Popularly called Aunty Keji by her fans, friends and colleagues, crossover actress Keji Yusuf has spanned over two decades in the Nigeria movie industry and still in high demand. As wife of a retired Colonel, cutting her acting tooth under the tutelage of veteran actor Lai Ashadele is the best thing to happen to her. In this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, Aunty Keji speaks passionately about Nollywood marriages, her staying power among other things:
YOU are still relevant after over two decades. How does it make you feel knowing that some of your contemporaries are no longer in the game?
It’s just the grace of God, nothing else but the grace of God.
Tell us about your foray into the industry?
It’s been over twenty years ago I started acting. I started with the English genre. I was mentored by Uncle Lai Ashadele. Then, we used to do TV series on NTA2 Channel 5. The series were mostly centered on Child abuse. We tried to educate parents on the menace of child abuse. But as time went by I thought of going to be part of the Yoruba genre. It was at that point that I joined Odunfa Caucus. That was where I met Yinka Quadri.
In recent times, you’ve been featuring in a lot of English soaps, any particular reason for this?
Not at all, I’m an actress and I can interpret my role in both English and Yoruba language. Most of our counterpart in the English side of Nollywood, most of them think we don’t understand English and that’s why we stick to just Yoruba movies but that is so not true. And that why some of us participate in English soaps to prove to them that we understand English, yes we do. I can’t stop acting Yoruba movies. I’ll keep doing both of them.
You play the role of a rich woman most of the time. Why?
(Laughs) won ti ri mi, won ti ri irawo mi (they’ve seen my glory that royalty is what I deserve) But that is not to say I’ve not act a wretch sometime. In those days when we started acting we used to go to thick remote areas, wear tattered Ankara; I still have some of those pictures at home. If you see them you will be shocked that I have acted those kinds of roles before. I have played many of such roles. In those days there was no money in acting, nothing but we kept doing it for the passion.
You’ve spent over two decades in this industry. What is your take on Nollywood?
Hmmm, well we are learning everyday and our prayers is that God should crown our efforts with glory so that we can get to the Promise Land because we are not there yet. However, there is being lot of improvement. So many as a matter of fact but we can only beg God for more wisdom to take us to the Promise Land, where will do just one movie or two movie and will be able to afford the good things of life. When you are well paid, you can buy a car, change your car and do other things. I pray that God will take us there and I know He will.
Why do you think we have a lot of marriage crash in the industry?
Acting as a profession is not a problem. People think it is the job that is corrupting our ladies but, no rather some of them are the ones who allow the job to corrupt them. And they are not patient enough. A man can be as small as a midget, he’s still a man. And he will demand his respect. And once you’re not ready to give him he will snap back at you.
So you must be extremely patient to be in the theatre world and at the same time be married or have a husband. Patient is of great importance. And they must take this into cognizant or else homes will continue to break but God forbid. There is no time they will not settle down. If you have a child and you leave your husband, you have another one, you leave, where are you going to? If you think you are young now and you don’t care, in your old age, you need a man. I’m telling you from experience, my husband is a retired colonel.
When he wakes up in the morning to go to his office, after his retirement he went into private practice, when he wakes in the morning to go to his office, he wakes me up and says, “My dear come let’s take tea together”. He would have brought out cucumber, slice bread, butter and everything. While I’m spreading butter over the bread, he is cutting the cucumber. That is the truth. It’s very interesting.
So marriage can be that interesting?
Yes, it can be that interesting. Marriage can be interesting but it takes a lot of patience to get to that stage. This is my first son standing beside you, so where am I going? All I look forward to now is for him to settle down and give me grand children. But if I wasn’t patient I wouldn’t be able to tell this story.
You quarrel today, you leave, you quarrel tomorrow the husband leaves, the child will be the one to suffer it but if you are patient, at the end it is joyful. But you need to be patient with your husband, afterall; you met each other and loved each other that’s was why you came together.
There are situations where a man will ask his actress wife to quit her job. If she leaves in that situation do you blame her?
Some men do that and it is not go because it was in the cause of doing her job that you met her. It was in her acting professional that you saw and admired her and that was why you married her. Truth is, if acting is your passion it gives you happiness. So why would any man ask his actress wife to quit her job? That is bad. In fact it is wicked. But if at any point, you find yourself in that situation; it is your home first before your career. There is a way to handle such situation.
Talk to him nicely and he will relax. He will give you conditions though, you just abide by it. Later he will relax especially if he sees you are behaving well. You have to make sure you keep him abreast of what is going on as regards your job. And if he sees you are behaving well and if he doesn’t hear any dirty rumour about you, he will relax with time and give you the free hand.
Talking about dirty rumour, it’s not only the younger actresses that have been fingered to mess up even elderly ones we hear do too…
Well, sometime too it’s true but sometime too it’s not true. But I don’t fall in that league. I have never had any sure scandal because I know whom am married to, Ologun ko gbo come, go lo gbo (Soldier no dey here come, na go dem understand). So if you go and misbehave and he finds out it is problem for you. I dare not.
What are some of things being a celebrity has deprived you?
Sometime you stumble on an Amala joint, where corporate people go do and queue up to eat but as a known figure, it is impossible for you to walk in there and eat like every other person that’s one of the pains of being a celebrity. The best you can is to ask someone to go and buy for you in a plate but for you to eat it the way it is being serve there you can’t. But no matter how you want to look at it the gain is more than the pain. Stardom opens doors if you know your way.
Would you say you are fulfilled?
Yes, acting for me is fulfilling.
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