Halima Abubakar Says She Can't Marry From Nollywood

Multiple award winning actress Halimah Abubakar, who has been well noted for her Foundation for the Poor, is presently geared up for a charity tour, which is planned for the month of March.

In a recent Interview with The Nation, Halima spoke on her kinda man and other things..

Where are you from?

-I am from Kogi state and Lokoja is close to our village. I spent the first twenty years of my life in the far north before coming to Lagos.

Tell us about life in the north and in southern part of Nigeria.

-The truth is that Kano was where I lived for most of our childhood. My elder sister and her family lives there now. Somehow I will always be connected to Kano. Lagos is where I work, it is where I also have some form of investment and my little ones live here. We do not stay together anymore because I know that at some point, I will have to start my own family.

So how do you describe yourself?

-I am a producer and a writer; I am a farmer, which is a huge investment. My dad is the one handling that aspect because he knows about it, but I am the chief executive officer there. We have restaurants and bakery, these are all a big blessing. And I have urged my younger sister to go into the make-up profession so that I can invest in that too. I am actually proud of the beauty industry and I will like to invest in it, another way of supporting the family.

What does beauty mean to you?

-It means being you, it also means being mature.

Was it easy for you to come all the way from the north of the country to Lagos to break into Nollywood?

-Never! It was not easy to do. It took me almost 10 years of my life. I have been acting for probably 15 years now. I was a child, I was very young, I was in JSS 3. For the first three years of life in Nollywood, I shot only two movies and there was no line. That is what is called ‘waka pass’. That is the testimony that I have. So when people keep talking trash about me, I just say they do not know what they are talking about. Most often they don’t know me; they are talking based on gossip on social media, or what they are reading online.

What is the thing that you consider a drawback for Nollywood?

-In Nollywood, piracy is the main thing that you have to fight all your life. Any other thing can be worked on. I believe that one day, someday, the government will decide to fight it. Apart from that, I am not scared of anything in Nollywood.

Would you say you are rich?

-Not at all, there are some other people who are more comfortable. Sometimes I do get broke, and I ask people for money and u know how we Nigerians are, they reply you ‘Oh I don’t have money for now’. So to avoid that, I try to safe for such rainy days.

What does success mean to you?

-It means helping others; it means advancement in one’s career, being there for others. Even when they were not there for you when you needed them, maybe because they didn’t have to give, or maybe they were just being stingy, that should not stop you from helping people in life (laughs). The important thing is that you touch lives. You are not successful alone; you are successful when you are carrying other people along.

If you were not an actor, what else would you have loved to be?

-I would have loved to be a lawyer or work in an embassy so I can make visa available to a lot of people who want to go and party, since they love partying and love seeing places so much. So when they have seen enough, they will come back. I would have loved to be an interpreter of languages. Also I would have loved to be a mediator among countries working with the UN.

What about education?

-I have a degree in Sociology from Ado Bayero University, and then also I have a Diploma I was in Federal College of Education, Kano. I have post graduate in management and computer science. I also make sure that I educate myself on things going on around me.

Don’t you feel that you may be intimidating to a man?

Well, that will be the man’s business because I didn’t tell such a man not to go to school, or have a library; I cannot afford not to be myself because of a man who feels intimidated by me. A man should even be happy to encourage me. Any man that is intimidated by a lady is not a man. I have, however, learnt to be tolerant of people. I have learnt to ignore a lot of side talks; I have learnt to be patient with a lot of people, because I have a temper which I have learnt to control. I am working on myself. Also because of the way that I have been treated in the past by people, I really do not value friendship. I am trying hard to know people and that’s where patience comes in. I am still trying to open up; I hope I will be able to do that with a man that I hope to spend the rest of my life with. I do not want a man that I will spend just one year with and he’s gone. I don’t want a man that will make me pop out babies, then he will go clubbing. I will drag his hair to the house! I’ve had anger in the past, so it’s easy to piss me off and it’s easy for me to forgive. I don’t react; at the same time I’m not a robot, so I am bound to react once in a while.

I find time to rest, sometimes I do not sleep for two days when I’m shooting a movie. I’m busy when I’m not I watching movies and rest. I write scripts, I do a lot of things with my head. I have not travelle in a year but will travel soon.

People say you are well endowed, so which part of your body do you value most?

I will say that will be my brain, that is because I really do not see what they see, when they keep saying that I am endowed and I am endowed. People keep saying that I am well endowed, good, but there are other people who are better endowed than me. I am, however, humbled and grateful when I hear such remarks.

How about marriage?

-Marriage will come when it will come. You don’t rush it. It is one of the few things that one does not need to rush. Marriage is not a movie that one has to rush.  You do not marry because the public wants you to get married. You do not marry because you are getting old, you do not marry because you are too young. You get married when it’s the right time. You get married when you meet the right man, when you know that it is okay and the man too is okay. And you are sure that you are going to have a fine, peaceful marriage.

But there are guys in the movie industry, haven’t they been approaching you with subtle marital proposals?

-Well, you do not get married because you are in Nollywood or because people there are proposing. Moreover I do not encourage people to date where they work.

Does that also mean that you are not likely to marry an actor?

-I will definitely not marry an actor.

What does fashion mean to you?

-I wear anything that appeals to me at that particular time. I do not have specifics. If it looks good on me, then I can wear it (laughs).