\u2022Tells City People Magazine Her Very Intimate Story<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibinabo Fiberesima is a big name in Nollywood. She is a movie icon. She is a veteran actress. Ibinabo Fiberesima who is in the UK right now was recently our guest on City People TV Instagram Live Chat conducted by City People Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE,<\/em><\/strong> who got her to talk about her Nollywood experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How has it been since the beginning of the lockdown, how have you been coping?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I went to England before the whole pandemic started, I had health challenges. I had to do a surgery. I was here (in England) trying to recuperate to get my health back. So, I have been in England. And it has not been easy because, with my health challenges and the pressure of the pandemic, I started feeling somehow, and I collapsed twice during this pandemic. It was quite scary and the ambulance came, rushed me to the hospital. They were trying to check if it was Covid-19 or not. They later discovered that it was not Covid-19, just my mental state. Everything crashed at a point, but thank God, I started with the Miss Earth event again and started picking up myself. I started looking forward to something. I wasn\u2019t panicking anymore. I lost quite a few persons close to me here in England to the Covid-19, and that really broke me and then again, my friends in Nigeria, I lost a few, not to Covid-19 this time round, but other things and they were close to me. So, I think all that badly affected me. But thank God I am picking up again, preparing the new queen for her journey because the Miss Earth is virtual again for the global. So, there is so much work to do now. I am busy again preparing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know you are into so many things, tell us about your book? And how it is doing?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like I said because of the issues I had when the\npandemic started. I was doing therapy. I had to re-focus. I had to put my\nenergy into doing something productive. I started pouring out my mind, writing\non my Facebook page; talking about my past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things I have been through, maybe it will help somebody. Like you know me, I am not that person who run people down. They tried to brand me as somebody I am not, and I refused to accept that life because that is not me. I know who I am, I know what I stand for and I will keep doing that. So, I started writing on Facebook every day. I called it \u201cthe hope series and I was amazed with the reception I got. People started sending me messages, asking me where can they buy my book? I was like, I didn\u2019t write a book, I was just writing to keep myself busy (laugh), writing what is in my heart, what I feel. But the messages were coming in from different parts of the world and I said \u201cokay, I can do this\u201d and that was how it all started. I wrote the book; Hope Series 1 and the second one is coming out soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It slows down because the Miss Earth started and\nthat took me back a bit, but I think I am back to complete the second one. And\nthe sales was doing quite well, I am so impressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I was going to ask what happened to your acting career?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You know how it is in Nigeria, there is this mentality of belonging to a certain group of people and I don\u2019t believe in that. I have shot a movie which should have been released by now but because of the pandemic, I am hoping next year, it would be released. I have been more involved. I set up my production house before I became ill. I will be doing a lot of productions now. Probably, I will be acting once in a while, but I think I direct better because I did my master\u2019s in Audio Visual Management and I learnt directing. So, I will be doing that a lot when I get back. So, I am still acting, I am still producing and I will be directing more in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me take you back a bit, can you tell us how movie started for you and how many years ago now?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t even know how many years, maybe 25 or 24. I\nused to run Pyramid Night Club and they wanted to shoot a scene in my club.\nThey were talking to the manager at first when I walked in and he was raising\nhis voice and I asked what the problem was. I remembered it was Tunji\nBamisigbin who said: \u201cMadam we want to use your club to shoot a movie and I was\nvery happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My manager looked at me not to just agree like that, that they have to pay. I was like pay for what, and I asked them to enter and do what they wanted to do. Then, I was happy to see Ramsey Noah too. So, they started filming that particular scene and there was a part they wanted somebody to sing but everybody was shy, the people they brought couldn\u2019t sing and I asked them to give me the mic. They said the camera will be on me, I said no problem because I was having fun. I took the microphone and I started singing, of course, it is my club and I sing every night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, I was singing and they were recording and I was\ngetting into character, knowing fully that the camera was on me. After they\nfinished, they thanked me and left. A few weeks later, I got a call from Tunji\nthat they have been watching the particular scene I did and they thought I\nshould come into movie making, which I rejected. Tunji always came to the club\nto mount pressure on me. Later, I thought about it and then my sister, Regina\nAskia, burst into the club and said: \u201cYou are on set with me\u201d. \u201cYou are doing\nit because I have already told them you would do it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I said which one? She said the one Bamisigbin talked\nto me about. The Most Wanted I agreed with her and that was how it all started.\nAnd, of course, after my first scene, I ran to her and asked: \u201chow did I do\u201d?\nShe said: \u201cFantastic, you did well\u201d. So, I would say, she gave me the courage\nto push forward, to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time you started, who were the people you started with?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It was just Regina Askia, and then we had Dolly\nNnachukwu, Funsho and, of course, we had our sweetheart, Genevieve Nnaji,\nRamsey Noah, Bob Manuel Udokwu, Fred Amata etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How have you been able to sustain your interest in the industry?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You know, I became the President of the Actors Guild\nof Nigeria at the time when I was going through my challenges and I told\nmyself, \u201clisten, this is what you want to do, go and do it\u201d. I am very\nspiritual, I pray quite a lot and my instinct are quite strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I told myself, \u201cdon\u2019t put your head down\u201d so, I went with all my heart and I won. It just drew me closer to Nollywood because at that time I was in touch with everybody in Nollywood. I knew everybody especially the elders and I wanted to look after them. I introduced Health Insurance for them, which a lot of them benefitted from. Even till now, I still get messages from them <\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the state of the industry today, from your own perspective?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nollywood is doing well. But I would still ask us to tell our stories, the African way. The whole world wants to see us. They really love Nollywood. I am challenging Earnest Obi and Ngezue Ngezue, they make strong African movies even the Yoruba. If we could make those stories and make them cinematography a top-notch, they would go everywhere. They would win awards like Oscars, but we need to tell our stories the way we are telling them in our languages and let our cinematography match the storyline, then we are there. Being Nigerian is the best thing right now, I am proud to be a Nigerian, every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like the film I shot. I shot everything in my\nvillage. I am sure some people thought I was mad, but I was happy because I\nhave to showcase my village to the world. People are interested in our story\nand they want to see us. We are African, black is beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s talk about you. You have always been very beautiful and you have maintained it. What has been the secret?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no secret, I am just contented with who I\nam. I don\u2019t live a fake life. I don\u2019t know how to be who I am not. I am just\nwho I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How have you been able to blend with contemporary times?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For me, it is simple. My first son is going to be 23\nin a few days. My 2nd son is 19, my 3rd one is 12. They are forever on the\nphone. There is always a new thing or the other and they want to use it with\nme, so they have to teach me. So, it has not been a challenge for me at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n