Empress Njamah ‘I never left the movie industry’

Weekend Magazine: Many fans feel you’ve concentrated more on your love for fashion than your career in the movies. Why?
Empress Njamah: I didn’t leave the entertainment industry. Two of my movies just came out, called ‘The King’s Curse’ and ‘The King’s Throne’. One can’t just leave the movie industry, because if you have the gift, you have it. My first love was interior decoration before acting came along. I have always loved playing with colours, so that’s why I have been able to do lots of designs with different colours. In any case, acting is something that’s got no expiry date and you can always fall back on it even when older because there’s always a role for you. I’ve also been working on my clothing line, called House of Empress. That’s not been easy, because it has been taking up a lot of my time.
Maybe that notion that I left movies is borne of the little leave I took to tidy up some things. A lot of movies were lined up for me and I actually thought they would have been given out to others, but I felt very good when they said they would wait for me instead. The producers and directors waited for me, so I had to bend and do the movies.
WM: You’ve started your own clothing line. But a lot of entertainers are doing the same, so is that something that comes with the territory?
Njamah: I will answer this diplomatically. If you’re a doctor and I’m a doctor too, it doesn’t mean that is what is trending. I have always had love for fashion but I am not a vogue person. I just like to cloth people. It gives me joy. Back in the day, I had people who would ask me what they could wear for an occasion, even some people I didn’t know. So I thought, if I can do this, why don’t I make it a big venture for myself? In the House of Empress we dress you for the red carpet and you don’t have to buy the clothes, you just rent them. I design my stuff. I’m a jack of many trades, you could say.
WM: Many feel you would have started your fashion label in Lagos where your acting career is blooming. Why Abuja?
Njamah: It had to do with what I came up with. I like to dress properly. When I started coming up with my designs, I had lots of gowns, so I naturally thought of Northerners. Lagos is a place that has more of a hip-hop flavour to fashion. Another thing is that Lagos is too clustered. I needed a terrain that would actually understand and welcome my ideas. So I felt in as much as I started in Lagos, I needed somewhere that the atmosphere was more conducive for what I wanted to do.
WM: Acting runs in your family. Is that one of the reasons you went for it?
Njamah: I hate to say I got into it by mistake because if you have it, you do. Ours isn’t the only family of actors, so to speak. There are the Ejiros and the Amatas. It’s not because my brothers were into it, as I did a lot of stage drama in school. It’s probably because we’re gifted.
WM: Can you recall the experience of being in a film for the first time?
Njamah: I can remember my first film but I would rather talk about my first major film, which was ‘Girls Hostel’ (1999), where Olu Jacobs played my father and Ngozi Ezeonu played my mother. I was very happy to work with them, because in as much they played my parents in the movie, they also played my parents in real life in the sense that they advised me, gave me insight about the industry and made it easy for me that I didn’t feel like was acting. It was scary at first, seeing big stars and getting into the industry with such a major role. I had people who envied me and it wasn’t easy at that point. But it was exciting and fun.
WM: Being a celebrity comes with a lot of criticism. How have you dealt with that aspect of your job?
Njamah: The truth is that if people don’t criticize you, then there is something wrong. Sometimes people criticize you to enable you do the right thing while others do it out of hatred. It is left for you to use wisdom to pick what you want to pick and drop what you don’t want. But I love critics because they are part of the people who make the world go round. Criticism has made me stronger, if anything.
WM: Is there a misconception about you which you’d like to set straight?
Njamah: This would be probably the first time I swear while granting an interview but I don’t give a hoot what people say about me. The most important thing is that I know myself. There are so many people who don’t know themselves. But when you know yourself, you are focused and what you are doing is right, you don’t owe anybody an explanation. I have so many people who come up and apologize for having a misconception about me. What I say is don’t listen to what people say, get close to this person, understand this person. Nobody thought I would be running a charity, but it has been on for ten years. But basically I don’t care what people think about me.
WM: Your nails are your trademark. Are you conscious of that fact?
Njamah: People say they are my trademark. I just think they’re things I have always liked and been sporting for over eight years. I’ve always had loudly coloured hair in gold, red and others. I haven’t toned them down but I am just advertising my market. I go off and on. If I just keep doing blonde hair, I would be having one side of people’s markets. Though some say my eyes are my trademark. I don’t know but I think anything concerning trademark is for people to determine, so basically I wouldn’t know what it is.
WM: Should fans expect you to dabble into music as well, like other Nollywood actresses?
Njamah: No. But I can sing backup vocals. But I still won’t do music professionally. I was actually trying to do something with my kids talking about charity and trying to make people know that these people really need love and resources. Maybe someday we would, but it would be to pass a message. Right now I’m too busy to be in a studio recording a song.