2. Mercy Johnson-Okojie – “We Moved Into An Uncompleted Building Where We Lived With Lizards”
Mercy Johnson is currently the most sought after Nigerian actress, earning about N1.8M per script. She narrated to Tribune her grass to grace story:
What were your days like as a child?
I was a tomboy. I am the fourth child from a family of seven children. The first four are girls and the last three are boys. So,I actually moved a lot with my brothers, climbing trees and stuff like that. We didn’t get everything we wanted but we got everything we needed. I’m from a very humble background; a Christian family. My dad is an ex-military officer and we basically grew up in a military environment. I attended Navy primary and secondary schools until I went to the Lagos State University.
And how has it been through fame and glamour?
There have been the good and bad times; there have been rumours and scandals. Sometimes when I cry in movies, it isn’t the script that makes mecry. When I recall my humble beginning, I give thanks to God. When I remember how we moved into an uncompleted building and had to take cover whenever it rained because of the condition of the house; how my brother did a menial job as a bricklayer to earn a living and those days when we rolled over a stick to cover the windows up till the point when I started acting and raised money to cover the roof… I recall those days we were living with lizards because the floor and the walls of the house were not plastered, or when I had scars as a result of my several falls.
3. Ramsey Nuoah – “I Slept Under Lagos Bridge, We Had Neither Cup Nor Stove”
Ramsey is a super star now but things were so rough for him while growing up.
Read one of his interviews below:
Tell us about your growing up?
My growing up was like tasting the two sides of a coin. When I said tasting the two sides of a coin; I mean tasting being a rich man and a poor man. I grew up with my mother, and with a silver spoon, I had it all. When I began to realize that I had good things to show off, everything disappeared. We started from grace to grass; that has helped me a lot because it totally balanced the equation of life. It gives me confidence in all spheres. For instance, I can hang out with the enlightened or the rich. I can mingle with them very easily without any complication or complex whatsoever. Also, if it is the low class or poor people, I can mingle very easily with them. I can eat a fantastic dinner in a huge, expensive restaurant and I can go eat amala at a buka and I would not feel anything. I don’t care being a popular actor or a role model. I am a role model to everybody.
For you, what was the worst scenario when life was so cruel?
Those were the times when things got really bad for my mother and I and we had nothing. It was so bad that we didn’t have a home or shelter to live in. We had to stay in a store, a small store that could take only one mat.
My mother and I squeezed ourselves in that mat. We didn’t even have a cup to drink water not to talk of a stove to cook. And my mother had to borrow, beg and stuff like that. These were moments when I was young I didn’t realize the gravity of poverty we were in, I couldn’t tell. But it was a good orientation for me. It was moments that I thank God for making me past through, because that has sustained and helped me even as an actor. The ability to deliver all the roles they give me because I have tasted both sides of the coin.
With all these experiences, what has life taught you?
Life has taught me never to look down on anybody because the person you disregard might just be your saviour tomorrow. I realized that all my mother’s property was washed away by rain. We couldn’t sleep all through the night because of the flood. It was really terrible. Like I said, it is a life lesson.
Is there anything that can make you cry or shed tears after all you passed through?
Yeah, those moments; those terrible moments when we had nothing and we were living off people. People were just helping us out. There were times we didn’t have food to eat three or four days. You haven’t eaten and your stomach is rumbling but you don’t have any place to go. There was a time I lived on the street, in shops. There was a time I slept under the bridge. It was unfortunate that there were no records so that we can have memories we could play back now. To me, I am so extremely grateful that I went through it. At that time I hated everybody around me. In fact, I used to question why God was doing this tome. But I think God knew that I needed this for my future.
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