Comediene, Damilola Adekoya, popularly known as Princess, in a new interview tells Punch about her career and life after her marriage which lasted less than one month. See excerpts below:
You have been in the industry for some time now, how has it been?
It has been okay. We have been managing
by the grace of God. But last year, I was a bit down. I was in the
hospital for some time and I needed to get myself together again
physically and otherwise before I start running up and down again.
What was wrong with you?
We thank the Lord for His mercies.
You didn’t say what was wrong with you that you had to be hospitalised?
But you already know. We thank the Lord.
The most important thing is that I am alive and better. I appreciate
life more. But this one you are asking, e no reach make I sick? After my husband left after our wedding, was it not enough reason for me to be sick? Ah! The Lord is our strength.
Why are you making fun of this?
Ah! I am telling you the truth o. The
truth is that we all have challenges in our lives. I have always
believed that the challenge is not the issue but how you get up and get
over it. I was very down last year. It was my low moment. But with the
help of God and the support of my family and friends, I am here now. I
am happy.
Are you no longer depressed?
I was never depressed. I reacted like
every normal human being would react if she embarks on a lifetime
journey and it doesn’t go as she planned it. But God has a reason for
everything.
You make people laugh, are there times you wish somebody would also make you laugh?
I wish that all the time. If you give me
N5m cheque, I will laugh from now till tomorrow morning. If you give me
a property at Ikoyi, I will laugh for a month nonstop; you will beg me
to stop laughing.
One young comedian said recently that the older comedians steal their jokes and claim them as theirs, do you agree with him?
Ha! Doesn’t it sound somehow? It is just
like me saying that Alibaba stole my jokes. He has been here for a
while and he has his repertoires. For him to be relevant still means
that he is doing something nice. I just started 12 years ago and
somebody that started last year would say I am using his jokes. What was
I using before? I cannot dispute the fact that sometimes, comedians can
just tell a colleague’s joke. But in Nigeria, I don’t think we have
copyright on our jokes. However, it is good to be dynamic and reinvent
yourself. I am original. I don’t need to copy anybody. This is the job
God has sent me to do and He will provide jokes for me till the end of
time.
So you have really spent 12 years in the industry?
Oh yes. God has been faithful and I have
the will to be better and carve a niche. It makes you want to be a
trail blazer and want to move on. I have had massive support from great
people. They appreciate me and I want to do better. I am intelligent. It
is not easy to be an Engineering graduate and also a Theatre Arts
graduate.
How?
I studied Electrical Electronics
Engineering at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro and I read Theatre Arts at
the University of Lagos. I am a student of Alliance d Francais. I am
too much. I am a member of the Rotary Club. So don’t try me.
What happened to your acting career?
I still act but I have not done any
movie in a while. I have spoken to some of my friends in recent times
and I think I will come back on board. Acting is my first love. It is
just that comedy takes a lot of time. You have to travel a lot to make
people happy. I am also a caterer.
As a Theatre Art student, was it your desire to go into comedy?
No. I never knew I would be a stand-up
comedian. I thank God any way. We went for a show at MUSON Centre
(Lagos). We had a stage play performance. I used to make my friends
laugh during rehearsals. So that day, we were waiting for the comedians
that were supposed to perform at that event. So somebody suggested that I
should go on the stage and perform. That was how it started. But the
likes of Wale Adenuga encouraged me to go into it full time.
Are there times you wish you weren’t a celebrity especially when you are linked with controversies?
The only time I felt bad about my fame
was when my marriage ended. I felt if I weren’t this popular; people
wouldn’t have talked about it. So many marriages crash on a daily basis
but you will not hear about them. Some people have been married five
times but you will not hear their gist because they are not in the eye
of the public. People didn’t know that the marriage had broken up until
December when I felt I was strong enough to handle the publicity that it
generated.
Were you shocked with the kind of publicity it generated?
I was shocked! People called me from all
parts of the world including China. Some people cried while some people
felt happy. Some guys said they were happy my marriage ended. Some said
they were not happy that I even married the guy. Some said I looked
older than him. Some said my marriage shouldn’t have ended just like
that. People talked and talked. But the only time you know your marriage
is successful is when you live with your partner and God calls one of
you home. Marriage of 30 years can still break up. It is a bad thing for
a marriage to breakup. So you can imagine the unhappiness the parties
involved would be going through. Nobody is happy when his/her marriage
ends. Some people see me outside and ask, ‘your marriage has ended, how
do you feel?’ I will answer them that I am jumping up or how else do
they expect me to feel? Nonsense! A comedian once said that ‘complete’
and ‘finish’ appear to have the same meaning but they are not the same.
If you marry the right person, you are complete but if you marry the
wrong person, you are finished.
Were you in love with him in the first place?
I got married to somebody who I was in
love with. At that time, he also said he loved me. Unfortunately, the
marriage ended too soon.
Why?
It was due to irreconcilable
differences. It is not a thing of joy. I don’t think we should celebrate
sadness and bad news. We should be more sensitive. No marriage should
end but peradventure it does, don’t make a mockery of that person. You
are not even mocking the person, you are mocking God.
Are you giving it another shot?
No! Me ke? Let us struggle
first and make some money. In any case, I think I should marry a Chinese
or an Indian. If many people agree that I should marry a Chinese, then I
will go ahead. But a Japanese might be better. Japanese products are
strong and reliable.
Is your ex-husband still your friend?
I don’t think you should call him my
‘ex-husband’ because we were together for less than one month. An ex-
husband is somebody you marry and after three years or more, you
separate. Anyway, I don’t know where he is. We have moved on.
Are you happy?
I am happier now and I am better. I was
happy before, the only thing that got me sad was that the marriage
ended. I did one wedding and it didn’t go well and I am alive. I should
thank God. A lot of people lose their spouses just after a week of
marriage. As long as you are alive, have hope. If God says I should
marry again, I will follow His will. I have made my own attempt, let God
make His own. I am sure he (ex-husband) is okay anywhere he is anyway.
Wasn’t the break-up your fault?
No. it wasn’t my fault. I can’t really
say it was his fault too. It was just irreconcilable differences. We met
and we were in love and we quickly got married. Maybe we got married
too quickly but I have seen people who got married a month after they
met and the marriage lasted. Our own didn’t work out. There is no need
to apportion blame.
Do you still believe in love?
I have always believed in fairy tales and a knight in shining armour but my marriage didn’t go that way unfortunately.
There is usually a stigma associated with women who are divorced, doesn’t that bother you?
Stigma ke? That was before. Men
can afford to have 20 children from different women. If your wife is
abusing you and you cannot take it, my brother, please take a walk. If
your husband is abusing you, take a walk. If it is like my own case that
both of you cannot agree, you also need to take a walk before somebody
wounds the other person. Death is final. So it is better to take off
before it degenerates into death. I know somebody that separated from
his wife and years later, he came back and begged her and they are back
together. He, who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Don’t
die there.
So what if your husband comes back?
No o. But like I said; he, who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.
Have you always been this big?
No! I was very slim before but I didn’t like it. I would rather be this big.
