Showbiz folks should have back-up plan – Anne Njemanze

Weekend Magazine: You have been off the movie radar for a while. What have you been up to?Anne Njemanze: Firstly I must say that being off the movie radar as you put it would not be correct since Nollywood is not only about movies.  Nollywood also embraces telenovelas, soap operas and to an extent the […]

Weekend Magazine: You have been off the movie radar for a while. What have you been up to?
Anne Njemanze: Firstly I must say that being off the movie radar as you put it would not be correct since Nollywood is not only about movies.  Nollywood also embraces telenovelas, soap operas and to an extent the stage. I work with the National Theatre/Troupe of Nigeria and so that notes me as a civil servant. I have a regular job which keeps me busy with stage productions. Then there is Tinsel and Hotel Majestic. I think whilst I am off movies for now I enjoy what I am doing. So basically, I’m not really off the movie radar.
WM: Was acting always something you wanted to do since you were a child?
Njemanze: I didn’t envisage myself being an actress. I always saw myself being a newscaster or lawyer because of the likes of Siene Allwell-Brown and others because of how they appealed to me. But somehow I found myself in the core entertainment segment of my career.
WM: Parents always have an issue with their children giving up school for acting. How did your parents take to you being an actress?
Njemanze: My parents were watching and when I said I wanted to study Law, my father objected and insisted on Theatre Arts it is. I cried in my very private moments. Yet I would console myself with the fame surrounding Barbara Soky (who had knocked on our door in Port Harcourt asking directions) and I said it may not be so bad after all. So daddy marches me off to University of Port Harcourt and my journey into theatre began. I believe it’s still beginning.  
WM: Fame comes with a price. What price have you had to pay for it?
Njemanze: Anyone who has affiliations with fame, which I refer to as a black box, including the president, will tell you it’s not easy. Time was when I could not look in people’s eyes because they would ask me the most awkward of questions based on some cheap story published by junk journalists. I used to find it difficult to communicate with people and if I tried it would come out as brash since I had it at the back of my head that they expect me to fumble or mess. Fame in the beginning was a burden but these days I take it as part of the job.
Everyone is not going to like you, so why not live each day like it’s the last? Sleep well at night. Fame will come and go. If it doesn’t go, one dies and leaves it behind. I’ve stopped worrying about fame and its dictates. I’ve learnt to live my life by my rules and no-one else’s. Fame or no fame, I’m human first.
WM: How would you describe life as a thespian in Nigeria?
Njemanze: Life may not be too easy for actors in Nigeria today for two reasons. We take ourselves and our profession/talent for granted and secondly for the mere annoying fact that enough has not been done by the government to promote the culture industry.  
WM: Is the job worth all the stress and tabloid drama?
Njemanze: I get paid for doing this. Education is always the key to a lot of these things. Yes talent is good but I tell you by educating yourself you put  your career in a better pedestal.  It hurts me when I see artists suffering because outside of the country they are paid better. I also am not pleased with colleagues who exhibit certain lifestyles and when the gains come, they tell you it’s acting that brought it. Nowhere is it right to compromise your values because you want to be a star. Celebs should respect themselves. I’ll advise upcoming artistes to get an everyday job, have a back-up plan, keep secrets and never miss out on any opportunity to improve your art intellectually, physically and spiritually.  
WM: Everyone faces a trying period at one point in their lives. You have been in that situation in the past. How were you able to stay above all?
Njemanze: I’ve had tough times. Spates that came with what some would call bad publicity and other times from ill-health and yet again from failed relationships with friends. The only way to look is up. I have a vibrant family. My parents are too enlightened to let me stay down.  They’re praying parents, therefore through all trying times they’ve been there. I have good friends. Sometimes I feel I don’t deserve them but good friends are great. I’ve always been taught to start small and grow big. That way you appreciate the gains God blesses you with.
WM: Being a mother to a teen, is she showing an interest in showbiz as a career?
Njemanze: Renny has no plans at eighteen of being an actress. I don’t think my son has such aspirations either. I’m almost 40 and I think I still have the energy to convince them or pray that another child of mine walks in this path too. Who knows? Mine is to pay fees and watch them grow while praying they turn out better than I.
WM: What’s your opinion of Nollywood as an industry?
Njemanze: I’d say Nollywood is the best training ground for any actor today. Where else can they get it? No matter how much we criticise what we have, Nollywood in Africa is still the trailblazer. With so little we come up with so much. We have sound scriptwriters, intimidating directors, amazing crew members and superb actors.