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You
probably do not know Folashade Adenike Kassim; but if you are a
Nollywood enthusiast, the name ‘Lepa Shandy’ definitely rings a bell.
Her sterling performance in the Yoruba movie, Lepa Shandy’ in 2002 brought her instant fame and fortune.
She welcomed her second child last year, to her second hubby, Adedayo David Adewale.
The 42 year old actress had in 2010 divorced her former husband, London based businessman, Kazeem Adepoju and married Adewale.
Adedayo David Adewale….
Read More at thenet.ng/2013/01/lepa-shandy-gets-second-child-at-42/ Follow us: @theNETng on Twitter | theNETng on Facebook
Enjoy this interesting interview she had with TRIBUNE newspaper below:
How did you come about your stage name?
It’s the
title of a movie that was produced in 2002. Not many people know my real
name; ‘Lepa Shandy’ has become my second name – and I appreciate it.
Has it been easy answering that name?
It’s not
been easy, my brother. I give glory to God. I have done several
productions since 2002, but Lepa Shandy still paves way for me. But you
know how people are. Do you know how much I have spent today on Area
Boys? It has not been easy, but I thank God for keeping me on.
What other thing has fame robbed you of?
You
don’t have your privacy anymore. You go anywhere, people recognise you.
Even when you are in a bad mood, you have to smile. People do not know
you are also a human being with blood in your veins and that you could
be facing hard times. They expect you to be happy every time, and you
just have to keep up appearance. That is one of the major challenges
almost every celebrity faces, apart from the fact that some people
demand for money any time they see you. They should know that we work
for the money. Sometimes, however, it shows that they appreciate you.
And if I go anywhere, they want to force me to give them money, I have
learnt how to handle them, if I don’t have money.
By ‘them’ you mean Area Boys? Do they force you to part with your money?
No.
However, there are certain areas you just have to have right of passage
by tipping some people. I was driving somewhere the other day when one
of those boys saw me from the other side of the road. Before I could say
‘Jack’, he was at my side of the road, yelling, “Ohun da?!” (meaning,
‘where is it’?) And I said, “Which colour?” and drove off. They always
ask. When I have, I give. What can I do?
Have you ever been attacked for not tipping Area Boys?
It
hasn’t happened yet, but when you are in the midst of those guys (you
know what I am talking about), you may be attacked. Of course I have
been attacked several times. There was a time I was returning from a
location in Ikorodu. In the traffic, six men suddenly appeared from
nowhere around my car. They blocked the way with a big stone. I drove
like a mad person in order to escape being attacked by them. This
particular incident was published in the dailies. It was a mobile
Policemen who saw me and came to my rescue. It was this policeman that
shot in the air before they let me be. In fact, he followed me to Ojota
and kept assuring me on the way.
Did you have the impression that they were after your life?
No,
I knew it was not that. They just wanted to collect money. Though I had
some money, I couldn’t have opened my bag in their presence. I was
afraid they could snatch my bag. So, I didn’t want to open my bag, and
they were ready to block me not to go. I was the only one in the car,
but for the mobile policeman, who knows what would have happened?
Doesn’t it surprise you the number of Area Boys who are your fans?
No.
They are our fans. They are the ones that watch our movies. Since we
speak Yoruba which they understand, it isn’t difficult for them to
relate to us even in the street. There is nothing we can do. They need
to understand us more. It is not every time you have to tip them. We
appreciate them. They are our major market.
Beside your street encounters with Area Boys, have you had any brushes with the media?
No
be you people? I heard about a lot of scandals sometimes ago. When it
first happened to me, I almost lost it. I was not prepared for it. I
must confess to you that it really got to me. But since then, I have
developed thick skin for scandals. I am not (bothered) by what anyone
writes about me. I don’t even shake when people draw my attention to all
those garbage. It’s their problem. Once my family and relatives
appreciate me for who I am and what I do, I don’t care anymore about bad
press.
What was that particular scandal that affected you the most?
It
was the one that claimed that I snatched my friend’s husband. That was
when I was still single. This man I am talking about happened to be my
senior colleague; the man that groomed me in the industry. His wife was
(and still is) my very good friend. You know that in our society, people
get funny ideas, especially when two people of the opposite sex are
close. If they see you even chatting with someone, it could be taken
that you are dating the person. That is Nigeria for you. This senior
colleague and I were very close. He pampered me a lot just like his
younger sister. They must have seen us at a location together and, snap!
came the news. That paper is no more in the market as we speak. It is
not only bad press that can sell your paper. When you publish without
facts, people are likely to discover, and before you know it, you are
out of business.
Are you saying that these things don’t happen in Nollywood?
Even
if they happen, what is their business? It is nobody’s business how an
individual runs his or her life. If you see those people talking about
actors and actresses, go and search how they live. They are even worse
off than actors. It is none of anybody’s business how we live our lives.
It is not good for people to take our lives too personal. Abeg, you wan
drink Panadol for another person’s headache? I am not saying it doesn’t
happen, but my case was a brutal lie. However, we only laughed over it.
When I called my friend (the one whose husband they said I snatched)
about the news, she asked me to send the reporter’s name and number so
that she could speak to him. You can imagine! I am still a good friend
of this couple. But because I was just new to it, I cried bitterly when
it happened, until I was lectured by another journalist on bad press.
Since then, my brother, there is nothing you will write about me that
will affect me.
Do journalists write only bad things about you?
No.
It’s not only bad things. Newspapers write very encouraging reports
about us. But these soft sell tabloids, because people enjoy gossip,
want to satisfy their market. All the same, you don’t have to tarnish
another person’s image to satisfy your readers. There are other
enlightened people who would love to read other aspects of our lives
beside the scandals.
But is it not true also that you went to Dublin to meet one Alhaji?
I
also read that report, my brother. A friend of mine drew my attention
to that report. After I read it, I called my boyfriend (who is now my
husband) and asked him if he was an Alhaji. I sent him the online link
to the news and he laughed. If I live in the same house as you and there
is a report that I am with one Alhaji, who is spoiling me silly with
wealth in Dublin, would you believe it? We had a good laugh. That story
vindicated me in the eyes of my husband. He can’t believe anything
anyone writes about me. This happened when we were courting. It could
have destroyed my marriage if I wasn’t with him when it happened. When
it happened, I went to Dublin to see him and shortly after I proceeded
to Germany. I didn’t even stay for too long. He is not an Alhaji. What
would you say about that?
Okay, was it in Dublin you got married?
I
don’t want to talk about my marriage. He is not a public person, and he
doesn’t like publicity. Leave it at that. But you can see it was not an
Alhaji I went to see. I have not discussed this with any journalist. If
not that you asked, I wouldn’t have said anything.
You seem to clear all the scandals that surround you. Were you very disciplined before you got married?
So
you want me to tell you that I was not decent? If I ask you that
question, wetin you go talk? But I was never like that because I came
from a very disciplined home. My father happened to be a retired
military officer. He was a disciplinarian to the core. He is into
politics now. There is no way you will come under that man and not be
disciplined. He raised me single-handed because my mum was not there for
my sister and me. I am very glad that he is very proud of me because I
turned out a good child, not like some wayward undisciplined child.
Tell us about your growing up?
It was tight. We
lived from a timetable. There was time for everything, and we did
everything religiously. My father made sure of that. There was time to
sleep, time to wake, time to eat, to go to school and there was time to
come back from school. He would look at the clock whenever we arrived
from school. This is the simple truth. That was how my father raised us.
There was no way we could go astray. He didn’t give us any breathing
space. He monitored our progress till we gained admission into the
university.
Did you like his approach as a daughter?
I
didn’t. I didn’t even like him so much then. I thought my father was
too rigid and did not love us. It was much later in life that I got to
understand how helpful his approach was to me. My kind of upbringing has
been very helpful to me in this industry and even in my marriage.
I was not around to congratulate you on the successful delivery of your second child.
Yes.
I received a lot of congratulatory messages from people, friends and
well-wishers. I was very happy that people cared for us. I want to thank
them sincerely.
How is married life like?
I don’t want to talk about my marriage. I can only say I am happy.
Your marriage must be very important to you?
It’s
more than important to me. I love marriages. I am an advocate of
successful marriages. I appreciate my man; I want to keep my home. Leave
it like that.
Does this feeling come from your experience in your former marriage?
I don’t have any former marriage. All I can say is that I have a marriage, I love my home and I am happy.
You once said only God could keep a marriage. Is that absolutely true now that you are married?
I
don’t think that is totally correct. God keeps a home. Yes, but we also
have a role to place in a marriage. There are so many things we don’t
know before marriage. For instance, you don’t expect things to remain
the same way as your courting period. I got to learn that later.
Marriage is another life’s lesson entirely. You have to be tolerant,
open, trustworthy and submissive. As a woman, you have to be submissive.
All men are the same. An African man wants to be the head of a home. As
a lady, no matter your role in the society, you have to give him that
role. Respect and appreciate your husband. After God, your husband
should be the next. He is your lord.
Are you talking from experience?
Experience is
the best teacher. As I am, I can kneel down, crawl to beg my husband
when I offend him. I make him understand he is still my lord.
Is this nugget of wisdom coming from the fact that you fear another divorce?
No.
I do not pray for any break-up. I am doing it because that is what God
wants us to do. This is both in the Bible and the Qur’an. A woman is to
respect her husband.
There is a general belief that female celebrities are always
arrogant and stubborn in their marriages. Are we experiencing a factual
turnaround?
It’s not the fact of being celebrities; I think
it is how one was brought up. Most people who allow stardom to affect
their character or marriages were not well brought up. If you think
about how you were before money and power, you will not allow stardom to
get into your head. There are those who came before you, who are no
more and there are also those who came after you who are already out of
the system. This should teach us gratitude, humility and respect to
mankind irrespective of social status. No condition is permanent.
How have you managed to remain so beautiful even in your 40s?
People
keep on asking that question, but believe me I don’t know. Each time I
look at myself in the mirror, I only thank God. I don’t have a special
diet. I don’t have a special cream or exercise. I just do normal,
everyday things. I don’t have any special drug to keep fit. The only
thing I take when I go through a lot of stress is Paracetamol. It is
just wonderful to me.