Kogi State-born actress and producer, Halima Abubakar, is probably one of Nollywood’s most controversial actresses. In this interview with ORUKPE NELSON, she spoke candidly about Nollywood, marriage and pains of being criticized.

How would you describe yourself?

I am calm, easy going and calculating.

How long have you been in the industry and how is the journey so far?

The journey has not been wonderful but not easy, but I thank God because I am not the type who gives up. The fact that I am a young lady, giving up was not an option for me.I have been in the industry for over12 years; since I was a child. Well, I almost gave up but then I urged myself to keep pushing on and that’s it.

So why did you almost give up?

It was because the industry was not encouraging. It was very disappointing after dedicating so much time and resources to the industryand it doesn’t work out, of course, you will feel rejected. So, that was what I felt at a point and I decided to just give it up. I told myself maybe I should go and get married and have children or do something. But then because I am not the type who gives up, I still decided to pursue what I enjoy doing – acting.

Was there a time you actually took a break from Nollywood?

Yes, I took a break from Nollywood twice. The first break was for three years and the second was for four years which is seven years in total. You must have been really disappointed.

So, what were the major issues?

I would not want to talk about one of the issues. But the second issue was just the fact that I am not in a clique. The third issue is that I don’t have a godfather but God. And the fourth one is money, I was being owed. They want you to do movies for free and I did that for a very longtime. At a point, I had to tell myself that I didn’t even have a car yet I kept doing free movies and for how long will it continue? I had to put a stop to it.

Let’s talk about the issue of cliques

Cliques exist in Nollywood. There are some producers who only want aparticular set of people in their movies and it is still happening to a lot of actors. I have a lot of producers regardless of the fact that I didn’t work with them I still talk to them. And the only reason why I still do that is because if I can survive for that long in Nollywood, I don’t think I want anybody to be my enemy. Also, I still talk to producers who still owe me till date for jobs I did a long time ago.

What other business do you do right now aside acting?

I’m into agriculture in Lokoja. I started with poultry before going into cassava and all that. Of course, the first year of the business, I lost more than I actually invested and it was heart-breaking for me. And thenthe building collapsed and I had to channel all the money that I had into that. But thank God for everything.

You seem to have lots of tattoos on your body. How many do you have and do you intend to have more?

Tattoos are addictive a bit, although it’s painful, but I just have a few. The ones I have are not too common orexposed for everyone to see. It is the tattoo on my breast that everybody knows because I have had it since I was young. I had that tattoo at age15 and I started acting when I was 13.

Which movie would you say is yourmost memorable production tilldate?

Probably White Hunters becauseit is a comedy and people liked it somuch because of the role I played inthe movie.

When should your fans expect tohear the wedding bell?

Well, first they should ask if I do have a boyfriend.

So who is your ideal kind of man?

I used to have what my ideal kind of man should be, but not anymore as long as we can tolerate each other, Ithink that is it. Marriage is not an easy thing and I’m sure those in it can attest to this. I don’t want to say too muchso that they will not say I’m trying to discourage those who are married because I am not. But do I want to get married? That is another question.

Why would you not want to get married?

I see a lot of people’s marriages and it’s not something that I want to be in. But you can make your marriage be what you want it to be. Yes, I can, that is why I said if we can tolerate each other. So, that is where tolerance comes in.

How would you define your style?

Different, eccentric and I don’t copy anybody’s style. I wear what I want to wear as long as I am comfortable in it. When I see people arguing about my style, I wonder if I am bothered but I am not. It is so funny when people criticize my dressing and later start dressing like me.

Talking about criticism, you were recently heavily criticized when you posted a picture on social media allegedly showing your bra…

(Cuts in) I did not show my bra in that top I wore. It is a top I took from different clothing and because it had a cut-out in front, I wore a black corset underneath. When I posted the picture on Twitter, someone first asked, ‘Is that a bra?’ Another person said, ‘what is she wearing?’ and the third person said, ‘I can’t believe you are showing your bra.’ And people just started criticizing me instead of asking me directly if that was my bra showing. Since the top had a cut-out in front, I needed to wear it with a corset, tube inner wear or anything that I was comfortable with as an inner which was what I did but they didn’t understand it until I posted the top with the skirt it came with on Instagram side by side the picture of how I wore it.

And then, they started apologizing that I should have positioned both pictures together earlier. I’m used to criticism now, so it is alright. These days, I respond to criticism because not responding to a lot of things cost me so much and I am not ready to go through that again.

You have produced about three movies. So what should your fans be looking forward to this year?

I have a lot of things for them. For instance the movies, ‘How I was raped and the journey’ will be out very soon. And I have other people’s movies too that I featured in. I don’t want pressure in my life. They should just chill, I’m chilling too.