I OWE MY SUCCESS TO MY MOTHER'S STRICT NATURE -- Nnanna Maduka

Nnanna Maduka is a Nollyhood actress, with passion for acting, she has been in theatre right from school, married some month ago, so here she expresses her mind. She joined Nollyhood during the ASUU strike when she was in the university-now she is somebody. Maybe ASUU strike will lead you to success. What are you doing in ASUU strike now? Read Nnanna Maduka's life experience to choose your model...here we go.

Why did you come into Nollyhood?

I came into Nollywood during Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, and after that I went back to school. My acting initially was one leg in and the other out. After my one year compulsory youth service in 2008, I came back fully and continued with what I have passion for.

How many movies have you featured in?

I have featured in so many movies. I think I have lost count but maybe about 30 or 40 movies in number What is the role you would never accept no matter how much is at stake? It is the role where I have to go nude. I can never go nude in a movie no matter how much I’m being offered. Apart from that, any other role that comes my way, I would be in a better position to accept it. But when it comes to nudity, I’m not available.

How was your growing up like?

My growing up was a wonderful thing. I enjoyed my childhood. I grew up in a Catholic home, I mean a good Christian home. One thing I would never forget while I was growing up was that whenever I was caught fighting by my mother, I was in big trouble. She would beat the hell out of me that day. No matter what happened or what anyone did to me, I dared not fight. That was her advice to me. She would rather prefer I report the case to her and she would be the one to go and speak with the parents of the person involved. As a child, I should not fight. It is not these days that parents don’t beat their children. Mine was not like that. I received a lot of beating from my mother. She used to beat me so much because I used to be a very stubborn child. Her beatings really helped to mould me well. I was always on guard because she would beat me with anything she laid her hands on. My mother’s strict nature helped my upbringing. It made me who I am today. She is a wonderful woman and remains my role model. She was always praying for her children. I could remember those nights my siblings and I would be sleeping and my poor mother would keep vigil praying for us. My success today is the fruit of my mother’s prayers.

What about when you were in secondary school?

Yes she was. Can you imagine when I was in secondary school and we were given a mid-term break, when other children would be jumping up, jubilating for going home on break, I would neither jump nor jubilate because I would be scared of going home to face my mother. I was one of those kids that never wished to go home when our school was on vacation. I knew that when I came back to the house, I must do something that would annoy my mother. At times, I wondered if she were indeed my mother. I realised later that she was trying to mould me to grow responsibly.

What is the most challenging role you have ever taken?

I don’t think there is any that I would say is the most challenging role because each comes with its own challenges. Because it is not my character that I’m interpreting, it is not real me, therefore it is challenging. Every role I’m given to interpret is a challenge. However, the movie ‘Fickle of ignorance’ where I acted as a sickle cell anaemic person is one of the most challenging roles I have ever taken, though each movie comes with its own challenge.

What do you have in mind to achieve in future?

So many things! I want so many youths to look up to me, to come out and say I’m their role model. I want to send a message to the youth all over the world…to be a household name. By God’s grace, I want to make an impact on the society by touching lives. I want to relate with the less privileged, orphans, motherless and the fatherless, I wish to reach out to them through this medium of acting. So that when I would have my own kids, I would come out and listen to people t a l k about the way I used my movies to change their lives.

(COPIED FROM NATIONAL MIRROR)