Why Women Are Taking Over Nollywood – Eku Edewor

Eku Edewor is one of the most popular faces on television having gained prominence in the M-Net produced show 53 Extra. Since she landed the role, her career has leaped in different ways. She has starred in movies, hosted shows and produced TV content. The Interview caught up with the British-Nigerian young lady who talked about motherhood and Nollywood

How challenging has motherhood been for you?

To be honest, I will say I’m very happy to be in a career that I don’t exactly have to work 9 to 5 and I have flexible hours.

I’m also lucky that people are lenient with me sometimes, which is something I think should be incorporated in all the workplaces.

In other countries you see more leniency where they allow mothers to still continue with their career. And I think that people are much more effective when they have flexible time.

You can achieve your goals and tasks and be more flexible with your target. I think people should be open to that.

You were featured on Beverly Naya’s documentary ‘Skin’, what impact did the feature had on you?

I think doing that documentary shows you that people are going through things. That people have different opinions and ways they look at similar issues.

So the only thing is for you to have compassion for everyone despite your privileges and advantages.

Do you think women stand a better chance in Nollywood today than men?

I think women are the warriors. They are the one making big strides. Moreover, we are good at multitasking. I think that’s why we are dominating.

What do you think of the stories that are emerging from Nollywood today?

I think we are learning to tell our story better. I don’t think we are coming out with new stories per se.

We are still very much a commercial genre, we are still much doing aspirational films, money, lifestyle, the glamour, etc.

We are still telling similar stories but we are just learning to tell them better.

But also there are few people who are trying to tell stories that have more social impact but they get lost and I think that’s unfortunate.

We need to support these stories that are not so mainstream. And those storytellers that don’t make mainstream movies but are stunning.