Frustration: I almost called it quits with acting – Omoni Oboli

Omoni Oboli

For award-winning Nollywood actress and producer, Omoni Oboli, the road to success and popularity has not been entirely smooth. On the contrary, it has also been strewn with thorns and frustration.

At a point in her career, the actress recalls in a recent interview, she almost called it quits with Nollywood to look for something else and more fulfilling to do.

On one occasion, Oboli had to take a break from acting in 1996 to complete her education. Then she faded off the scene, when motherhood beckoned on her, to take care of her family before returning to the screen in 2009.

Realising that there was no longer a place for her in Nollywood, she was forced to practically take her destiny in her own hands, as they say. But luck was on her side. At the time, the film industry was on the verge of a major change: there was clearly a revival of the cinema culture in the country. It was just the right time for her to unleash two thrilling movies on the Nigerian audience.

“I shot Figurine and Anchor Baby when I returned to Nollywood. Both movies made an instant hit on the new cinema loving audiences” she says.

Although Oboli was still, at that point, trying hard to re-launch her career, she found herself taking some risks, such as rejecting several scripts that were not in tune with her immediate goals. “So I decided to take the more difficult but surer route to where I wanted, which is the route of ‘only good quality jobs’. I decided with my husband and team then that if the movie production did not spark my interest in terms of a good storyline and high production value, I would not do it.

“As a result, I didn’t get as many offers as many of my colleagues. Although the fees were often very attractive, I turned down roles because getting involved in the movie production was not what I wanted,” she says.

Oboli’s last three movies, Being Mrs Elliot, The First Lady and Wives on Strike have all been quite successful at the Box Office. The actress, who has also transformed into a successful movie producer in so short a time, has a new flick titled Okafor’s Law.Punch