Why I Walked Out Of My Marriage– Actress, Moji Olaiya

Popular actress, Moji Olaiya, in a recent interview talks about her career and why she walked out of her marriage.

You are in a soon to be released soap, Glass House. How did it come about?

A producer we call Jerry (Isichei) produced it. I am a major cast in the series.

Most people know you as a Yoruba actress, but you are now featuring in an English series…

But this is not my first job in English. Don’t forget that I came to the limelight through Super Story and which of course, was in English. I am also in Nowhere to be Found, which is another popular soap.

We learnt that you played the role of an illiterate woman in Glass House

Yes, and it was very challenging. I got married to a bank chairman in the series and I am also a publisher. I played ‘Moji’ even in the series. The character is just a very funny person. I must tell you the soap is very interesting. I am very happy I played that part.

 You have not produced any movie in recent times…

The last movie I produced was last year and it even won an award. It was premiered in Canada at the Toronto film festivals. The market is not really encouraging now. That is why most producers are really calming down to see the outcome of this piracy issue. That is why most people are not doing movies now.

 Are you saying you didn’t make enough from your last movie?

We didn’t make what we expected because of piracy. However, the movie sold. It won the best movie award at last year’s Yoruba Movies Academy Awards. It was also screened at the Africa Movies Academy Awards.

But  it wasn’t nominated in any category…

I don’t know what happened. As far as I know, it was well shot. It had good picture quality.

Will you say your father’s name has opened a lot of doors for you?

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I’ll say yes. Let’s take for instance my state, Ekiti State. Most things they call my father to do, because he is old and cannot be travelling up and down, they call me to do them. I even remember the first time I went to the German Embassy for a visa. Getting the visa was very quick because the lady that attended to me knew who my father was. I got the visa. I am proud to be associated with him as somebody I can call my father. There are so many legends out there, yet their children are not proud of them.

Granted your father is a showbiz man, but most of your siblings are in other professions. How come you are the one that went into showbiz?

I think it is where God wants me to be. It is my destiny. When I was little, I loved entertainment. I was called to act and sing in my church when I was little. Growing up though, I never had the intention of acting. However, along the way, I got into it. I’ll just call it luck. I have no regret. If I should come back to this world again, I still will love to be an entertainer.

What really happened to your marriage?

You see, I am an advocate of marriage. I preach that women should be in their husbands’ houses. All my life, I have always wanted to get married and stay with my husband and bring my children up in the fear of the Lord. But along the line, things didn’t work out. I don’t even want to get into the details so that it doesn’t get messier. But things didn’t work out.

 So you left your marriage because ‘things didn’t work out’?

If things are not really working out, I think the best thing for you to do is to quit and leave everything in the hands of God.

 Be sincere, whose fault was it that it didn’t work out?

I don’t think it was my fault. I didn’t have any fault in the marriage. However, I will not blame the other party. I really want to keep this off the press as I have been advised by my family. It just didn’t work out.

 Some might think that you didn’t want to stay in a husband’s house…

I don’t think I will get married and say that I don’t want to stay in my husband’s house. It is only a senseless person that will do that. I am in my late 30’s. Why would I, at this age, not want to be in a husband’s house? It’ll get to a time that you will need a man. But when you get the man and things are not working the way you planned and you know you still have a long way to go in life, you have a fruitful career, then the best thing for you to do is to quit the marriage and let the man go.

 Could it be that you got another man because we learnt that you have a Canada-based lover…

Is it possible for me to get married to someone else when I am not officially divorced? I don’t know how people think. I don’t have anybody in Canada and I have never dated anybody in Canada. Even people who know me are not usually aware when I am in Canada. Canada is my second home, but I am always inside. I really don’t know where they got this false story from.

 But are you planning to get married soon?

I am not planning to get married soon. And just to get it straight, I am just separated from my husband. I am not legally divorced and I don’t have any lover anywhere.

What if you and your husband make up eventually?

Well… I will not say anything about that. I just think we should leave everything to God. Let him perform that wonder that He wants to perform. I believe that He is up to something.

 You talk like somebody who is pained…

When things you didn’t plan for happen, it will hurt you especially with all the things happening in our industry now. People think we are not serious and we don’t understand the institution of marriage. That is not so. My parents weren’t separated. I was brought up properly. My siblings are married. It is painful when you get married and you eventually leave that marriage because of something that is beyond your control.

You used to say you are an evangelist

I am an evangelist. I am a strong Christian. I preach on TV. So what am I teaching the younger ones? Am I telling them that marriage is not good? No. So I feel pained that this is happening. It is good to be married. It is good to have a crown over your head, somebody that can control you and you bear his name. It is painful; I know I am a role model to so many people. I know some people’s impression about me will be affected. But I know best and I know why it happened. I am sure that God will not even be angry with me that I made the decision at that time.

I am sure I have not made the wrong decision. I would only tell my fans that I didn’t enjoy doing this but they just have to support me and pray along with me. I am an advocate of a peaceful marriage. Women should be married. I am not speaking for anybody but my colleagues whose marriages broke up know why they left their marriages. I did what I did because it was the best thing I could do.

But every lady needs a man beside her. How will you be managing?

I didn’t say marriage is out of the way now. Now that I got married and it didn’t work out, I have to be careful the next time. I have to choose well so as to avoid the first mistake. I am just taking my time. And in fact, God might even tell me to go back to my first marriage, He can also tell me to move on. So let us just leave it for God to handle.

 Could it be your profession that affected your marriage?

I don’t think so. While I was with him, I didn’t feature in so many movies. I just faced my marriage. It was just recently that I started featuring in movies. I never went for awards or functions. I wanted that marriage to really work. However, he even met me as an actress. I couldn’t have left my career because of marriage. In fact, I cannot leave my career for any marriage, no way! Even if I am getting married to the richest man, I don’t think he will tell me to quit acting.

 Did he ask you to stop?

He never asked me to stop acting. We never had any issue concerning my career.

 We know Fathia Balogun is your friend. Could it be that you decided to leave your marriage because your friend is also separated from her husband?

Fathia is my friend, I cannot deny that. But I couldn’t have left my marriage because hers didn’t work out. It is wrong for anybody to think that way. She knows what happened in her case, I know what happened in my own case. Come to think of it, when I go on set, I just want to face my business and get out. I don’t listen to gossip. I don’t know who is fighting over men. I just do my job and it is over. I don’t believe that anybody in her right senses will fight over a man.

 Were your parents in support of the separation?

I didn’t take the decision alone. But I think I will leave this out of the papers. I am an advocate of a good thing. I will get married again. I have to know what I want. I have to know who the person really is before I get into it.

Didn’t you know who he was before you got married to him?

I can’t really say I didn’t know who he was. But things just happened. God knows best. Let us just leave it at that.

 Did you have any children?

No.

 Could it have been the reason for the break up?

No way. He is not God and I am not God. The marriage was just three years. We have seen couples who didn’t have kids for so many years and they didn’t break up. Not having kids couldn’t have been the issue because I know I don’t have a problem. He doesn’t have a problem too. He has two kids and I have a kid before we got married.

 Do we see you doing another thing apart from movies?

Yes. I will start events management. I will open my business very soon.

"I Suffered In My Marriage, Had A Miscarriage" - Actress Chika Ike Opens Up

Nollywood Actress, Chika Ike whose divorce has been finally dissolved pens an open letter to her fans, opening up about the physical abuse she suffered in the hands of the man she called her husband for five years.

Read below

The past three years has been a very emotional period for me. I focused my energy on work and to build back my self esteem. its been really hard for me to come out straight and talk about this because sometimes I pinch myself to wake up and not believe that I was a victim of domestic violence.

I've been through a lot in my life, faced a lot of challenges but this is one topic I've tried so hard to avoid and have been waiting for the right time but I have come to a resolve that there's really no right time because every second of the day,lives are being lost due to domestic violence.  I was a victiim of domestic violence in my marriage and that was the singular reason I left my marriage, aside other reasons.

Growing up as a girl. I was always known as the sweetest kid on the block, before I got married, I have been through some relationships and for once no man had ever laid a finger on me. The first time it happened in my marriage I didn't understand it because I am not the type of woman a man beats but I guess there are no types. It just happens and no woman deserves it. As a young girl I thought it was love or his way of expressing his emotions,after every beating he pleads , cries and says it won't happen again, once again I thought it was love and made excuses for him.  

Over the years when it kept happening consistently I started looking for other definitions for it.  I started loosing my self pride,self esteem , self worth, and most painfully I lost  a pregnancy (Miscarriage) I almost lost my life in the process then I realised how serious and abnormal it really was.

I have heard and read a lot of accusations from ignorant people who don't know my story,I guess that's why they are ignorant.  I was 20yrs old and  very naïve to the world when I got married .“ They said I married for money“ LOL. I was married to a corporate guy, who had a 9-5 job in a bank, Lives in a rented 2 bedroom apartment at Egbe..  So do the maths! . I married for love. I did a traditional wedding. A white wedding and a court wedding.

So that's how much I wanted to be married forever.  For five years I hoped, prayed & wished that one day it will all change. But the last straw that broke the carmels back was during a heated argument he threw a glass  jug to my face and I dogged it and it shattered on d wall. I saw death flash before me and I made a decision to save my life. I left my marriage.

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Am not saying  this to draw pity from anyone because we are entitled to our opinions and believes. I am not also saying this to discourage people from falling in love because its a beautiful feeling and I still believe in it. I am saying this to educate, share and talk about my experience as a victim of domestic violence because it is real.

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Nigeria Won’t Break Up In 2015 – President Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday said that Nigeria would disappoint all those who predicted that the country would break up in 2015 by continuing to remain one indivisible entity.

“For those who are predicting that this country will separate in 2015 based on the fault lines as of the time of amalgamation, they will know that this prediction will not be of any consequence. Nigeria will continue to remain one indivisible entity,” the President said.

Jonathan said this while receiving members of the Muslim community in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja who paid him Sallah homage at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as part of the activities marking this year’s Eid-el-Fitri.

The Muslims were led to the President by his deputy, Namadi Sambo. Also on the entourage were the Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Muhammed; and the Minister of State, FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide.

Jonathan said he could not imagine a Nigeria without Muslims and Christians but he observed that the nation had not been able to exploit its diversity because of the myopic views of the elite.

He said, “For us, we cannot imagine a Nigeria without Muslims and Christians; you can call it another name, but not Nigeria.

“So it is a blessing that this is one country that you have a significant population of Muslims and Christians and this religious diversity will enhance our development because we can get across the whole world; wherever we go, we are accepted. That helps us in so many ways.

“We are not even exploiting our diversity because of the myopic views of the elite about our situation. Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters and we must live together.

The President reassured Nigerians that his government would continue to do its best to reposition the country .

He asked the Muslims to continue to pray for peace in Nigeria and the world at large.

The President said although the nation was currently going through some challenges, he was confident that God would see the country through.

“If you watch television these days, more than 60 per cent of the time is spent on showing crises all over the world and for the world to move ahead and for Nigeria to move ahead, for us to develop first and foremost, there must be peace and security, nobody will come and invest in an environment where you are not sure of your workers and investment.

“As a nation, for our children to get where we want them to be, we must create a very peaceful environment for them so they can develop mentally and be focused and use their brains in a manner that will bring economic changes to us,” the President said.

He said sometimes, when one was not involved, one would think fasting is an easy exercise.

He said with the way his trousers were now too big for him, he knows that the exercise is not an easy one.

He congratulated the Muslims for going through the Ramadan fasting. “Sometimes, when you are not involved in fasting, you will think it is an easy thing to go through. For you to have gone through this spiritual exercise is worth congratulations, so I congratulate you,” he added.

Earlier, Sambo had told the President that he led the Muslim community to pay homage and thank him for what he had been doing for Nigeria.

Sambo said, “We appreciate your fatherly nature. You have been a teacher; you have been a father and good leader.

“Today, we have railway in this country after over 40 years. I call on all Nigerians to continue to support Mr. President and this administration.”

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BUSTED: Army Raids Boko Haram Hideout in Sokoto

The Boko Haram shelter at Gidan-Igwai area of Sokoto was raided on Saturday, August 10, 2013, by the Nigerian Army. The operation was carried out in order to curb the influx of the extremist sect members from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

"The operation was conducted as part of the ongoing efforts to rid Sokoto state of the fleeing insurgents from the volatile states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa," Capt. Yahaya Musa, the Spokesperson of the 1 Brigade, Sokoto, has explained.

The operation, the authorities say, has been staged thanks to a hint given by the local residents, with Capt. Musa adding that the raid was "part of the routine operations of the Army to cleanse Nigeria of insurgency and other criminal activities."

"Sokoto is peaceful, unfortunately insurgents from other parts of the country are fast making it a safe haven and we are battle-ready to dislodge them.

"The operation by the army would be sustained and intensified just like our sister security organisations are also doing theirs, nationwide.

"I cannot however confirm any fatalities as at now but scores of arrests have been made whose details would be made available later," the spokesperson further said.

Capt. Musa expressed gratitude to the residents of the city for their usual support and cooperation, noting that the task of ensuring the security of lives and property of Nigerians is a collective one.

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Aba Tanker Explosion Leaves One Dead, Others Injured

Ogbor Hill, Aba, Abia State -- A petroelum tanker exploded Thursday, August 8, 2013, at Umuoba road in Ogbor Hill, Aba, Abia State. As a result, a roadside mechanic was killed, and several other persons injured.

The explosion also damaged some PHCN high tension cables, as well as several vehicles along the road where the incident occurred.

The late mechanic has been identified as Kelechi John, an indigene of Osusu in Obingwa LGA of the state. 

According to eyewitnesses, the roadside welder, identified as one Ifeanyi, was welding a damaged part of the petroleum tanker with registration number ABIA XD 971 SSM. Unexpectedly to everyone, the vehicle caught fire in the process of the work.

Despite the attempts by the local people to bring the fire under control with buckets of water, the tanker exploded. Parts of its rear cover flew in different directions, causing pandemonium.

The welder was said to have ran away after the incident.

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FAILURE ANALYSIS: Bad Luck Of FG/Boko Haram Ceasefire Deal

The ceasefire deal between the Federal Government and the two dreaded proscribed Islamic groups, Boko Haram and Ansaru, has placed the Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, on the edge of integrity. Here's the analysis of the inconsistencies in the handling of groups, as submitted by some Nigerians.

He seems determined to succeed. Apparently, he wants to carve a niche for himself by stamping his footprints on the sands of Nigerian history.

The history is that anytime the story of Boko Haram will be told in the future, his name must be mentioned as the man who did the magic of successfully helping the Nigerian State under the Presidency of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan to stop the dreadful insurgency and restore peace in the country.

But obviously, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, the Minister of Special Duties and Chairman, Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of security challenges in the North, otherwise called Boko Haram Amnesty Committee, is a man who deserves the collective sympathy of all Nigerians.

Reason: the man appears not to be so lucky. Each time, he sets out to carry out the assignment given to him by the presidency, he gets struck down by one unfortunate incident or another.

More unfortunate, as it were, is the fact that even his 'people', the Boko Haramists, always disown him, thereby trapping him in the middle of a hopeless and hapless situation.

Notably, Alhaji Turaki fully came into limelight when he was made the Head of the mediatory Committee between the Federal Government and the Boko Haram Islamic Sect on April 22, 2013.

His mandate included fathoming amnesty modalities for the members of the dreaded group. But no sooner had an elated Turaki set to do the work than he suffered a dirty blow.