Kanyi Okeke
In this interview with Vanguard Reporters, She speaks about her childhood, s*xual harassment experiences in the industry as well as her foray into the mainstream acting.
You have an awesome back, is it real?
Yes it is real oh!
Women in their bid to meet with the trends wear artificial bum these
days and others go through the surgical knife to acquire it? Did you
acquire yours through surgery or are you wearing something?
I didn’t go through any surgery, neither am I wearing any artificial bum or whatsoever. I grew up seeing myself like this.
How did people react to you?
If I can remember, I have always been chubby even during my
primary/secondary school days. Well, l got so many reactions from people
while growing up especially men! Some wanted to date me, others wanted
me to be their pet daughters, others claimed they wanted to buy me ice
cream and that l should be close to them. But one thing kept me safe and
that was because l was very close to my mum and always confided in her
on everything l was going through before taking any decision. My mum had
told me when l was a younger girl that l would be pregnant if l was
touched by any man. Perhaps that fear also kept me from trying on what
these men wanted from me. I didn’t want to be pregnant…….Continue
How does having all these make you feel?
Well l feel blessed and honoured to be given these by the Almighty God, I
owe to Him all the thanks. And as for the men, I am stingy about my
looks. I do not share at all!
How was childhood like?
My childhood was rough and thinking about it sometimes makes me cry,
although, it eventually turned out well. We were three girls in my home
and l was the last child at that time until my mum got pregnant again
for the fourth child. There was so much pressure from my father’s family
on my mum because she had only female children and unfortunately for
us, my father chose that time to die. My dad’s family seized everything
from my mum and left her with nothing. My mum eventually gave birth to a
boy but it wasn’t believed that my father was responsible for that
pregnancy. So we moved out of Lagos to Port Harcourt. My siblings and I
stopped schooling for more than a year. On several occasions, we were
thrown out of school because we could not pay school fees. We opted to
hawk all kinds of wares in order to make money.
Every now and then, we changed school because we could not meet up the
payment of our fees. This development went on until we relocated to
Owerri. My mum all this time was doing menial jobs to take care of us. She became a washer woman and it became a family business. But the bottom line
is that God somehow converted all the stress turned into glory. I lost
my elder sister but we are better today. Mum managed to build our own
place at Owerri with all the savings we made from the menial jobs, so we
moved out from where we were squatting into our own home. Today, we are
all stabilized, we are all grown, doing one thing or the other.
Are you saying you managed to complete your education?
Yes. God made a way and l read Marketing at Enugu State University (ESUT) though I was also doing business amidst classes.
How did you come into Nollywood?
My father wanted me to be a TV personality, but l wasn’t offered Mass Communication at school. However, after school, l got a job working
at a car trackers company. I went through Amstel Box Office (AMB) three
times, but didn’t go far in it. So, l met a guy who told me how to go
about auditions. I went for it and l got the job.
What was the pay like on your first job?
My pay was okay, but l do not want to talk about it.
Have you ever been harassed on the job?
I haven’t been harassed at all. In fact, I have played a love -making
scene before but l was wearing a bra. Acting is make- believe but it has
to be real. I acted a love- making scene no doubt, but l wasn’t
harassed. I think it is because l have not placed myself in a position
to be harassed. I do not expose myself on the streets. I wear clothes
that cover my body whenever l am out of my home! I do not go where l am
not supposed to go . I am in one place at a time. The way you carry
yourself matters when it comes to harassment. It is the way you dress
you would be addressed.
What is the best part of your body?
I think the best part of my body is my face. It is my face because if my
face is not appreciated by someone ,then it would be about lust because
all he would be thinking would be about pulling my clothes to see my
bum and all that.
Not yet
What are your future plans?
I want to settle down as in really settle down with a man who would love
me and tolerate me forever, have my children. I do not want to
experience a divorce in my life. As for business,
l want to be able travel myself to get my weaves to Nigeria. I also
wish to have a big movie production company to help would- be acts.
Source: Vanguard Nigeria
