Muma Gee, an artiste who is currently re-branding, would have been a medical doctor but for destiny. This is because she attended Government Science School, where she offered, among other subjects, Pure and Applied Science. However, she ended up studying Theatre Arts in the University of Port Harcourt.
Speaking about her background, Muma Gee said “I had a strong Christian background. I had to run away from home when it dawned on me that I would go into entertainment. I escaped from our family house to stay with a friend. I neither smoke nor drink.”
According to her, she came into entertainment so as to have an avenue to promote her culture. “I feel so passionate about my culture and that was why I came in through drama. But today, in order to achieve my aim in terms of promoting my culture, I try to rebrand myself, by delving into music so that the youth would be carried along as well.
“Why I did this is because, at present, Nigerian music is going more of western than our local dialect. What I’m trying to do is to make it a little bit local and soft so that our culture—dressing, language, among others— will not go into extinction,” she said.
Muma Gee also noted that it was a big challenge for her to come out as an artiste because people did not recognise her being a woman, believing that women in the entertainment industry are not worthy to be assisted since they will eventually end up in the kitchen.
NFC asked MUMA GEE the following:
Why do you always dress this way
Ha! Well, I promote my cultural value and heritage, my tradition and the normal values of most of the time falls on line. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a traditionalist, I’m not a fetish person, but I promote my cultural values and my cultural heritage. That is the values I represent and I reflect it in all my outfits. I do a lot of research, I just came in from Rivers State where I hail from, every day I keep discovering something new about my cultural heritage and I just bring it to the world because a lot of people don’t know that I’m a chief where I come from, and I belong to the council of chiefs of the Upata kingdom of Ekpeye land in Rivers State. So when we seat as chiefs to deliberate on issues affecting the kingdom, I get to learn a lot from the older chiefs, because I’m the only lady and I’m the youngest, so I learn a lot as the day goes by, so these are the things that the world needs to see in the little community I come from.
What is your title?
I’m the Oonyon 1 of the Upata Kingdom. ‘Oonyon’ means mirror.
…Why?M
That is because in the history of my people, a woman has never been a chief, I’m the first and that is because I have participated a lot in civic roles and I play my role very well. I try to encourage the youths through my NGO ‘Muma Gee Foundation’. Apart from that, I have been able to promote my tribe and community, people say we are a minority tribe, but I’ve been able break through that because I sing in my dialect, because of this, my tribe is no longer that Ekpeye tribe. I was a little sceptical about taking the title but who am I to say no to the elders. The people have spoken and the Bible tells me that when people speak, it is the mind of God because they represent God on earth, so I just had to do it and I don’t regret it.
Tell us about your love life
(Laughs) Ah! I’ll rather keep that private ah! Please you just have to oblige me.
…Why?
It is because as a professional artiste, we do not have our privacy to ourselves, and being a human being, it is really hard to say that you don’t have privacy.
What are the misconception people have about you?
A lot of people see me as pompous but I tell you I am one of the most humble persons on earth. I can say this because I have the fear of God. Humility is the beginning of wisdom and to me, wisdom in this world is everything. It is more than money, it is more than cars. Categorically, I want to say that people misunderstand me a lot and do not know how, because somewhere along the line, because of this misconception of people about me, I’m seen as a very controversial person. I’m a very normal person, but because of my profession they don’t get the opportunity to see that aspect of me, the real me because ‘Muma Gee’ has overshadowed everything about my normal personality. People have lived with that impression about me, forgetting that first and foremost, I am a regular person, before I became ‘Muma Gee’.
Who is your ideal man?
My ideal man is that person that is tall, handsome, extremely intelligent, educationally sound, a man that is well calculated at all times, and really likes the woman who is in me, who will pamper, nurture and take care of me and protect me.
You don’t mind his financial standard?
To me, money is secondary, I brew money myself, I’m a money-making machine, that is one thing God has given to me as a person. So it doesn’t really matter how rich or how poor he is. I believe that as a woman, who has all the feminine endowments complete, which is what God has made me, I have the capability to make my man the way I want him to be. I thought you were going to ask if I will marry a shot man. Now I do not hate short men, but because I’m a very strong headed person, and I’m a very strong personality, I need that man that I can raise up my head to see, I need that man that I can look up to, I need that man that I can take instructions from, that man that can suppress me when I tend to come up with my stubbornness; I don’t want a man that I will be looking down into his head and the head of a man is a crown, so I will never marry a short man.
What about the size of his ‘thing’’?
(Laughs out loud) ha!
What about his sexual performance?
No! like I said earlier, I don’t want to talk about anything private, but to be honest with you, you as a woman, asking this question…. you can make your man what you want him to be, that is what I believe, if he is not up to what you want, you can make him up to it, you can train him. Marriage is forever, so anything your man needs, it is your duty to give it to him and anything you need, hey! It’s your man’s duty to give it to you.
