My Kids Will Have A Better Life With Their Dual Citizenship.....Oge Okoye

Nollywood actress Oge Okoye  may have been away for a while, but she is back and ready to take over the movie world.The actress who just returned from London where she had her second baby granted an interview recently.In it she talks about her husband thinking she was a prostitute, her kids, her clothing line and what she will not do in he movie industry this year because she thinks it's degrading.Excerpts ....
Why did you choose to have your baby in London? I feel more at ease in London than any other country. Don’t forget that I was born there too. Besides, I want a better life for my kids.

Does it have something to do with the citizenship thing? Of course yes. I am a British too. I just want a good life for them when they get older and also for them to be able to move around the world freely without hiccups. I believe they will have a better life with their British citizenship.

Are you saying you don’t believe or have faith in Nigeria?

I just know that the step I took for my kids on their nationality is the best for them. I know what I am doing honestly. Nigeria is a good country and there is hope of it becoming better but I have my reasons. My kids will all have British citizenship. 

As a married woman with your hubby not always around, does he feel comfortable with the clubbing habit?

As a matter of fact, whenever he is in town we go clubbing together. He lives abroad and I grew up in London too, so we both have

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a better understanding of unwinding at clubs once in a while. When he is not around, I go with my friends. Of course there are limits, and I don’t go beyond my limit, I am not an extremist on clubbing matters. I do things with moderation.

How do you feel now that you are blessed with a boy and a girl?

I am so happy and thankful to almighty God for making me a complete woman. You know, the joy of every mother is to have a baby boy and a baby girl. We first had a boy and now a girl. We wouldn’t have wished for more. I feel so, so great.

How do you intend to cope with the pressure of raising two kids considering your career as an actress?

That’s not an issue at all. When I had my first baby I got a lot of help from my mum and my domestic staff too. I never allowed the movie thing to affect the mother-child relationship between us. I always came back early to make sure he was okay though my mum was around to look after him till he became a big boy. My children’s care can never suffer for my career. As much as the job is important, the home front is equally inevitable and must come first. I blend the two together perfectly such that none suffers for the other. My baby boy is grown now and he goes to school. When I first came back in December, I worked only in Lagos because my new baby was still very young but now I can do some jobs outside Lagos because she is a few months older. Having two kids cannot be an issue for me.

Why do people think you are a club freak?

I don’t understand what you mean by a club freak. Does it mean I can’t unwind or what exactly do you mean? Club houses are meant to unwind and it’s not that it’s a bad thing going to clubs. I am a very busy person so I don’t club as often as people say, but once in a while I do unwind at clubhouses with my friends.

As a married woman with your hubby not always around, does he feel comfortable with the clubbing habit?

As a matter of fact, whenever he is in town we go clubbing together. He lives abroad and I grew up in London too, so we both have a better understanding of unwinding at clubs once in a while. When he is not around, I go with my friends. Of course there are limits, and I don’t go beyond my limit, I am not an extremist on clubbing matters. I do things with moderation.

How did you meet him?

My husband is from Imo State. He is Stanley Duru. I met him on a set while shooting in a club. The interesting thing is that at first he thought I was a prostitute. According to him, he didn’t know we were shooting. When he saw me and with what I had on, he was discouraged but he told his friend, ‘look at this fine girl, I’m going to bring her out of this lifestyle and marry her’. Then his friend told him that I was an actress and that we were shooting. They waited for us to finish shooting and one thing led to the other. We exchanged phone numbers and that was it. Of course, I didn’t take him seriously then because it’s one thing to exchange phone numbers and it’s another thing to follow up. People call my phone number every now and then, even those who I didn’t give the number. He kept calling and after a while I saw that he was serious and decided to give him a chance. That was how it started and ended in marriage.

How far have you gone with your fashion project?

Activities to make the establishment a success are in top gear. I hope to launch it before the end of the year by God’s grace.

Will it be strictly feminine stuff or unisex?

For now I plan to do just the feminine stuff but with time we might do men too depending on the demand.

How do you plan to raise your bar in Nollywood?

How I intend to step up my game is to come out with good movies and not just be on the set for every movie, good or bad. I intend to stand out for excellence and perfection. Right now, before I move into any set I will look at the script very well and if I am comfortable with the story, I am in. You don’t expect me to show my face in any quack movie that may later have a bad effect on I want to entertain my fans in a way they will love to be entertained, so I try to keep my game up in the industry. One thing I know is that wishy-washy movies will only degrade you and since I’m not in the industry just for money, I will be choosy about the films I feature in. If I had entered the industry because of money, I would probably be acting anything for huge amount of money. The purpose of shooting a movie is to teach people some moral lessons, something that will have positive impact on people, something very meaningful that they will make something useful out of it.

Story by Ifeoma Meze