Expdonaloaded News; In politics, women need not sleep their ways to the top –Jolly Abani

Jolly Nnenna Abani is multi-talented artist. She is an actress and a performing musician as well. However, Abani started as a runway model. Beyond the things that she eke out a living from, Abani is also deeply involved in philanthropy. The Ebonyi  State-born entertainer who is set to launch her first entitled Power of Tomorrow as a film producer, spoke to Abuja Metro.

Film on proud motherhood  
Power of Tomorrow which I also love to call Mirror In Sun is an eye opener. It is a story of things some women in politics have to do in order to succeed. Some women want to become lawmakers, commissioners or Special Advisers but in the process, they forget their natural and cultural roles of being mothers first. Yes, I believe in gender equality but I also believe that a woman should first be a woman. Women should never neglect their roles in the family and society, just because they want to make it in life or in politics. I don’t think that a woman should go all the way like, Mrs. Allen, the main character in my movie did. The lead character in my movie killed her husband, killed her daughter and sadly, she still didn’t become a senator. This woman (Mrs. Allen) had to get her husband out of the way after she started using sex as tool to further her political career. Of course, her husband who discovered she had become unfaithful wouldn’t take her infidelity, so he had to be eliminated. Even with all her desperate actions, she died without her dream of becoming a senator coming to reality. We want to prevent this scenario from happening, hence this movie. For us,  at all times,  a woman should be a role model to girls and the people around her and that is why the first film I am producing is targeted at making women remember what is expected of them. I also want to go beyond the narratives that paint Nigeria in bad light. There are too many stories of crime, ritual killing and all sorts. So I went for something to project my country in good light. For me, making this film is a dream come true.
Attraction to Nollywood
I am an all-round entertainer. I am a songstress. I have been into the production of documentaries and music videos. But I decided to go into Nollywood because I want to be that role model who youths can look up to. I want to be one of those that will be celebrating the Nigerian culture through film. I want to sell the beauty of our different cultures to the world through film. Indeed, my calling is to produce films that will celebrate motherhood and its significance to the wellbeing of society. I want to show women that you don’t have to be highly placed to bring about change. You can start from your family to make society better and if God puts you in the corridors of power, you can also use that platform to promote issues that will make life better for all. Women in power shouldn’t just concentrate on acquiring more wealth for themselves. They should instead focus on making it easier for the young ones to excel.
Passion for promoting motherhood     
First of all, my name Nnenna, means mother to her father. Where I come from, we believe in reincarnation. So, my father believed that his mother reincarnated in me at birth. That name my father gave me influenced me greatly. In Ghana, where I started my movement from, I founded the Feed The Child Foundation. We worked on feeding children on the streets. I love playing the role of mother anywhere I find myself. That is why I registered the Mother to Models company. Again, when I had my son, I didn’t find it easy. If I didn’t get the help I was given by people around me, I don’t know where I would have ended up. Because of this, I am committed to assisting girls who need help to be good mothers.
Challenges producing a film
Initially, I was given a budget of N8m. But the budget went up with post-production issues. I had to raise a committee to market the film with the hope of getting sponsors. It wasn’t easy but in the end, two companies, Richfield Limited and the Octopus Group came to our aid. When we shared the idea behind the film, they supported me. Now that we are planning for the premier of the film, we are also seeking for partnerships that will make it a huge success. Aside from funding, I equally didn’t find it easy playing the lead role and being the producer of the film at the same time. I had to take care of everything from feeding to making sure that I play my role well. It wasn’t easy, but I thank God everything came out well.
Working with stars
Oge Okoye, Ik Ogbonna, Jibola Dabo and Yakubu Mohammed are all big names. All over the world, you have to go the extra mile when handling movie stars. But I have the advantage of having experience in human resource management, over the years. Movie stars have their own ways of doing things. They don’t eat the same kind of food, they don’t eat at the same time and they don’t necessarily think they have to do anything like the next person. But at the end of the day, I can tell you that they (Nollywood stars) are good people.  I also was lucky to have a crew that made things easy for me. It really was tough as a first time producer. But I believe that things will better the next time I do this.