Multi-talented Bose Olubo has remained visible in the entertainment circles for a long time. She tells ADEOLA BALOGUN how she has been able to put her hands in many things and yet remains a passionate lover

How did you come about a Yoruba soap opera on TV?

I learnt a lot of things from Alade Aromire, the man that trained me in the entertainment industry. After I had completed a course in Computer Science, Aromire trained me. If you are trained by him, you would find yourself dabbling into many things. The truth is that I get bored easily. One moment, I am doing something and the next moment, I want to do another thing. Right now, I am involved in something else. Currently, I anchor Kiddies Jamz, and I am going on alo (story telling) on radio. I think of anything that entertains people. Regarding the soap opera in Yoruba, which is titled A ya Eledumare, I looked at everywhere on the TV and I found that there was nothing like that in Yoruba, unlike other languages. I then wondered why we couldn‘t have one in Yoruba and the answer I got was that many corporate organisations would not be interested in sponsoring it. So, what I did was to raise funds myself and shot it. Now we are reaching out to companies for financial support. We have done a sort of test-run and the response has been encouraging. Some of the agencies told me that they were not interested, but others decided to support us. Right now, I have shot 27 episodes and edited them.

What about the audience?

We don‘t have a problem with that. Everybody wants to watch aYoruba soap. You know, it‘s been a long time we had something similar to this on screen since the time of the likes of Jimoh Aliu. It is the story of a young man who travels abroad for further education. Along the line, he gets married. While the man is a Muslim, the woman is a Christian. When they return to Nigeria, they have a problem, which, interestingly, is not religious.

What happens to your music?

My next album is on the way. It is featuring Pasuma Wonder, Ijesa, and Ajigijaga.

I recall that the film, Original Omo oko, brought you to the limelight as an actress. With the studio business you do, I am afraid you would be seen by many as a jack of all trade.

Jack of all entertainment, you mean. I don‘t know how to do buying and selling. I am an entertainer, and everything I do is still within the framework of entertainment. I thank God it was my own film that shot me into the limelight. We are releasing it on VCD for everybody‘s enjoyment. I only went on a short break recently to have a baby. I am back now.

As a big player in the entertainment industry, what is your take on the quality of work being churned out nowadays?

I see improvement in the industry. Now we shoot on better camera. Even in the US where I lived for some years, they still shoot some rubbish. There was a film titled Boomerang, which actually boomeranged. So, it happens in every sphere that we will still find some little things. In general, I see a lot of improvement here. In the 1980s, I remember that we shot films with horrible cameras. Now we edit our works on computer.

You sing and act. Which of the two came first?

Actually, I have always been a singer and I joined the industry by recording soundtracks and adverts. As a little girl, I had always been interested in music. So far, I have recorded two albums and the third is on its way.

If you had always loved music, why did you go for Computer Science?

I didn‘t know that I was going to be an actress. Initially, I wanted to be a private detective and a newscaster. If you asked me as a young girl then, I would say I wanted to catch the thief and to read the news on TV. When I used to watch women detectives on TV, I didn‘t know that they were only acting. I thought it was real, so I wanted to be like one of them. I would also go into the bathroom, look at the mirror and strike a pose as newscasters do when they read the news. But when I finished secondary school, my mother discouraged me from aspiring to be a detective. She persuaded me to go to London. I was not ready to go to London. Later, I ended up in Yaba College of Technology for Computer Science. I must tell you that I am able to do what I do in the studio now because of my training in Computer Science. I edit and use special effects and everything you might think of in my studio. We shoot musical videos and do a lot of things. It was Yomi Omidiran who introduced me into the music industry.

Somebody said you are too independent and that you prefer to do things at your own pace

Of course, I am independent. I don‘t know if that is a compliment. It is good to be independent. When you are independent, you see yourself as a full human being and you appreciate God more. So, whatever anybody does for you, you see it as a bonus. You are able to stand on your own and venture into whatever catches your fancy.

But does our society encourage that in a woman?

The society has already done that for a long time. There is nothing like a woman. All a woman needs to do is take care of the home in the morning, make sure that her husband eats his meals, and take the children to school and go to work.

How long did it take you to realise this?

That has been me for a long time. I am a complete African woman with brains. The average African woman is no longer seen as a useless woman that ties a wrapper and waits for the husband to fetch what she needs.

You have a baby boy. Does it mean that you just got married?

I am not married yet. By the time I get married, everybody will know about it. I can‘t marry secretly. I am yet to formalise my relationship.

Don‘t you think that you have delayed for too long?

When it comes to marriage, there is nothing like time. It depends on the person that is involved. It is a choice that you have to make when you think you are prepared for it. It has nothing to do with the fact that almost everyone is getting married.

Are you not under pressure to get married?

I am not under pressure. Why should there be any pressure? If there is any parent that is putting pressure on his or her child to get married, the parent is making a big mistake. When you pressurise your children to get married, you are not going to be there with them. Besides, if the man that will marry your daughter learns that you pressurised her to get married, he would use that against her.

Since you are not married and you have a son, do you intend to formalise your relationship with his father?

You are trying to find out whether the man and I are still together. We are not together. In my place, when you are not formally married to somebody, you don‘t stay in the person‘s house. It was my decision to have my son out of wedlock, and I am the only person that is responsible for that. I have a right to do so. Nobody can choose that for me. When I am ready to marry too, it is going to be my personal decision, because nobody will be in my matrimonial home with me. What I do is, I separate my relationships from my job.

But your job seems to be gaining the upper hand in your daily schedule

No, I don‘t think so. And I am not sure my boyfriend is complaining. Do you know where I was last night? So it is only when you see me in the afternoon that you know where I am. My relationship may even consume a large chunk of my time, because if you calculate it from 6pm to the next morning, it is more than the time I spend doing my work. So, when it comes to relationships, I know the time for it and the time for my job.

Why don‘t you talk about your relationship with King Sunny Ade or are you nursing something unpleasant about it?

Do I look bitter? I look very happy because I am. Listen, that is an old story. We should be talking about what is current.

Are you running away from the fact that you dated KSA?

There is nothing to run away from. If you had a good experience with somebody that was your girlfriend and you are married, or you have another life, would you still be carrying that about? Let‘s talk about current events. KSA is an old story. When you want to move on with your life, you don‘t dwell on old times. I have never expressed any bitterness towards KSA. I have never spoken ill of him. He is my friend and my boss. That is how we relate now. He remains my friend and my boss. He is only no longer my lover. We can talk. we are both musicians, we still go to meetings. I am a complete being, no one runs my life, no situation runs my life.

But somebody complained about your independent mind. He said it may not allow you to settle down with a man.

I don‘t care what people say about me. Nobody runs my life and there is no situation that controls me. Some people call me Caterpillar, others call me Amazon, Obirin bi okunrin. Whatever happens, I move on. That has been my lifestyle. In my family, they call me Amazon, even as a young child. So, it has nothing to do with independence. My boyfriend is not complaining. Even KSA never complained that I was arrogant or anything. When it comes to my work, I face it seriously. But when it comes to my relationship, you know, love makes you men melt. So, I am a different person in different situations. Go and ask those I have dated and they will tell you that I am a very nice person. I may look tough, but it is the kind of work I do. There was a time I saw myself as the only camera woman around Lagos. I even do some electrical electronics work on our instruments. I do a man‘s work a lot of the time, that is why I look tough. So, when it comes to relationships, it does not mean that I am what people think I am. If I am like that, somebody will not be in a long relationship with me. If you look very well in the industry, you hardly find any scandal trailing me. I don‘t sleep around. My boyfriend does not believe that I am very strong because he does not follow me about every time, and the few times he sees me at work, he is amazed at the kind of energy I put into it.

There is this comic part of you. What are you still doing about it?

Wait till July. We are having a stand-up comedy show and you will see Bose Olubo in another dimension. And very soon, you are going to see Bose Olubo as a 65-year-old woman in Alo on Radio. Every month, I do different things and people should expect my album in August.