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‘Working with young women is something that inspires me’

By Chuks Nwanne
06 August 2016   |   3:22 am
I think people just had a misconception about pageantry; some parents feel it’s a distraction as opposed to celebrating beauty with brains. But for the most part, I believe that has all fizzled out.
Bissong

Bissong

From winning the 2003 edition of Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Ohumotu Cecilia Bissong has become a frontline model, television presenter, and actress, with the latter seeing her play Funke Lawal in Desperate Housewives Africa. In this interview with CHUKS NWANNE, the graduate of Economist spoke on her career and values that drive her life and art.

You contested for and won the crown as Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria in your teens. How did that happen, given that some parents seem not confortable with their children getting involved in pageantry?
I think people just had a misconception about pageantry; some parents feel it’s a distraction as opposed to celebrating beauty with brains. But for the most part, I believe that has all fizzled out. I remember when I wanted to contest for Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MGBN); I called my sister up and asked her to get the form for me, which she did. We submitted the form and it was time for the auditions; the audition was on a Sunday and my sister was taking me, but I hadn’t told my mum. She noticed we weren’t getting ready for church and so she asked why, I then told her we got the form for MBGN and that day was the audition. She asked, ‘you want to compete for the pageant,’ and I answered ‘yes.’ She said, ‘okay, you have my blessing, the same with my dad. Whatever I needed, they were there for me. So, I’m super-grateful for that. I guess I was fortunate; my parents were supportive but a lot of parents are today.

What did you learn from competing for the MBGN crown?
I think that what opportunities like that do for you is to allow you explore the values that your background has instilled in you. People engage in pageantry and go away with different lessons, so, what I think is that it just opens a vista for you to actualise your personality. For me, I was raised to listen, to be sympathetic, to be humble and to have a voice. Pageantry was a phase in which I was able to independently experiment with and validate everything that my parents thought me; my core belief shaped me. Pageantry made me use my voice with grace and gave me a wider medium.

You are presently in the showbiz industry, how come you studied economist in the university?
Yes it was deliberate, that was what I applied to study in the university, Economics or Accounting. I was also modelling; it has always been something I enjoyed doing when I was younger. When I was asked ‘what do u want to become,’ I would say, ‘I want to study Accounting or Economics and I want to be a big time model.’ And somehow, it happened that way, the power of words.

Then you should be in one of these firms giving statistics about the Nigerian economy, why showbiz?
Who says I do not use Economics every day of my life? The study of human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means is something you will continually deal with every day. So, it comes into play with almost everything that happens around us and me. I just found a greater love affair with acting and when you find something you enjoy doing, you then do it with the best of your ability.

How did you land your role in Desperate Housewives and what has that opportunity done for you?
There was an open call for actors, which I attended and a casting process. The casting process was something else; it was different from any other casting I had attended then. We were called back for readings over a period of about 2-3weeks and it was always packed; the competition was stiff. And then, months after that whole process, we were picked; I think I was quiet for a few minutes when I was called and told about being picked.

And then, I called back to make sure I wasn’t daydreaming. Playing Funke, who is a mother of four, was different and interesting. Every role makes you grow as an actor, and this role wasn’t any different. It was a character that I lived truthfully in; it just gives you a deeper respect for women, who are juggling kids and career and keeping their home together. It truly shows you the strength of a woman.

Given where you are and what you have done for yourself, it won’t be out of place to describe you as a role model for the youth, what message would you want to pass across to today’s young people especially those who may be interested in the arts?
If it is what you are certain you want to do, then go for it. Sometimes, we all see the glitz and glamour and feel it’s an easy job; actors and entertainers are very hard workers. It’s a lot of long hours and embodying a character isn’t as easy as it looks. For me, I fell in love with the craft and it’s not all rosy; it comes with a lot of challenges. Nollywood has grown in leaps and bounds, but we are still on a journey that has its pitfalls. However, I believe if you fall in love with whatever you are doing or even if you find yourself working in a situation where you are not in love with the job, discipline is something that is important.

As beauty queen, you campaigned against HIV/AIDs, has acting made you lose passion for humanitarian work?
My passion for humanitarian work is engraved in me, so, I still do that. Looking at society today and not being judgmental, we are gradually losing our cultural roots and foundation. Yes, everything evolves. Change, they say, is the most constant thing, but that can happen while still embracing who we are as a people; our culture, language, and so many other thing because that teaches us how to be well rounded human beings. Working with young women is something that inspires me and I would definitely be doing more of that.

What improvements will you like to see in Nollywood?
When I look at how much Nollywood has grown, I’m happy. We are growing day-by-day, movie-by-movie. We do have challenges, sometimes a producer says, ‘oh, my budget is low,’ so, they want to pay little or nothing for actors. There are funding difficulties. There is also the challenge of ‘gate crashers’; some people trying to break into the industry will rather buy instagram followers than study the craft. So, that a producer can book them for the job based on that, and for some people that works. But then, you watch the movie and the mediocrity shows.

There are issues with getting clear sound because of the power situation; you can almost not shoot without a generator. Then there is the need for more support and recognition from the government that, if Nollywood is properly structured and managed, can create more jobs and is also a great export for the country. This also includes concrete enforcement against piracy; all these will go a long way. Government needs to look at what Hollywood contributes to the State of California and see the potentials of a movie industry. For practitioners, we are learning as we go; we are definitely moving towards the right direction.

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