NewAfricanWoman Issue 35 - Flipbook - Page 32
On The Cover
I would love to be a part of people’s lives through the
thing that I can do best, which is music. And I have
gone through some great moments and really tough times
that I believe a lot of women can draw inspiration from
You are also a Purple Ambassador who is
very vocal against domestic violence. How
do you think domestic violence can be eliminated in our communities?
I think the first thing we have to do is educate
people in that regard. A lot of people teach their
daughters to be wives without understanding what
it is to be a wife, so they tolerate such oppression.
And a lot of parents also don’t teach their sons
to be husbands, even teach their children to be
comfortable in their own skin and educate them
so that they understand that mutual respect for the
opposite sex is respect for yourself.
Also policies that have been put in place to protect women, we should be able to hold the policymakers accountable so those policies are implemented. It’s one thing to put these things down on
paper, you have situations where these women run
to the police and the police tell them, “Ah, it’s your
husband now; it’s a family matter”. Outside of educating these women about protecting themselves,
making sure that they don’t even find themselves in
such situations, we also have to educate the people
in our societies, law enforcement agents and make
them understand that th ey are here to protect
women and men.
With the new cabinet in place, what are your
hopes for Nigeria in 2016?
Right now as a country we are at a place where
everybody has to look for what they can offer
positively and how it adds value to their society.
For people in the oil sector, things may not be as
good as they used to be but there are other opportunities we now have to look into. Yes, we are
going through a lot of changes and there are a lot
of challenges, but we as human beings have to look
for how we can add value. We have other things to
focus on to help our country move forward.
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In 2014, you were named as one of the most
bankable Nigerian stars. In this day and age,
where the music industry is so gung-ho, how
hard is it especially for female stars to stay in
the game?
If someone goes on maternity leave, it doesn’t
mean that the person has lost their job. Why does
it always have to be like that when it comes to
women in the industry when we don’t say that
about a banker or a lawyer? The reason is the media and what the media puts out. Yes, it is a maledominated industry, yes there are a lot of people
who say it is women competing against each other,
but I’d say that it’s the same sun wey dey shine on
man na hin dey shine on woman. The same sun
wey dey shine on Wizkid na hin dey shine on me.
I am not going to sit down and start saying, “Oh I
am a woman, I am facing this challenge, or Tiwa or
Omawumi is a competition.” But focus on the job
because we all have our different goals.
If you know who you are and you are confident
in who you are, it shouldn’t be a problem. You do
what you’re supposed to do. It is just about your
goal and what you represent as an individual and
as an artist. And if you are satisfied with where you
are and where you are headed, then you’re good,
no pressure at all.
We’d like to think of you as a New African
Woman. How would you define the New
African Woman?
I think it is the faith she has in herself and her continent and the faith she has in what she represents.
She is strong, she is confident, she understands
herself and she is not intimidated by the things that
go on around her. Her focus is on what she believes
and she works very hard to make sure that she
achieves her goals.