why i cant sleep with any man again....Mama G.....

Call her Margaret Thatcher of Nollywood and you will not be accused of any wrong. In deed, in most of the roles she plays in the movies, she comes across as a no-nonsense woman. But then, many wouldn’t believe that she is a direct opposite of the ‘wicked’ character she often portrays on screen.

A day with Patience Ozokwor at her residence in Enugu revealed the actress popularly known as Mama Gee as a devoted Christian and dedicated prayer warrior who would not hurt a fly.

The widow and mother of four children was a reporter`s delight as she kept the tape rolling throughout the exclusive interview session. She categorically told The Entertainer that though men do pester her for marriage as old as she is, she has decided not to remarry. Ozokwor, however, maintained that if she comes to this world again, she would choose her husband by herself. The actress bared her mind on a wide range of issues. Excerpts: What have you been doing lately?

I have been working with the youth, to help the youth who have talents to be able to use their talents. If you look at the industry the way it is now, some of them find it difficult to be noticed. I am planning to have a talent hunt soon. You may ask why I am putting more into entertainment, I want Nollywood to be bigger thanHollywood. I decided that this year I am going to do it with entertainment and make sure that whoever wins will get what he/she should get.

To what would you attribute your recent awards?

It is God`s grace and I give it back to Him because He’s the one that enabled me to fulfill that. It is a sign of hardwork, since God has given me the enablement to work hard and sometimes God gives you the enablement to work hard and you won’t work hard, it makes God a liar. He is the reason I got those awards so I dedicate them to Him.

How was growing up, were you born with silver spoon?
Some children don’t have people taking care of them. I had my school fees paid, I had good education. I had everything. Well, my father was not too rich but we were comfortable. He wasn’t begging for food. He was a landlord and then my uncle that took me was doing well. My uncle took me when I was six years old. He just loved and raised me.

You worked at Radio Nigeria, what was the experience like?
I was an announcer with Radio Nigeria before I became a staff in 1982 and I worked till retrenchment came in 1984. Within those few years it was really good experience. I was employed as announcer, later I was transferred to production department. I was producing for women and children. I had debate and teachers programme as well. The retrenchment came as a surprise from the government, they shut down the radio and laid off every staff. That was how we got retrenched.

After retrenchment, what next?
I entered the movie industry after my retrenchment from Radio Nigeria, and I started putting young girls into my fashion designing company because I did Fine and Applied Arts in school. I was lucky to be among 30 Nigerian women that were sent to Cameroun for small scale enterprenuership course for nine weeks. I learnt a lot of handcraft there and I was able to establish an outfit where I trained young girls on handcraft, fashion designing and catering. I had an outfit called Art Queenties, my business aim was teaching young girls, fashion designing, hair dressing, beauty and body care, and kitchen services. They were doing handcraft too. When my husband fell sick, for so many years he was sick. I couldn’t tend to him and take care of my business at the same time. So, I gave up on the business. Later, I got a political appointment with Udi Local Government as WDO, I couldn’t hand over to anybody. I had to shut down the business.

I also taught in a school. I was teaching home economics in a secondary school. I went to Institute of Management and Technology and I used the certificate to get a teaching job. From there, I went for the political appointment. I later left the political appointment because of my husband’s illness. After my husband’s illness I was about going back to the same business when an idea came for me to join the movie industry. And it is paying me far more than anything I can think of

At the beginning of your career, did anybody try to discourage you?
My senior sister tried to discourage me, but every member of the family said ‘forge ahead’. My husband was actually sick at that time, and her only reason was that people would think that I had abandoned my husband. But I said that’s how I get the money to maintain him; to go to the hospital. The children had grown when I entered the industry so they usually take him to the hospital when I was on location. I made out time to be with him in the hospital too.

Why are you always acting a wicked mother-in-law?
I only try to expose the ills in the society through my actions, that is why I do it to the best of my knowledge. If you do it flimsly people will not understand you, but if you do it deeply people will really know and those who are involved know themselves now. People are changing, some young girls are even learning to stay with their mothers-in-law, they have discovered that their mothers-in-law don’t like them, they are discovering what they do wrong and what their mothers-in-law do wrong, some are trying to bring them to balance. So, that is the essence of what I do and I will not hesitate to do it because the message is passed and people understand it. If you ask them now they will tell you ‘she is not like that but she is only exposing evil and wickedness in our society’ and I have to expose wickedness to the best of my knowledge.

What is your assessment of Nigerian women?
Nigerian women are great, they are hard working. I am not exaggerating, Nigerian women who are trading do their trade very well, and they make their living and train their children through trading. They are helpmates for their husbands. Some of them don’t even look up to their husbands anymore, they don’t even wait on their husbands, they prefer to fend for their family, they have succeeded where the men have failed. Women who are widows are even greater, you see them struggling every day, you see them climbing buses, travelling to the north and south to get goods and sell them. Some of them come into politics and they show their might. Nigerian women are great, I doff my hat for them.

What would you say about widowhood?
Mine is not an exemplary one because I don’t have anyone disturbing me. There are some widows who are being disturbed by their brother in-law, sister in-law; they make things difficult for them. These are some of the things I showcase in the movies. On my own side, my husband died when my children had grown up so nobody disturbed us. My brothers in-law are nice, some people don’t have the opportunity and luck that I had, so that is why I don’t look at my own as a good example. Actually, nobody is there to help you but God. When you put your trust in God, God will always honour what you do as long as you don’t put your hands into bad thing. The best thing is to comport yourself, be a widow indeed and look up to God for help.

Have you ever been intimidated because you are a widow?
No, I can’t remember anything like that. My husband’s people have been solidly behind me. In fact, if you want to get their anger, touch me and they will tell you that they don’t joke with me, not because I am a star, in fact they don’t maltreat any widow in my husband’s family.

Why do we have so many divorce cases in the industry?
I have never left my family. I was with my family until my husband died and I am still with them. I have not even remarried, it is not that people didn’t come for me to marry them but I am comfortable and happy here. I don’t think there is any family I will go to that is better than the family where I am already. If marriage fails in the industry, it is because we are popular. A lot of people in other sectors have failed marriages and nobody has said anything about them. Our own is not peculiar, the thing is that some men marry actresses because they think they have money. But when they see that the money is not there it becomes a problem. You marry a girl for love and not because she is a star. If you marry her because of who she is then the marriage will last. Sometimes you get endorsement and your husband take it and then run away from the house. The next you hear is that he has remarried.