiye.’ I thank God these films are doing well in the market. I’ve other films waiting to be released. These include: ‘Torera’, which is a love story and ‘Igberaga,’ which teaches lessons on the disadvantages of pride.

Some people close to the industry say Yoruba movies are made without scripts compared to the English movies in Nollywood, is this true?

That is not true; I don’t know where they got their information from. There is no film without a script. In the Yoruba movies, we have the same type of scripts as the English films; the only difference is the language. The Ibo and Hausa films also have scripts. There is no film without scripts as every film tells a story and there is always a lesson to learn from it.

So whoever said this misinformed the public. That is very unfair; it will interest you that most people who watch Yoruba films are non-Yoruba’s who closely follow the story line of our movies by reading through the English subtitle, so how could that be possible without a script?

In Yoruba movies, we have highly educated personalities just as it is the case with our colleagues in the English movies. Some of the top actors and actresses in Yoruba movies have severally and successfully acted in the English movies. I have also done that twice in my career and if I get another opportunity, I will graciously do that again. I have no regrets as a Yoruba film actress, I am very proud to be one of Nigeria’s prominent actresses. This job has taken me far and wide.

There is a general belief that Nigerian actresses especially those in the Yoruba movie industry snatch husbands. How do you react to this?

There is nothing like that in our industry. I have not seen any of our ladies snatch anybody’s husbands. Those that are married develop love relationships that were very cordial through a period of courtship. Out of true love, the man makes a proposal which was specially accepted by the opposite sex. There must have been a courtship that metamorphosed into such blissful affairs.

This brings us to what happened between you and your former producer, Mr. Emmanuel Austin, whose wife, Jumoke Kudaisi Austin, also a Yoruba movie actress, accused you of having an affair with her husband. She was reported to have raised an alarm when she met Austin romancing you. What is the true story?

It’s all lies! I don’t have anything with Austin Emmanuel, and his wife was just an alarmist. The issue was blown out of proportion. It happened late last year at one of our locations at the Agege area of Lagos where we were shooting a film. After the first day’s work, we all slept in the hotel and another session was fixed for 12noon the next day.

We waited for Austin to come down from his room at 12.30pm. But at 1.30pm he wasn’t out yet from his room. So, I and three other male casts went to upstairs to his room to find out why the producer was yet to report to the location. When we got to his room, we met him under the duvet fully covered and still sleeping.

All the four of us that went to his room sat beside him on the bed and was teasing him. Few minutes after this, Jumoke Kudaisi Austin, also a cast in the movie, but had gone back home to sleep the previous night, came into the room fuming and making trouble with her husband for insisting that she and her mother, another cast in the movie, should go home while other casts stayed back to spend the night in the hotel. Sensing trouble, all the four of us made move to step out of Austin’s room to allow him sort out matters with his wife.

Surprisingly, Jumoke allowed the boys out and she blocked me from going out of the room, shut the door behind her and she started shouting on top of her voice that she just caught me and her husband in hot romance. It was a very embarrassing moment for me, but my saving grace was the three actors in Austin’s room with me.

They came back to defend me that Austin’s wife was just crying wolf where none existed. Even Austin himself debunked his wife’s false claim.

Was your career dented in anyway by this scandalous story?

No, not at all, I have been making progress in the industry afterwards. But, I was not happy with the way the reporter who wrote the story in one of the Yoruba tabloids handled it.

He was so sensational about it; he also failed to call me on phone for any confirmation or to hear my own side of the story. Even, Jumoke who raised the false alarm was angry that she was not contacted before such a story was publ i s h e d where s h e w a s conspicuously mentioned. Austin Emmanuel was also shocked at the manner it was reported in the media.

My dream is to become a very big producer and an actress. God has been helping me, coupled with hard work. Acting is like a normal job, just as workers resume in their offices every day, we resume at locations regularly to do what we love to do best. The task is not difficult, with commitment and dedication the sky is the limit.

Who is your role model in the industry?

My role model in Yoruba movie industry is Funke Akindele. I love her personality so much; she is very good in acting. She is dedicated and more than qualified to be my role model. We have not acted in any prominent film together before, but I’m still looking forward to having one with her. I remember acting in the same film with Funke about ten years ago, titled: ‘Baba jaiye jaiye’.

You have a very busy schedule meeting up with the demands of the industry; is this affecting your love life in anyway?

No, it is not affecting me in anyway. My better half understands me so well and he knows the nature of my profession. He is happy about my progress in the industry. I won’t w a n t to talk much about t h i s , as this is my private life.