Stella Damasus has over the years, been a prominent name in the Nigerian movie industry. An actress and a singer, she started her career in acting and music as a teenager. Now aged 34, she has had about 20 years experience in professional acting and singing. She has over 50 movies to her credit, has won several awards and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2009. Aside from her music and acting carer, Stella has a deep passion for philanthropy work and is affiliated to several charity organisations. Stella is a mother of 2 and was tragically widowed in December 2004 when her late husband, Jaiye Aboderin died. She got married a couple of years after but sadly, the marriage ended shortly after. In this revealing interview with Bellanaija’s Adeola Adeyemo, Stella speaks about her passions, the several controversies and media reports surrounding her late husband’s death, second marriage and more.
 

Since her relocation to Abuja, Stella has been a bit difficult to reach for most of us based in Lagos. Luckily, over the past weekend, she came to Lagos to host a show, speak at an event and receive an ambassadorial appointment. Coincidentally, she was mourning the passing of a colleague in the movie industry and remembering the death of her late husband at that period. This could have dampened her spirits but she did an excellent job of not letting it getting in the way and opened up in one of her most revealing interviews ever.

Hi Stella. Let me first extend my condolences on the death of veteran actor, Enebeli Enebuwa. I understand you led other people in the industry to get help for him while he was ill.
I’m very angry because the people in my industry are hypocrites. That man was ill for a long time in Lagos and they turned it into a fanfare. People would go and visit him and take pictures with him, post it on Twitter, on Facebook, on their blogs; they used it to make people feel that they are philanthropists but nobody lifted a finger to take care of him or help his family. They are more interested in politics; who would be President, how they can visit dignitaries who would dash them money. Nobody cares about the elderly people in the industry. We know how to celebrate people when they die, but when they are alive what do we do for them, especially the sick ones? The Delta state government eventually sponsored him to India. I’m just very pained.

I’m sorry to hear that. But this is not the first time you’ve been associated with a charitable cause. You are affiliated to a couple of charities. Tell me about these projects.

You probably wouldn’t know a lot of things that I do because I’m not one to blow a trumpet for the whole world to hear. But let me just give you a few. I am an ambassador for Women For Africa. We are trying to inspire African women who have been relegated to the background. I’ve been working with Lamboginny Say No To Crime project to do things for the prisoners. I’m also an ambassador for Project Alert. Another NGO I have is ADIVA where I mentor young girls. In Cameroon, I’m affiliated with Splash Network, we deal with cancer. Every year, we go to Cameroon with relief and medical materials like syringes and drips for the cancer patients. I am also affiliated to SOS Children’s Village and I am in talks with NAPTIP. I was recently appointed an ambassador for the NDLEA. And there is my Stella Damasus Art Foundation. All together, we’ve trained 40 people in drama and music and they are doing very well. It’s totally free.

That’s quite a long list, well done! What is the purpose behind all the charity work you do? What drives you?
That is my life, that is what I’ve been called to do. When you think about purpose, it’s not just about being a star. God gave everyone something special, put you in a particular place so that you can influence something positive. I have a talent for a reason and against all odds, against everything that I have faced, I’m passionate about helping people and doing philanthropy work. I’m just very happy that my wealth is in people, not money. When I try to impact people’s lives positively, that makes me happy.

 

 Acting & Music
You haven’t been acting much lately. In the past few years, we’ve seen less of you on the screens. Why is that?
The truth is I intentionally slowed down. I was in a system where I knew a lot of crap was going on and instead of me to sit there and complain, I had to come out of it a bit. I just decided to be careful with the kind of roles I played. Every film, they want me to cry, they want me to be the good girl or the victim. I got tired of answering the question “Oh Stella, why do you like to cry in movies?”. I decided to look for something challenging and so if I get a script and the character is different and challenging, then I would do. Now, I am trying to see how I can make my own movies.

I notice you’ve been doing more music lately. You released a single some weeks ago that got mostly good feedback. Tell me about your music career.

A lot of people still don’t know my background. They don’t know that I was a singer before I started acting. When I came to Lagos, my first job was as a singer. It was when I escorted somebody and I met people doing auditions for a movie that I got into acting. Before then, I was working in Klink Studios. I was a singer in the studio doing jingles but I was also singing at a place called Jazzville in Yaba. And then I joined a band and we started singing for shows. I was not a recording artiste that had an album but if I recall when I started singing in a band, it’s been about 20 years now.

I read somewhere that music brought you and your late husband together…

Yes, I was in a band called Synergy with my late husband. We were singing everywhere together. We had a single that we did a video for, Love Song. Before he died, we were in the process of making our album. We had done about six songs but he wanted me to release my solo album first but I knew I wasn’t ready. So I encouraged him to go ahead with his. He had finished his album and was getting ready to start shooting videos before he died.

 Are you trying to finish that album now?
No, this is a new project. It is not a commercial album, I must say that. The kind of people that would like it are those who love real music, not club hits. I will have uptempo music that you can dance to, but it would be real music that you can enjoy.

How far have you gone with the album and which artistes are you collaborating with?
I’ve recorded quite a few songs. I did one with Lamboginny called Get Up. I am going to do another one with Micheal Edward. I’m thinking of doing one with 2Face and I’m hoping by God’s grace I can get M.I to do a song with me. My biggest dream would be to do a song with Rita Marley. I met her in Ghana and we got talking and she showed me old pictures of her late husband. We bonded and we are trying to do a song to honour and celebrate both our husbands