Popular actress, Tayo Odueke aka Sikiratu Sindodo, tells Ademola Olonilua how she handles the poor perception people have about
her Between Tayo Odueke and Sikiratu Sindodo People thought I was a promiscuous girl after I
acted in the movie. I am a totally different person from the character I played in that movie.
When people get to meet me, they get to know
the kind of person I am. I am not promiscuous;
Tayo Odueke is different from Sikiratu Sindodo.
I’m not Sikiratu Sindodo. It was not something I
did. It was just the movie that brought me to
limelight. It was the name of the character I
played in the movie. Apparently, when people
watch it, they get connected with the character,
so when they see me on the road, they call me
Sikiratu Sindodo. Sometimes people forget my
name. It is not me; it is just about the movie
because the movie went places.
How I got into acting
It was a long time ago; in 1999, I did not really
know I was going to get into acting. My father
wanted me to study mass communication while
my mother wanted me to go for law. When I left
secondary school, I was waiting for my JAMB
and SSCE results. A friend of mine came to the
house and said there was an audition and it was
Charles Novia that was doing the production. I
went there and acted alongside Segun Arinze
and the late J.T Tom West. I acted as a
bodyguard in that movie. From there, I met some
producers of English films. It was actually Segun
Arinze that introduced me to a lady in the
Yoruba industry that made me feature in Yoruba
movies.
My parents’reaction to my chosen profession
My parents did not like it but I was adamant
because when I started acting, I fell in love with
it. I don’t think I can do anything else apart from
acting. If I were not acting, I probably would be
a newscaster. My parents tried to stop me but at
the end, they just had to leave me alone. I told
my mother that I was going to leave the house if
they did not let me do what I wanted. I did a
diploma course in Theatre Arts at the University
of Ibadan. After that, I went for Creative Arts in
the University of Lagos. That was when I started
acting fully. They left me because they had no
choice; it was something I wanted to do. My
mother was strict. My father really loves me; I
am a daddy’s girl. He did not like it, he was
angry with me. He did not talk to me for so long
because I was not living with him. I would call
him and he would hang up the phone on me. He
would tell me to quit. My mother was also very
angry and she beat me. After a while, they left
me; now my father is very proud of me. Anytime
they talk about me, he says, ‘that is my
daughter’.
Why I delved into movie production
Actresses don’t make money. In the Nigerian
movie industry, we do not earn much. When I
got to know that if I produce movies I would
make more money, play more lead roles, I would
write more of what I want to portray to people, I
would be able to explain so many stories that I
have with me, that was what made me go into
movie production. When I produce, I do not like
to play the lead role because of the stress. It is
much different from acting. You sell your movies
and make more money. You can do so many
things with your movie.
Why actors don’t make much money
For example, in the Yoruba movie industry, we
work like a family. Fathia Balogun is my sister,
we are close, we want to work, and we work like
a family. Although we have changed now for
about two years, we have learnt to negotiate
with ourselves because we have to move
forward. We cannot keep working like a family all
the time. We have to grow; we have so many
bills to pay. The government is not helping us;
we have to use our money to produce. When we
produce our movies with our money, they are
pirated. Assuming I produce a movie, I sell it to
a marketer, he then sells it out. If I produce a
movie today, by the next day, it would have been
pirated. If about 12 movies come out every two
weeks, the 12 movies would be pirated and they
would be in one compact disc. That alone is
killing us. How am I supposed to sell my movies
and I dub over 50,000 copies? Nigerians like
freebies; if they see 12 movies on a compact
disc, they go for it.
English speaking actresses earning more than
their Yoruba speaking counterparts
It is true. We work like a family, they don’t. You
call me for a production, we negotiate. I tell you
the amount I want and you pay, if you really
want me to feature in your movie. Marketers foot
the bill. Most of them do not produce their
movies. Maybe lately, a few of them – like Ini
Edo, Uche Jombo and a few others – have
started producing their movies. As for us, we go
out of our way, we use our money, costumes, we
do so many things on our own but they don’t.
The best relationship I have ever had
I am in a relationship now and it has been the
best so far. The guy I’m dating right now is cool.
He is very nice. I love him very much. When I
was ill, he stood by me. Anybody that knows
about me, knows him. He has brought me much
more closer to God. I am close to God but he
has drawn me closer to God. He is just fantastic.
About getting a tattoo for him
No, I did not. I just have a crown on my back. I
have the picture of a crown and I inscribed
‘amazing grace’ beneath the crown. I don’t have
anybody’s name on my back. I did not do a
tattoo for my boyfriend. I did it for myself.
Relationship rumours
The rumour about me and Tolad, the marketer
based in the US, is not true. He is like my uncle.
I travelled with my boyfriend when I went to the
United States. My uncle is a promoter so when I
launched a film, he was around to help. Why
would I date my uncle? He is married and he has
grown up kids like me. As for Aremu Afolayan, he
played the lead character in my movie. He is
somebody I can call and tell if something is
bothering me. Even when he calls me, he could
say, ‘my mummy’. I dated Musiliu Oluomo. He is
my ex-boyfriend. So many people have dated
him as well, so, I don’t know why they tend to
tag him on me. I don’t know why it is like that.
Yoruba actresses exchanging gifts for sex
I have not heard about it and I have not
experienced it. If a guy wants to ask you out, he
will do so. If a girl wants to date him, they will
date each other. So it is no big deal. I have not
heard of it.
Growing up
My father and my mother broke up. I am from a
polygamous family. My mother was once
married. Growing up was fun for me. My father
used to come and see me every Friday. I went to
Mainland Preparatory Nursery and Primary
School. He would come every Friday and take me
to Leventis, then in Surulere. He would buy me
chocolate, ice cream, juice and other things, then
take me home. I just have this soft spot for my
father.
Me as a wife material
I know I will make a good wife. I cook well; I am
not the outgoing type. If I am not working, I am
at home. It is sad that when people see me
outside, they have a different impression about
me. I don’t know why, maybe it is because I am
an actress. I am not like that, I pray five times a
day. If I open the trunk of my car for you, my
praying mat is there. I may not do that when I
work all day but in the night I do so. People do
not believe that I am close to God. When I into
acting, it is different. I wear different kinds of
clothes just to fit into the character I am playing
at a particular time but I am different. That I
have tattoos and piercings does not matter.
Some people that do not have all these things
are worse. I do not sleep around; they have a
very bad impression about me. When I am dating
a person, I make it known. I do not have to hide
it that I am dating somebody. If I am dating a
person and the person trusts me, my family
knows about the person and knows what I can
do, I don’t care about what anybody says.
How I can change people’s perception of me
Sometimes when I am going out, my boyfriend
will want me to wear a pair of jeans and a shirt
so that I will be able to correct the impression
people have about me. But will I now cover my
face to let people believe that Tayo is a holier
than thou? Believe what you want about me, but
as for me, I am so down to earth. I am just me.
Some things some girls do, I cannot do them.
My plans
I am starting a very big project that will cost me
about N15m. I am going into waste
management. That is all I can say about that.
About my daughter
She is going to be 16 years old in December; I
had her when I was 21. Her name is Damilola
and she is in SS3 now. She is not into acting. It
happened when I was young. I had finished my
SSCE. I was home then, it just happened. He
was not my first but my second. When I told
him, he claimed responsibility. The last time I
saw him, my daughter was a year old. He lives in
the UK. He used to come sometime ago but not
anymore. It has not been easy being a single
mother, but I always have time for my daughter.
I am so fond of her. She is more like my sister.
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