- Kemi Afolabi a pretty babe and a talented actress, whose beauty combined with her acting prowess in the Yoruba movie industry are outstanding. She is one actress who joined the industry not long ago, but has registered her name in the industry. Though this sexy lady studied Law at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), kemi’s journey into the industry was accidental, as she was practically lured into it by a producer who convinced her she has the potential to be a hit and subsequently offered her some roles to play, even as a rookie back then, before she developed interest in acting in 2006. In 2010/2011, the curvaceous actress left the movie scene and the reason for the sudden disappearance was unknown to many of her army of admirers and fans, except those very close to her. Several months back, Yoruba movie reporter, Gbolahan Adetayo cornered Kemi Afolabi, an indigene of Ijebu Ayepe, Ogun State, at an event in Ikeja and she spoke on why she left the movie scene for 4 years before she returned in 2012 among other interesting issues.
You read law but you are now a professional actress, what prompted you to dump law for acting?
I wouldn’t say I dumped Law because I only diversified then. Initially, I wasn’t serious with it because I ventured into it by accident but eventually I developed the interest in acting and here we are.
There was a time you left the industry, what happened?
I left the industry a few years ago; I did that to manifest the responsible part of me. No matter who I am or what I do, my reason for going off the scene is very vital in the life of every responsible lady, which is marriage. I had my engagement ceremony and after that I travelled to meet my partner in London.
Where did the wedding take place?
I didn’t want a big party for myself, so I didn’t make noise about it. The engagement held at my father’s house in Okota, Lagos State, though a very quiet one. My husband is based in UK, so I went to him to start our lives afresh. I had a baby girl in the UK. Shortly after the engagement, I got pregnant and I went to put to bed in the UK. At the moment, the girl is in the country with me, I mean my daughter. You know, visiting her mother’s country for the first time.
When will the wedding proper come up?
It was a low key event. I am not a loud person, we had a quiet one, and we have been joined together as husband and wife.
Do you mean the wedding has taken place?
I wouldn’t call it a secret wedding because I invited a number of people to attend the occasion, and there were my parents and his too in attendance. The reason being that I don’t want a big party for myself. I and my husband decided to invite only very important people to grace the occasion.
Why did you opt for having the baby in the UK?
Naturally, when you get married as a responsible Yoruba girl, you are expected to stay with your husband wherever he is, and that was what I did. Though it wasn’t easy because I left my job and other things I do here to be with him but I eventually coped.
Tell us about your husband?
My husband is a very quiet person. His job doesn’t entail noise like mine. He’s a kind of guy who has so much interest in education. He’s an engineer, a building contractor for that matter.
How did you meet and fall in love with each other?
We met in Ibadan through a friend of mine, who was having her engagement ceremony at the time. After that, we boarded the same plane when I was travelling, and he said to me when were airborne, ‘‘I want you to have my kids’’ I looked at him and I just smiled, but because I saw the seriousness of heart in him, I gave in to his advances, and that was how we started.
Now that you are back in the country, what are you involved in especially as an actress?
When I was in UK, I never worked because I dedicated my time to my husband, but while I was doing nothing, I wrote a couple of scripts because I decided to return into acting with something big. Normally, when I write my scripts, it usually focuses on things around me, around us, I mean societal issues. There’s a particular movie I shot, ‘‘ Ajiloda’’ though, that is just the working title, it’s a story about things that happen in the UK, as well as Nigeria and I saw it as an opportunity to pass a message across to my society. I shot part of the movie UK, and the concluding part was shot here in Nigeria. Ajiloda is a story of a man who got a ‘‘sword’’ but to use it is a big problem for him.
How has your husband been able to keep the marriage, considering the many controversies in the industry?
I thank God for the kind of man he gave me. He is a God fearing man. He met me through this job and ever since, he has been supportive. When I was shooting my flick in the UK, he took a week off work to drive my crew. That’s to show the love because he understands the job very well. He knows that anytime he calls me and I didn’t pick my call then I am on set and he’s doing that because he loves and trusts me. Hr drives my crew because I don’t drive in London and shooting abroad is not like what we do here. Some actors in the UK don’t take it as their major work, so as my husband, he gave all I needed to have a successful movie production.
You are now one of the most sought after actresses in the industry, what is the secret?
Well, I give God Almighty for making me one. This question would have been directed to my producers and directors to talk on that, but I want to believe that is from my fans who want to be seeing me on screen at all times. I found out that I feature in many movies lately, jumping from one location to another. As we speak, I have been on different sets for a couple of weeks; this is because the locations are not too far from another. I can go to many in a day if they are all beside one another. I really thank my fans for this anyway.
That means you are a big girl with cash now?
I want you to understand that sometimes you do things to satisfy your passion, it’s not all about money but there’s a big difference between now and then. My going off the scene was to actually repackage myself and I thank God for the results now.
