Weekly Trust: How did you meet?
Maimuna Ali Nuhu: We met in Kaduna when he came to shoot the now-famous Hausa film called ‘Wasila’. It was in the year 2000. Then my neighbour had invited him over, then we met, started talking and became friends for a while and then we got married in 2003. We courted for three years.
WT: What attracted you to him back then?
Maimuna: I was attracted to his character. He was very modest, honest and very hardworking.
WT: Do you sometimes feel threatened by the roles he plays with other women in the movies?
Maimuna: No. I trust my husband and I know he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.
WT: Do you sometimes watch his movies together?
Maimuna: It depends on how excited I am or he is about a particular film. We do watch movies together, even though I’m not a very big fan of movies generally.
WT: What other job besides acting do you think your husband could have excelled at and why?
Maimuna: If my husband wasn’t an actor, he would have excelled at being a designer. This is because of his sense of fashion, which is very much on point. We go shopping together a lot and he practically picks all my outfits for me. I love his sense of style.
WT: What price have you had to pay for marrying a famous person?
Maimuna: Not much of a price, I’d say, really. My lifestyle before marrying him and after marrying him has changed a bit. Before marrying him, I wasn’t good at mingling with people. I was a bit of an introvert. But after marrying him, that changed and I became an extrovert, even if not fully (laughter).
WT: What are some attributes of your husband that your kids are picking up?
Maimuna: Fatima, 11, is a good dancer like her father, while Ahmad has a keen interest in acting even at age 9.
WT: Would you encourage them to follow their father’s footsteps?
Maimuna: Absolutely, yes I would.
WT: Describe the type of father he is…
Maimuna: He’s a loving and caring father. But he disciplines them whenever there’s a reason, like when they squabble, like kids do. He plays with them a lot, too. He takes them out for shopping, sightseeing and things like that. They adore him and he’s crazy about them, so you can imagine.
WT: Is he a sporty person?
Maimuna: No, he’s not into sports. He doesn’t watch any sports shows on TV either.
WT: What’s his favourite food?
Maimuna: He loves Tuwon Shinkafa and Miyan Taushe. As for his favourite drink, it’s Zobo and sometimes cranberry juice.
WT: Which movie is your husband’s favourite?
Maimuna: He loves Indian movies. His favourite has got to be “Davdas”.
WT: What misconception about your husband would you like to correct?
Maimuna: People think he’s quarrelsome, but that’s not true. He is a peaceful, gentle person.
WT: How do you handle your husband’s fame?
Maimuna: Whenever we go out, his fans come up to us and some would even want to take pictures with him. It doesn’t bother me if they take our pictures. Sometimes I’d even be the one to take the pictures for the fans and my husband. Even as far away as Saudi Arabia, it has happened. His fans love him so much and I’m used to the attention after all these years.
WT: What is one thing you would want to change about your husband?
Maimuna: Nothing at all.
