we’ve had three books sprung on us b
some well-known figures. From Laur
Ikeji instructing us on how to monetiz
our Instagram accounts to Osikhena
Dirisu turning us into the priests in a
confession booth as he spills out his
long-hidden secrets. Now Omoni
Oboli joins the league of first-time
authors who have seen their work
published and given to keenly
anticipating fans.
To mark her 40th birthday, Omoni
unveiled her book which was publishe
by Narrative Landscape although also
available as an ebook on indigenous
ebook platform OkadaBooks and
Amazon. The book titled “The Stars Ar
Ageless” with the subtitle “Finding my
light in life, in love and on set” very
much paves the way for the writing
that is to follow.
The 133 paged memoir gives it’s
readers an in-depth view of the very
things that have shaped her and how
Omoni has, in turn, weaved these to
her advantage. Omoni doesn’t shy
away from talking about her
relationship with her father or her
seemingly spontaneous decision to
marry a man she had dated for 5
months. While many in the glare of th
public would prefer to gloss over the
less glamorous details of their lives
before they made bank, Omoni does t
opposite.
But is this project, dedicated to
marking 40 years of existence and
survival, worth you spending N7000
(for the hardcover) or sparing a few
hours of reading time?
The Box Office Queen wasn’t alway
a queen
The book starts from the beginning, t
very beginning of her first encounter
with the industry that Omoni has com
to become respected. While many onl
know Nollywood as it is now, she tak
us back to when it was 1996 and still
an experimental project of a collectiv
of creatives.
She uses the first chapter to give a
summary of her now fully blossomed
career in filmmaking began while
divulging how she turned down a Tot
job to pursue it. When she goes ahead
launch into the crux of the story by
talking about her mother, one cannot
help notice the vulnerability as she
narrates the lengths her mother
reached in order to give her and her
sister Onome the best.
I think it’s worth noting here that a b
of tissues should be kept closed when
the narration goes from vulnerability
to a tone hinged on anger at the negle
which leads to her mother’s death. He
mother, Elizabeth or Sister Lizzy, died
at the age of 52 and barely a month
after Omoni has her first son. In
“Daddy Issues” she tells us what it was
like being a child born into a
polygamous family and having to figh
for her father’s attention with 8 other
siblings.
“Why Did I Get Married?” and othe
insightful questions
Omoni met her husband Nnamdi Obo
when they were both on set where he
accompanied his uncle and she had
come to work while still an
undergraduate. Although they have
proven 17 years later that getting
engaged after 3 weeks of being togeth
and 5 months of being engaged, was
not such a bad idea like her family
thought at the time.
Being married wasn’t where Omoni
stopped working hard, instead, she
found a partner to struggle
alongside, “…but we both bent down t
select second-hand clothes because, a
the end of the day, currency is curren
and pride does not pay the bills.”
While she may have spent the chapter
outlining all the reasons and instance
her husband had proven himself
instrumental in her success, Omoni
also tells us about the difficult patches
too. Like when they first got married
and it was a continuous cycle of
arguing, silent treatment, repeat whic
she attributes to their lack of courtshi
When it comes down to addressing
motherhood Omoni stuns us as she
reveals that she had a miscarriage
before the birth of her first child. She
speaks honestly as she writes of the
overwhelming grief that gripped her
she mourned the loss of a child
departed too early.
Her side of the story
The memoir which follows
chronological order inevitably comes
to the crossroad where all the topics
that had been media frenzy worthy la
and Omoni decides to walk the path
that sees her narrate her side of the
story. She wittingly names a chapter
“The Presidential Blue Dress” and
decides to dwell very little on the dres
itself but rather the events that led to
her having Being Mrs Elliott premiere
at Aso Rock to an audience that
included the then president, Goodluck
Jonathan.
Omoni continues to go all in with “We
Got Served”, with a pronoun change
from the 2004 movie, when she decid
to detail what led up to the Okafor’s
Law film being debated as stolen
creative work. She narrates the event
leading up to the infamous halting of
the movie premiere by a court
injunction. It’s also worth wondering
whether she deliberately leaves reade
to come to the conclusion of who is
deemed in the wrong and whether Jud
Idada was wholly responsible for the
bad turn of events as Omoni simply
presents the facts and leaves the
chapter without a conclusion.
Learning to breathe again
After her father tragically passes awa
as a result of a car accident, her
maternal grandmother shortly after
and she is left to pick up the pieces, sh
begins to have panic attacks. In 2018,
year where now more than ever we a
seeing public figures speaking up abo
mental health issues, this comes as a
welcome surprise. Omoni spills
everything from how perplexed she w
when she first had one to how
powerless they have made her feel
knowing that a panic attack could
happen at any time.
She does, however, give credit to her
friends in the Nollywood industry for
having her back and being there for
her over the years as she has sought t
rise to the top of the box office while
raking in millions as her movies scre
around the country. Once again Omo
surprises us by making another revea
by telling us how a friendship betwee
her and makeup tycoon Tara Durotoy
blossomed only for both of them to fi
out that they are cousins.
But to read or not to read?
That is the question and the answer is
yes! It’s insightful and throws a more
personal examination of the
Nollywood industry we are familiar
with today. Omoni does not spare us
the details of events and weaves super
storytelling with an original voice.
While we have read other recent
memoirs by Nigerians we find that thi
time Omoni Oboli actually gives
meaning to what a memoir should be
with “The Stars Are Ageless”.
The book may not have gotten as muc
attention as it should have but after
reading it you’re guaranteed to wond
why it isn’t on all recommended
reading lists this month. The memoir
will also deeply resonate with aspirin
female filmmakers as they chart the
process of one of the most successful
filmmakers in Nigeria today. While
Omoni Oboli’s book may never be
acknowledged by the literary world, i
a book that shouldn’t be ignored but
instead, read and Omoni’s effort
applauded.
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