I’m glad I had a baby as teenager –Ada Ameh

Ada

Benue born actress, Ada Ameh, talks about her career and life as a single mother with ‘Nonye Ben-Nwankwo

Your first name, ‘Ada’, suggests you are from the Igbo speaking part of Nigeria…

I am from Benue State. We bear Ada in my state. I am Idoma. My mother is from Akwa Ibom. I don’t only speak Idoma, I also speak Ibibio. I speak Yoruba very fluently. And because of acting, I started learning how to speak Igbo. Now, I can speak 28 to 30 per cent of the language.

 You speak Yoruba fluently, yet we don’t see you in Yoruba movies like some other cross over actors…

The scripts will come to me if they want me to be a part of the industry one day. I am waiting.

 You have been in the movie industry for more than 15 years. What has been your staying power?

I’ll say sometimes it is the joy of the script that keeps me going. As a matter of fact, there is really nothing like retirement in this industry. Even at your old age, you can still be shooting movies. I think it is hard work that has also kept me. I’ll add that good interpretation of the script has helped.

But why  comedy? More than 70 per cent of the movies you have featured in are comedy, which might make one to call you a stereotype actor…

 But stereotype casting is what we do in Nigeria. It is part of the business. Aside that, making people laugh is very expensive. If that is what I do more, I see it as a special gift. I like it and I enjoy it too.

 Can we then conclude that you have not done a ‘serious’ movie since you joined the industry?

 I have done some. Every role is serious, even the comic ones. As I said, it is not easy to make people laugh. But I know that I can do so many other things, aside comedy. I love the comedy, however. Laughter is good for our health. I don’t mind it if you call me a comedian.

Since we have few comediennes, how come you have not joined them?

I may not be a stand-up comedienne, but I MC at events. There are some things that are in-born and you don’t have to stress yourself. But someday, I might share the platform with the young ladies who are in the business now. I love them so much and they are doing well.

Having stayed in the industry for so many years, can you still remember how it all started?

Oh yes I can.  My very first movie was Domitila, which I acted alongside Anne Njemanze, Sandra Achums, Kate Henshaw, Enebeli Elebuwa and so many others. Then I did Blood Money before I did Pam Pam Pam.

Who introduced you to the industry?

It was Zeb Ejiro that discovered my talent. He met me and we got talking. He saw something that I didn’t see in me. I didn’t know I had such talent. All my life, if you ask me, I would say I was going to be a medical doctor or a singer. So Zeb saw something in me and when Domitila was to be shot, he said he had somebody who he wanted to play the role of ‘Anita’. They looked for me and they found me. It was not the era of GSM. Anyway, they got me; I was a greenhorn, very green. But people like Pat Okiri and Basorge taught me how to interpret a script. That was how it started.

 Back then, your family didn’t try to stop you?

No, they didn’t. I come from a family that will allow you to be whatever you desire. My younger sister is a footballer. She played for the national team. During COJA, she was the highest goal scorer. I have another sister who is a teacher and she is not ready to leave the profession.

 You are on the big side, are you conscious of your size?

 No. this is how I am. I don’t eat much but I love rice a lot. I eat like every normal person.

 When you were growing up, were you mocked because of your size?

I wasn’t this big when I was much younger. But I had the tendency of getting fat. I had big bum. But I have always been proud of the way I am. I think my father made it so. My father used to call me ‘Iyabo’ and it made me feel good. Nobody felt I was big out of proportion in my home. They loved me. I have always had the confidence. Nobody dared talked down on me. I was stubborn. I grew up in the midst of boys. I have five younger brothers. I was never intimidated.

Has your marital status changed now?

Ada Ameh is still very much single. I believe I will get married some day. I don’t know when, but I will be married.

 How come you are not married yet?

Am I ugly? I am beautiful. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. When the time for marriage comes, it will happen.

Could it be your size that has delayed your marriage?

No way! I am like Mount Zion, I can never be shaken. Some men love them big. If you throw your left arm, you will touch flesh, you throw the other arm,  you will touch flesh. The impression that actresses hardly get married or stay in marriages is wrong. We are human beings like every other person in any other profession. This is what we do for a living. You wouldn’t say a banker is not good for marriage since her profession requires her coming home late. Some people are late starters while some others are early starters. Maybe you will qualify me as late starter in marriage. The most important thing is that I will get married some day.

But you are a single mother…

Very true. I am a single mother. I have a beautiful daughter. She is very supportive and we are proud of each other. I call her the gift of my youth.

You must have had her when you were young…

Yes. I was a teenager when I had her. Don’t ask me how old I was. She is all grown up now. We grew up together. But in all, I am a proud single mother.

 How easy was it back then to have her? Why didn’t you opt for abortion?

It wasn’t easy at all. But when I look back, I just know I didn’t make a mistake. I thank God. Talking about abortion, I was a baby. I was scared. I thought of abortion but I was scared. If I had done it, I would have regretted it. Now, even if I don’t have a dime, I know I am rich. I know someday, I will be a grandmother.

 So where is her father?

He is doing well.

How come you didn’t marry him?

Like I said earlier, I was a teenager. He wasn’t a young boy. I don’t talk about him because of the age difference so that nobody will look at him as a bad man who took advantage of a teenager. But when I look back, I am grateful that I had her. It is not about how many times you fell, but if you were able to get up and correct your mistakes and move ahead. You don’t have to be static. I don’t dwell on the past.

 Were you a ‘bad’ girl when you were young?

I wasn’t a bad girl but I won’t deny the fact that I was stubborn. People know you to an extent. I was a no nonsense person. But I got myself into that situation and I took responsibility for it. I’m from a good home, a very disciplined and responsible home. What they teach in my house is practical love and we were taught to take responsibility for our actions. Though I was young, I took the pains, the insults and everything. But I still don’t have any regret.

 Have you trained your child well enough so that she doesn’t make the kind of mistake you made?

I teach her every day. There is no time we stop learning. She knows everything that I am telling you. I don’t hide things from her. We have a wonderful relationship.