While there’s no definitive way to determine who in the Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood, is the most hardworking, one of the ways this can be gauged quantitatively is, perhaps, by the credits that go to each of them on performance rating. Alice Iyabo Ogunro, seasoned actress and mother of two, has done various movies with different roles but fans do argue they see maturity in her performance with great potential for success.
Judging from diverse opinions about her presentation in movies, the beautiful actress from Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, popularly known on the stage as Iyabo Ojo, is confirmed to be a very hardworking actress that fulfills most, if not all, the requirements of the characters she plays in movies.
She has a long list of success in other areas too.
On the awards side, Iyabo Ojo, unsurprisingly, has accumulated the best of award winnings and nominations fit for her talent.
Model
Personalities with inspirational life stories are always good to have as role models. Their struggle and rise to the levels they are at the moment serve as a guide to the upcoming with massive inspirational boost. Bestowed with such a remarkable talent in performing arts, Iyabo Ojo exhibits the know-how to appeal to the desire in others to be the best. In a past media interview, the screen queen declared she craved to be among successful women who will be good example to women and men coming up.
Fashion statement
“The occasion and my mood influence that, but I’m more of a casual dresser.”
Trials and triumph
Iyabo had dealt with a lot in her private life, she said in interviews. There had been criticisms about her weight, size, including intrusive questions about her sexuality. But she never let all these get in the way of her ambition and drive and did not undermine her confidence, therefore, she went on to prove to the world that she had talent and ready to make a success of it.
Although, it is not on record that she had a troubled adolescence, Iyabo was fairly unlucky getting married to a man she truly loved. She had single-handedly raised her two children, Festus and Priscilla, without the love and support of their father.
“When I gave birth to my children was my happiest moment in life,” she told Global Excellence, though there were the marital challenges while carrying their pregnancies, “that was the moment I will cherish till eternity.” On her wedding night, she said, the husband told her “I did not love you, I only married you because you are pregnant”! But because she wanted peace for herself, she would not leave the marriage and she decided to have Festus, her first child.
It was the same story with the second child, a daughter, Priscilla. In the process of trying to make the marriage work, Iyabo said she discovered she was pregnant again, but instead of it to sway her man back to her, the pregnancy rather made the situation worse. Her husband was already gone although they lived together! With just N300 in her purse, she said she begged and squatted to have her daughter at a friend’s place, all alone. This was one of the major challenges she had had to weather moving through life until she finally got most of her breakthroughs via acting and trade.
Iyabo is certainly not the first actress to own a palatial home. But she is the newest in Nollywood to own one in the highbrow Lekki, Victoria Island Lagos. She has since moved into the multimillion naira home with her kids after making the public announcement on Saturday, 8th of August, 2020 via her social media handle.
Charity
Because she had seen challenges, the founder and chief executive officer of Pinkies Foundation, shows she has more empathy for the privileged. With her non-governmental organization, which caters for children with special needs and the poor, Iyabo told Global Excellence that she is able to understand what the other person is experiencing, morally and financially. She says it provides her with the ability to understand how people’s emotions are affecting their decisions and behaviour. Thus, she is putting to use with her NGO this essential part of excelling in leadership.
Future Desire
Unique skills are allowing women to quickly gain traction in many fields, particularly areas that are considered ‘men only’. On this basis, Iyabo says she is set to explore more the potentials to becoming one of today’s women leaders who regularly increase their chances of success.
“I want to go back to school, once my kids are done with their own education. I’m going back either to study law or international relations. I also have the ambition to add interior decoration and property development to my businesses soon,” she divulged, asserting she possesses the skills and confidence necessary to handle any challenge that comes her way.
Journey into acting
Having studied Estate Management at the Lagos State Polytechnic, Iyabo Ojo began her acting career in 1998. She made her debut same year in an English language movie titled ‘Satanic’. She followed that up with a major outing in a 2002 Yoruba language movie titled ‘Baba Darijiwon’, said to be the flick that threw her to the limelight.
She had also acted, scripted and produced so many other movies including ‘Bolutife’, ‘Bofeboko’, ‘Okunkun Biribiri’, ‘Arinzo’, ‘Black Vals’, ‘Twisted Twin’, ‘Gone to America’, ‘Divorce Not Allowed’, and ‘Silence’, a 2015 movie, among few others.
Based on the above, and as time progresses, beautiful Iyabo looks to earn her best award nominations for her skill which best exemplifies her allure and commitment.
-Folorunsho Hamsat
