Leading Nollywood actress and producer, Uche Jombo-Rodriguez has for the first time sensationally disclosed why she abandoned home at the age of 14.
“I left home at the age of 14. All of a sudden, this was a part of my life that I usually didn’t like to talk about. Actually it is one part of my life that I am most proud of today. I don’t know why I haven’t talked about it. It didn’t feel important until someone tried to blackmail me that I ran away from home at the age of 16,” she disclosed.
In her recent TV interview that SHOWBIZPLUS monitored, the actress opened up on the challenges that led to her absconding from home among other germane issues.
How does it feel to be Mrs. Rodriguez?
Uche Jombo is still my brand. Being Mrs. Rodriguez is not all that they make it look like. For me, it is just another phase of life. And if one is lucky enough to be married to a person that is not only your lover but your friend then, you kind of enjoy it.
You say that with an air of confidence, what inspires that disposition?
I think it largely has to do with the fact that we had a quiet wedding. There was no distraction, all my focus was on him forgetting the reason why we were there.
How come you describe the ceremony as a secret wedding?
Of course, the press didn’t know about it and it caught many people by surprise. It has to just happen that way because when you find something precious, you don’t want anything bad to spoil it for you. It came across as selfish which I quickly apologized for after the deed. My friends have really have pardoned me for that. And to my fans, I released pictures of the wedding.
Why a secret wedding?
It was because I was in a relationship with someone who is from a different culture who didn’t know anything about Nollywood. I didn’t want to make difficult for him to ease into what I do. One can’t just be hasty with something that is a live-changing experience like that. Well, it’s something I signed-up for; people talk about us even when there is no iota of truth in it. Sometimes, one reads about things people write and the only truth there is one’s name and in my case, they even misspelt my name as Jumbo instead of Jombo. But that is the path I have chosen for myself and I don’t have to subject the same thing to someone else without any ‘shock absolvers’. At a point, I knew it was no longer about me but about my partner whom I didn’t really want anything to affect.
Who advice you?
It was just experience because I had been in a previous relationship which was out there in the open and on the pages of newspapers than it really exists. I took some of the blame from that experience for not protecting my walls. The more one grows in this industry the more one wants to move personal life away from work. When the two collides it is not pretty. I learnt from my experience.
Did you grow up with your mother or your grandmother?
Actually, it is both of them. I wasn’t an easy child. If there is anything that gives my mother joy these days, it is not even the fame and fortune that acting has brought my way but that I am a calmer child. Suddenly, I am that child that everybody expected will be the first to bring pregnancy home without a husband. That is the scary part of me having a baby. Oh dear God, please I apologize for being the kind of child I was to my mother. Please do not give me a child that was once like I was. Those days, your parents will tell you in anger that may you have a child that will treat you the way you do to me. I tell you, it is really scary for me to think about that.
What was growing up like?
I hail from Abiriba in Abia State. But I was born in Enugu State and raised in Aba, Abia State. I wasn’t an easy child. I attended three secondary schools. My dad just kept moving me around and wondering ‘why can’t she just focus?’ Yet I was such a brilliant child. I was such a tomboy and the black sheep. When I look back now at my journey so far, I sum it up this way – it is all about finding a path and believing in it and the rest as they say is history.
Did you follow-up with your education?
Actually, a tragedy happened early in my life which could have turned out worse but eventually moulded me. I think, the death of my Dad kind of propelled me to becoming someone who will disappoint so many people who thought that I won’t amount to something in life. It sounds so easy now but it wasn’t. I left home at the age of 14. All of a sudden, this was a part of my life that I usually didn’t like to talk about. Actually it is one part of my life that I am most proud of today. I don’t know why I haven’t talked about it. It didn’t feel important until someone tried to blackmail me that I ran away from home at the age of 16. I was like if you want to blackmail me, please do so with my right age because I left home at 14 not 16. I said that because he felt that I was ashamed of that part of my life. I ran away from my immediate family in search of my mother’s part of the family. Like I said because the tragedy has happened and I didn’t like where I was going to be shipped to. I just stole my uncle’s address from my mum and ran away. And when my uncle saw me, funny enough that was the first time he was seeing me; he just saw me in his office and declared, ‘you are this person’s daughter’ and I responded with yes! And that was the turning point for me. At that point the only thing I owed myself and anybody was just to be more focused. Even the young people that work with me, I just tell them ‘don’t hurry up the growing process, you will just ease into it with time’.
When exactly did you have your first encounter with acting?
Oh! It was with Fidelis Duker and he has not paid me for the job. Every time I have to say this so that people will understand that those early days when we were acting, it wasn’t just about the money, it was about the joy. Then, you won’t be paid, you buy the movie with your money and call people to watch. That is why I so much love Nollywood. It’s a child of circumstance. I haven’t been paid for my very first lead, and that was like thirteen years ago. I think, about the first five films I did, my family didn’t know about it, but acting those days kept me busy and out of trouble.
Should we set up a debt recovery committee to recover the money you lost those days?
(Laughs) I just say this to encourage others and not because of the money. In fact, I should be the one calling them to offer my services because they brought me here.
At the time you were running away, did you ever think that you would become an actress?
No. There is nothing happening in my life right now that I earlier imagined. I was just making use of every opportunity that God brought my way. I never let any opportunity pass by without at least trying.
So once you got into the acting job, there was no turning back?
There was none. Even when the jobs were not coming, I started writing scripts. I can blackmail people with my scripts by telling them, ‘if you want this script, then give me this role’. At that point, it wasn’t also about the money. But I kept at it because I noticed that in this job, at the end of the day, what pays is the passion. That is why some of us are still here because the Nollywood we claim to see is not what it is today. The very first time I thought about investing in Nollywood, I was told that if you don’t make a film up to part four, you won’t make profit. This is any industry that has made some of us brands and given us a voice. I am an Abiriba girl who suddenly found a voice, it has to be loud. As an Executive Producer, I started first with Nollywood Hustlers and we just generally made fun of the way we make movies, we laughed about it because I knew where I was heading to in filmmaking. I was going to be treating more of advocacy stuffs, so I wanted to laugh about where we are and pick the kind of films I will be doing as a filmmaker. The list of movies I played the role of an Executive Producer includes Nollywood Hustlers, Holding Hope, Damage, Mothers Fight and the list goes on.
How many movies do you have to your credit?
In my studio now, we have 13. If we include the ones coming out next week including Lies Men Tell. We are at it, we just finished filming Unconditional. It is about child theft. It is also some sort of advocacy.
How did you get that title ‘Lies Men Tell’?
That was the first thing that came to my head when I heard the story that inspired the film. It was about a sister of a friend whose husband was ‘hanging out’ in a hotel. And the husband cooked a story that he was robbed with his car snatched by robbers. This false story shocked the wife so much that she began to wonder that the man that she has been spending her life with has been lying to her all along. This is because the wife knows actually, where the car is.
So what should viewers take out of this movie?
Well, my character dealt with it in her own way. If it was me, I won’t even deal with it that way because being faithful is not a one-way thing. I don’t care who you are, one shouldn’t demand what he or she can’t give.
Why do you think men lie?
Desmond Elliot’s character was the worst kind of it. The truth of the matter is that women know you are cheating. The lies are probably to the man’s self. She might just choose to ‘allow’ you do what you are doing.
Is that why you travelled far to find true love?
First of all, when I met my husband I wasn’t searching. I was done with relationships and I was just trying to focus on work, so it had nothing to do with whom I married. I just met someone who really loves me and we cliqued just like that.
So what is your marriage life like?
It is fantastic. I am married to a friend, someone that would always have my back, and someone that I am myself with. I was always asking God that I don’t have to be someone else. Of course every woman knows what she wants in a man because some people can be fantastic boyfriends but horrible husbands.
How are you dealing with the different cultural amalgamation?
It is fun actually. Sometimes I might be talking to my husband and he is like, ‘no no no you are losing your accent’ (laughs). And he will say you are not talking like a Nigerian and we both laugh over it. The experience is fantastic.
When you look at your past, do you have any regrets?
No. Except not having people to guide me which is why I started my foundation. There are so many young people these days that feel they know everything, there was a time I thought I knew everything too. But it is not everybody that will wait for a tragedy to happen, to change their perception or their behaviour. It is important that the young ones learn not to be in a hurry even when they have lots of potentials. It is also advisable that people start what they can do on time and put in their best on it. We all have our different flaws, so it is only one’s strength that pushes one forward.
What is your family’s perception of you currently?
I have been honoured in my place and I initiated various positive-impact projects for my people. I am the ‘Ada Nganga’ of Abiriba, so if I don’t speak up for my people, I don’t know who will. It is also my honour to be an example and source of inspiration to the average Abiriba girl. I want to make them believe in themselves too, especially the females. That was why I took the premiere of A Mothers Fight to Abiriba stadium. That remains one of my proudest moments.
So we should be looking forward to motherhood as well?
Actually, we are working hard for it...laughs
How do you balance your work life and family life?
I do vacation twice a year and my husband is as busy as I am. Even when I am in New York, I hardly see him except it is vacation. But what we do is that I line up all my works in Nigeria for duration of three months. After that, then I can go for a while. Everything in life is all about planning, life is easier when you plan.
Speaking of planning, what does the future hold for Uche Jombo?
I will just continue to work as hard as I do and continue to do the kind of films I want to watch. I will continue to make movies or tell human stories, advocacy stories, comedy stories etc I will continue to do those movies that I can go out and watch till the day I die.
By FEMI SALAWU
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