Popular Yoruba actress, Liz Anjorin, talks about her life and career in this interview with ’Nonye Ben-Nwankwo
We learnt you have reconciled with Iyabo Ojo.
Liz Anjorin: We have settled. Nobody settled us. But I don’t know what is wrong with some people. Though we had settled, some people went and dug up the interviews we granted years ago when we were not on speaking terms and started running them again. People would call me to ask me if I saw her interview and what she said about me. Others would call her and ask her if she saw my interview. We always tell those people that we no longer have a problem because we have settled our differences. Even the elderly ones in the industry called us and we told them that we were no longer fighting. During my mum’s first year remembrance recently, she (Iyabo Ojo) was even the first person to call me and pray for me.
So you are saying there is no more issue between you two?
Liz Anjorin: We have settled and we have settled. People disagree to agree.
Who initiated the peace talk?
Liz Anjorin: We did it ourselves. The two of us decided to make up. It didn’t matter who called who first. The bottom line is that we are no longer enemies. Iyabo Ojo is a very wonderful person.
This is actually coming from you after the feud?
Liz Anjorin: Oh yes. I will say it again and again. Iyabo Ojo is a very nice babe. What do we gain from fighting? Nothing.
So there was no more stories of you and her snatching the other person’s boyfriend?
Liz Anjorin: Don’t mind people and the way they talk and the stories they come up with. Nobody snatched anybody’s boyfriend. We have a lot of things to do. We don’t have time to fight again. Just know that she is a nice girl.
Do you have close friends among your colleagues or has experience taught you to keep them at arm’s length?
Liz Anjorin: I don’t have any special friend. Everybody is my friend. I’m even too busy to sustain such friendship. If I’m not shooting, I’m taking care of my business.
Why are you still not married?
Liz Anjorin: I will get married but I want to take my time. People see us as role models.That means we have to be careful of what we do. It is not how far we have gone but how well that matter. I need to take time before I get into marriage in order to choose the right man. People get married in January and by April or June, the marriage breaks up. My story will now make headlines. I don’t want that kind of life. I want to take my time.
Are you not bothered that you are still single at this age?
Liz Anjorin: I am not bothered at all. I am a grown up woman. I have to relax and take my time.
But are the men coming or is your profession stopping them from asking for your hand in marriage?
Liz Anjorin: Ah! The men do come. Look at what is going on among my colleagues. If you get married to the one that doesn’t have money, you will find out that he is a gold digger. If you get married to a rich man, you will find out that he may have another wife somewhere. Immediately that wife gets wind of his impending marriage, she will go to the press. We just have to be careful. Even if you are getting married to a married man, the man should be sincere enough to take you to the senior wife. If she accepts you, good; if she doesn’t accept you, it is not by force. Some of these men will not bother to tell you they are already married. When you start the relationship, the story will change. It might be that you have invested something in that relationship; it might not even be money. You might have even dumped your boyfriend because of him. So, because one woman comes out to say that you are dating her husband, will you now abandon a relationship you have nurtured? No way! Women are so many. Even if you give a guy 100 women, you will still find out that some women will be without a man because we are so many.
But how come your colleagues all want to marry comfortable men?
Liz Anjorin: Poor men are terrible people. They can do and undo. Because they don’t have money or name to protect, they will be ruthless. They will even be after your life. You will see them going from one newspaper to another saying nasty things about you. A comfortable man will hardly go on air and abuse his wife. I will take my time to get married and when I choose, it will be the right person.
Do you intend to marry a comfortable man too?
Liz Anjorin: I will not lie. I cannot marry ‘e go better’ man. Please, it will not happen. What a man has in his bank account doesn’t always determine if he is rich or not. But his attitude also matters. The guy has to be trustworthy. He too has to trust me as his wife.
What of your ex boyfriend you had issues with some time ago?
Liz Anjorin: Please, I don’t even want to talk about that. It is a closed chapter. We shouldn’t even talk about it so that people don’t remember the incident again. I cannot go back to the issue.
Who was your first boyfriend?
Liz Anjorin: The father of my daughter was my first boyfriend. We were very young then. He was 23, I was 21 years old.
Weren’t you worried when you got pregnant for him. Didn’t you think of aborting the baby?
Liz Anjorin: I didn’t even know I was pregnant then. It was my mother that found out. Remember I was her only child and she had me in her old age. She was so happy about my pregnancy. She was just pampering me. Left for her, she would have wanted me to have a child at the age of 12. She also would have loved me to have more than 10 children. My boyfriend’s mother also knew I was pregnant. She too was happy. She had five children then. My boyfriend was even the last born and the other siblings were yet to give her a grandchild. She was eager to have me and the baby. In fact, she and my mother were dragging over who would take care of my daughter.
Why didn’t you marry your daughter’s father?
Liz Anjorin: Let’s not talk about it please.
How do you cope with scandals that you are enmeshed in once in a while?
Liz Anjorin: I don’t care about the scandals. People will always talk. I am growing bigger and better and I will not allow any scandal to weigh me down.
You are an only child and you have lost your parents, don’t you feel lonely?
Liz Anjorin: It is not only your biological parents that you will call your parents. God might use some people to make you a better person. I am not lonely and besides, I have my daughter.
How do you cope as a single mother?
Liz Anjorin: I cope very well. I even see my daughter as my younger sister. We are friends.
There is always a stigma attached to single mothers in Nigeria, don’t you mind?
Liz Anjorin: If you are not hardworking, that is when you allow such things to bother you. I am living my life. I am not ready to depend on any Nigerian man or what he thinks about me being a single mother. If you are a single mother, does that mean that you are a bad person? In fact, it proves that you are tested and okay. Do you know what will happen to that one that has not given birth before that you married? Having a child means that you are certified okay.
How close where you to Bisi Komolafe who died recently?
Liz Anjorin: She was a younger colleague. She was a nice girl. It is a pity that she passed on. If her burial had been her wedding, she wouldn’t have had that kind of turn out. You wouldn’t have seen my colleagues that went there. But look at how all of them stormed the burial ceremony and were crying. If that number of people had cared and visited her when she was in the hospital, we probably wouldn’t have lost her. People should appreciate others when they are alive. You don’t have to pretend you care after the person has died. It is pretence. Her death was so pathetic. She was just 27. A star just faded. A lot of people have been there for donkey years and nobody recognised them. This lady just came and became a star. She didn’t die in vain. She has a legacy. People will always remember her.
A company endorsed you as ambassador for one of its products.
Liz Anjorin: Oh yes. I am the new face of Dasela tomatoes. The title came with a car. It is not only about being their ambassador, but I also need to project the image of the company.
Punch Newspaper
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