I Practically Take Care Of My Family- Halima Abubakar

Actress Halima Abubakar in an interview with The Nation has
explained how she practically takes care of her family members. She said they
were comfortable till her father lost his job at Savannah Bank and all his
money after serving the bank for 26 years. She however noted that Nollywood
helped her get them out of poverty and she is forever grateful. The actress
also spoke on marriage and her kind of man. Enjoy…

Though young, you have been noted for humanitarian deeds,
what drives this passion in you?

Yes, that is the area that appeals to me and that is the
area I want to be known for. I just found myself doing it. It came naturally to
me to do because I had begged for food and clothes in the past; so I know what
it feels like to be deprived in those areas. So giving comes natural to me. We
actually need to share so that God will be happy with us.

I grew up in the north. You know in the north, while I was
growing up, you just bring out a large plate of food and people sit around it,
eat and share from it. People put their hands and eat. That was how I grew up,
and it was okay. Lagos is different though. So I have learnt to give. If I do
not have this to give, then I have that to give. If I do not have money to
give, I have clothes to give and if I do not have clothes to give, then I have
food to give. The important thing is that you have shared something with someone
in need. You need to share whatever you have except sharing your body (laughs).

You seem to be giving us a different picture about your
background here. At least some people had the impression that you come from a
privileged background.

Yes, it’s true; I had a privileged background until Savannah
bank where my father worked for 26 years was closed down. His money, everything
was taken away; without a conscience, they took away our food. Well I thank the
bank because they made me a star today!

How did that happen?

I had to find my way into Nollywood and then came down to
Lagos to look for job and help my family out of poverty. But if Savannah bank
ever comes back, they should be ready to pay back my daddy’s money. He was a
manager in the bank for all of 26 years in Kaduna, Katsina, we were going all
over the place as he was moved from place to place for his work. Suddenly,
Savannah bank was locked up. I was much younger then. I was still in school. I
had to leave Katsina with my family. My dad worked at other places after then,
but it was in Savannah bank that he had his locked up investment. Now I do not
advise people to save money in the bank where they work because anything can
happen. Better to spread your money in other banks apart from where you work so
that people do not suddenly make your family’s life miserable.

But if your dad was a bank manager for that long, he was
really comfortable and would have had some properties…

You mean the house and all such? We had to sell those off to
get money. Thank God that we didn’t have to go into prostitution. Again, we
were even too young then to know what prostitution was. This kind of thing is
what  makes good people turn wicked.
That’s because we were really affected and I have pains to show for it.

But did your dad ever recover?

Well, he eventually did. And I had to help out too. Now he
has a beautiful farm in Lokoja, where he is doing well. That has always been
his dream. And my mom is retired. Mom left Kano when my dad left. You know
wherever the man goes, his woman has to follow. Right now they are in Lokoja
where we have our family home.

You have indeed moved around the north, but where are you
from?

I am from Kogi state. And Lokoja is close to our village. I
spent the first twenty years of my life in the far north before coming to
Lagos.

Tell us about life in the north and in southern part of
Nigeria.

The truth is that Kano was where I lived for most of our
childhood. My elder sister and her family lives there now. Somehow I will
always be connected to Kano. Lagos is where I work, it is where I also have
some form of investment and my little ones live here. We do not stay together
anymore because I know that at some point, I will have to start my own family.
So I am proud to say that I have invested in my family, instead of gallivanting
around the whole world, cruising in yachts, and jets and taking fake pictures
up and down. I’m actually proud of myself now.

So how do you describe yourself?

I am a producer and a writer; I am a farmer, which is a huge
investment. My dad is the one handling that aspect because he knows about it,
but I am the chief executive officer there. We have restaurants and bakery,
these are all a big blessing. And I have urged my younger sister to go into the
make-up profession so that I can invest in that too. I am actually proud of the
beauty industry and I will like to invest in it, another way of supporting the
family.

What does beauty mean to you?

It means being you, it also means being mature.

Was it easy for you to come all the way from the north of
the country to Lagos to break into Nollywood?

Never! It was not easy to do. It took me almost 10 years of
my life. I have been acting for probably 15 years now. I was a child, I was
very young, I was in JSS 3. For the first three years of life in Nollywood, I
shot only two movies and there was no line. That is what is called ‘waka pass’.
That is the testimony that I have. So when people keep talking trash about me,
I just say they do not know what they are talking about. Most often they don’t
know me; they are talking based on gossip on social media, or what they are
reading online. But that is not me. People should just live their lives and
stop being a fake. Must I paint my face, pose and take pictures and paste on
social media? Before the arrival of social media, weren’t we living? The funny
part is that men don’t even care if you have a particular brand of lipstick on.

We keep spending N6,000 on a particular brand of lipstick,
yet men don’t even notice it. But your fellow woman will sit down somewhere and
start saying, ‘Oh my God, is that this or that?’ I keep saying that some women
dress for their fellow women not for men. That’s because men just look at
probably your shoes, wrist watch or your handbag or hair style. Though every
man has what he looks at, but most often it is the way you talk, your
intelligence. Most often, not even your shoes, unless he owns a boutique and he
is thinking of selling his shoes or your hair, if he sells weave-on. That’s
because men just look probably at your shoes.

                               

Don’t you feel that you may be
intimidating to a man?

Well, that will be the man’s
business because I didn’t tell such a man not to go to school, or have a
library; I cannot afford not to be myself because of a man who feels
intimidated by me. A man should even be happy to encourage me. Any man that is
intimidated by a lady is not a man. I have, however, learnt to be tolerant of
people. I have learnt to ignore a lot of side talks; I have learnt to be
patient with a lot of people, because I have a temper which I have learnt to
control. I am working on myself. Also because of the way that I have been
treated in the past by people, I really do not value friendship. I am trying
hard to know people and that’s where patience comes in. I am still trying to
open up; I hope I will be able to do that with a man that I hope to spend the
rest of my life with. I do not want a man that I will spend just one year with
and he’s gone. I don’t want a man that will make me pop out babies, then he
will go clubbing. I will drag his hair to the house! I’ve had anger in the
past, so it’s easy to piss me off and it’s easy for me to forgive. I don’t
react; at the same time I’m not a robot, so I am bound to react once in a
while.

How about marriage?

Marriage will come when it will
come. You don’t rush it. It is one of the few things that one does not need to
rush. Marriage is not a movie that one has to rush.  You do not marry because the public wants you
to get married. You do not marry because you are getting old, you do not marry
because you are too young. You get married when it’s the right time. You get
married when you meet the right man, when you know that it is okay and the man
too is okay. And you are sure that you are going to have a fine, peaceful
marriage.

But there are guys in the movie
industry, haven’t they been approaching you with subtle marital proposals?

Well, you do not get married
because you are in Nollywood or because people there are proposing. Moreover I
do not encourage people to date where they work.

Does that also mean that you are
not likely to marry an actor?

I will definitely not marry an
actor.