For Women Empowerment, Omotola Teams Up With ONE Campaign

Having successfuly established herself as a leading figure in the continent’s motion picture industry, top rated Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde seems to be spending more of her time serving humanity.

While most of her colleagues were busy dancing round politicians and leading endorsement rallies, this actress, activist, and Times 100 superwoman resolved to head to South Africa next week to join the ONE Campaign and lead other celebrities in a new initiative that aims at promoting women empowerment across the continent.

The campaign is tagged Poverty is Sexist, which implies that women and girls are most seriously affected by poverty. And in order to eradicate extreme poverty, there is a serious need to promote women empowerment.

The project was conceived to support the Africa Union Year of Women Empowerment and the lovable actress has committed herself to the campaign.

The initiative was formally launch on Thursday, April 16, by the ONE Campaign in Abuja, Nigeria, at a policy forum that was attended by representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), Equity Advocates and Save the Children Nigeria among others.

And starting from April 27, Omotola will be in South Africa to participate in a music thriller, accompanying a campaign song that will be performed by top African female singers including Omawumi (Nigeria), Judith Sephuma (South Africa) and Victoria Kimani (Kenya). The song will be co-produced by Cobhams Asuquo and Masterkraft.

According to the organisation, the song will be used to promote the campaign across the world, and will be officially launched in Nigeria, Mozambique, and South Africa, during the World Economic Forum for Africa and the African Union Summit.

Meanwhile, the campaign already has a petition, which calls on African leaders to fast-track the fight against poverty by investing more in women and girls, while ensuring that resources put to the service of women and girls are transparently and accountably used.

Speaking about her new role as ambassador for ONE Campaign, Omotola said, “I am fortunate to be a young woman living her dreams, a trailblazer of my generation. But I also recognize that many women and girls are not so fortunate; women and girls are usually affected by extreme poverty.

But when we invest in women and girls, we increase and accelerate the chances of overcoming extreme poverty. That’s why I have joined the ONE Campaign’s Poverty is Sexist Campaign, and I call on the public to join me by signing the petition on www.one.org/sexist,” she said.

Actress, singer, philanthropist and former model of an Ondo descent, Omotola was born February 7, 1978. She grew up with a family of five, her parents and two younger brothers, Tayo and Bolaji Jalade. Her mother, Oluwatoyin Jalade (née Amori Oguntade) worked at J.T Chanrai Nig. and her father, Oluwashola Jalade, worked with Y.M.C.A and the Lagos Country Club.

Omotola’s original career ambition was to work in Business Management and while awaiting her results for University education, she began modeling to earn a living.

Since her Nollywood film debut in 1995, the leading actress has appeared in 300 films, selling millions of video copies. After receiving numerous high-profile awards, launching a music career, and amassing an enviable fan base, the press has revered the Screen Nation ‘Best Actress’ as The African Magic.

In early 2013, Omotola made her US television debut in VH1’s scripted series, Hit the Floor, while On 2 November 2013, she spoke at the 2013 edition of the WISE Summit, held in Doha, Qatar.

In 2014, she was honoured by the Nigerian government as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MFR, for her contributions to Nigerian cinema.

Aside his showbiz personality, Omotola is known as a fierce Human Rights campaigner and her philanthropy efforts are centred on her NGO project, called the Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme (OYEP).

The undertaking brings hundreds of youths together for the Empowerment Walk and Convention.

The actress, who lent her voice in 2010 to the Rewrite The Future Campaign of Save The Children UK, was a United Nations WFP (World Food Programme) Ambassador in 2005 going to missions in Sierra- Leone and Liberia. She has been active in the Walk the World project and participated in the Walk the World campaign in Liberia with President Ellen Sir Leaf-Johnson.