Having been around for about a decade and still relevant, Mercy Johnson Okojie is now a Nollywood heavyweight in her own right. She has remained undeterred by negativity and people who are quick to analyse her life, as she puts it. In this interview with Adedayo Odulaja, the Kogi Stateborn actress talks about life, marriage, career and sundry issues.
You just returned from a vacation. How was it?
The vacation was awesome. It was just about taking time out with the sexiest man alive.
What were some of the fun things you did during vacation?
We spent a lot of time together. Having three kids in three years, everything was just fun. It is awesome but in marriage, you need to take time out to really talk, laugh and just be free. That was what the vacation was about.
You have only just returned but have started working. Why is that?
It is not about the money like people would think. I am a person who knows how to combine marriage, kids and my work. I’ve done that successfully for the last five years. My kids are on holidays now so this is actually the best time for me to work before they get back to school.
Because whenever they resume, I seldom shoot. I only have to shoot in Lagos and it has to be with a very flexible timetable. When they were on holidays, we took a break to the US, we got back, got the house arranged and now I’m back to work.
Like I’ve always said, it’s not about the money. It’s about a passion for my work. It’s about getting my timing right so I can do what I need to do now while the kids are not in school and all of that and still be on track.
For instance, I initially told my husband to let me do this film before going for the vacation. But on the other hand, I chose to go for the vacation, take care of the kids and then get back to work because that works well for me.
What has kept the Mercy Johnson brand going all these years?
Grace and God.
What has marriage changed about you?
Everything good.
People have accused you of not being selective when it comes to taking scripts. How true are they?
That is not true. People are different. What appeals to me will not appeal to someone else. One of my very popular films is Dumebi the School Girl. I know how many artistes rejected that script before I accepted to do it but it turned out to be one of the highest selling films in Nollywood in recent time because I know even two-year-olds see me and call me that.
So I think it is not fair to say I don’t select my scripts or I just jump at any script that is thrown at me. I have turned some scripts down. That is the strength in humans; our diversity, our differences. What is trash to you might not be trash to me. I do select my scripts, it’s just that I work with all of my heart.
How do you juggle home and your career and still maintain your looks keeping in mind that you had three children in quick succession?
That was a hit though. I keep telling OD (husband) that it was a hit; that is why we have to take time before the fourth one. I think what has taken me this far is basing my decisions on a scale of preference. I love what I do, I adore my husband. I adore my kids.
So every time I have to make a decision, I have to think about which is more important and I start from there. I understand that the home front is more important. So I manage the home front and then create time to do what I love to do. I think that has helped me get this far. The balancing has helped me so much.
How soon should we expect the fourth one?
Coming soon.
How do you cope with the things people say about you in the media?
I keep telling people that when you haven’t gone through life or when you don’t have a bearing in life, that’s when you see other people’s decisions as unreasonable. Most of the people who make these statements about me have not even decided what they want to do with their lives yet. As at eight years ago, I had decided; right from when I was growing up, I arranged my life the way I wanted it to be and that is why even when I was at the peak of my career and marriage came I grabbed it.
When I was at the peak of my career, when it was time to give birth, I grabbed it because I know what age does to the womb and time waits for no one. It means that I can now have my four kids and still get back to shoot and come back to what I love to do.
So I’m not going to put off having kids or getting married so I can focus on acting. Because the young shall always grow, you can never ever get to be number one forever. That’s why whenever it comes, you do it. The Yoruba always say it in their prayers that ‘when it’s time for a child to talk, by the grace of God, he will talk. When it’s time to go to school, he will go to school’. So that’s what I’m trying to do. I want to define my life the way my son or my daughter would be proud of me.
Why did you take the script of the movie From Freetown?
When I first read the script, I said to my very close friend of many years that I was not playing the role of a prostitute. She asked if I had read it. I said no, but that I won’t take it. However, when I started reading it I called her and I said I had changed my mind because it was making a headway.
I liked the way it was going. Movies are made for two reasons, to entertain and to teach lessons. And the movie has all of these eleme n t s . It makes a whole lot of sense. I play the character of Kristine who lost her daughter and her fiancé.
Out of frust r a t i o n from the c i rcums t a n c e s she found h e r s e l f , she goes into prost i t u t i o n and was comfortable in her shoes until she met someone who changed her orientation and made her understand that in life, the fact that everybody is doing the wrong thing doesn’t make it right. It might not be prostitution, but whatever it is, there is a better option for people.
People say that dark skinned actresses are denied roles in Nollywood. Has this ever happened to you?
It is very true but like I always say, it’s just about the grace. That’s how I see it, because I also faced that. Somebody once looked at me and said I was too dark for a role. But that is where grace comes in. God never fails.
