Nollywood
actress, Tonto Dikeh, was a guest at the unveiling ceremony of the 2017 African
Children Talent Discovery Foundation, Unleash Your Talent which held in Lagos on
Monday. She was interviewed by Premium Times and she spoke about different issues including her ‘Born Again
Status’ and her chances of getting married again.
PT: Why are you passionate
about the African Children Talent Discovery Foundation’s quest to discover
young talents in Nigeria?
Tonto: My
involvement in a talent show such as this is something I am very proud of. It’s
more like evangelism to me. I am passionate about this cause because many
talented Nigerian children will benefit a lot from it. As we all know, often
times it’s very difficult to access the industry. I wish I had seasoned actors
mentor me when I was starting out my career.
PT: Why do you regret not
having a mentor early on in your career?
Tonto: Entertainment
is not an easy path for anyone to tow because it can kill you, make you or
destroy you. It has the power to do and undo, so as a mother I will tell
everyone to be careful with the industry. But as an entertainer, I will say
welcome to any fresh talent because there is no limit to what he or she can do
with a talent. It’s even written in the bible that, ‘I will bless you through
the works of your hands.’
PT: You have made so much
noise about your foundation in the recent. What have you been up to in this
regard?
Tonto: The Tonto
Dikeh Foundation has been doing a lot recently. Every month, we try to do
something different; and in August, we will tour the world speaking with female
inmates. I am all for empowering women and the ‘One Girl, One Pen campaign.’ We
all know that in our prisons, some people are on the death row but some others
don’t seem to a have a means of survival for when they regain freedom. I have
seen ex-convicts become great people in the society when they are released. So,
I want to go into our prisons to empower the female inmates with skill
acquisitions. We also plan to send some female inmates back to school when they
regain their freedom.
PT: What is the main focus
of your foundation?
Tonto: My
foundation is very broad and when I was starting out, the focus was domestic
violence, rape victims and physically abused women. But right now, being
a mother and an advocate for God just broadens my purview. So my
foundation is down for anything that will make the woman race better for it.
PT: How is your foundation
funded?
Tonto: Like
I said earlier, the Tonto Dikeh foundation is a big one. So, we have sponsors
and people who key into our vision and run with us.
PT: Does this mean that your
acting career has taken the back seat?
Tonto: I was
off the scene for a long time but I retuned with a bang. I stared in a yet to
be released film titledCelebrity Marriage and it will be out soon.
I’m all fired up because I’m involved in the movie. I don’t want to be involved
in the acting like I used to be in the past.
PT: Can you please shed more
light on this?
Tonto: I have
shot a film in a day, in the past but not any longer. I’m not looking for
popularity so I am just trying to stay relevant by starring in very few quality
movies. My family proposes that I shoot five quality movies in a year. I think
three good movies in a year is fair enough. And that is what I have been
looking for. That way, I can have time for my child and other people because
I’m not just a mother of one but I am a mother of nations.
PT: What is the secret
behind your new glow?
Tonto: Well,
firstly I am born again and when you have God, you just radiate. So all the
glow is from within; you don’t fake God’s glow. You also can’t fake God’s glory
because it overwhelms you. I don’t know how to say what I want to say but when
God steps into a situation or your life he elevates you and makes you see
things in a different light. So, the glow you see is all God. I am a radical
for Christ.
PT: Do you plan to set up a
church or become an evangelist?
Tonto: Yes I
will, before I became an entertainer I was close to becoming an evangelist but
I backslid. But not to say anything, I am back with God. I don’t know where God
is taking me to. But if it is the pulpit, I am ready.
PT: You go
the extra length when it comes to your son. Your Fathers Day outing readily
comes to mind.
Tonto: I
heard motherhood is difficult but I think my son and I share a special kind of
love that makes everything easy. Its not that I don’t get stressed out or mad
at him sometimes. I do. But the love and the grace of God is sufficient for
both of us.
PT: You appear to have
adjusted to life in Abuja
Tonto: I
thought I could never live outside Lagos because I thought everything outside
Lagos was too slow. I need that slow life now because nobody is my face and
neither am I in people’s faces. I’m changing my circle of friends and
redecorating my life so I needed that space.
PT: Do you think you can
regain your privacy again?
Tonto: I
have always been a very private person and anything that people say about me is
what they want to make up. No one truly knows me, no one knows what I eat or
don’t eat. No one knows me and the only thing about me that is being made
public is what I post on social media. So, if I don’t post it, disregard it.
PT: So, are some of the
backlashes you have received on social media lately a result of your being born
again?
Tonto: Well,
even if I wasn’t born again, they will still come for me. You see, the devil
cannot steal from an empty barrel; you have to be fully charged. I will go
through a lot of things, whatever is happening now this is nothing compared to
what is yet to come. What I have seen is not even half of what will come in the
future. I am ready for more; there will be worse to come and I’m ready for it.
When God prepares you in a different kind of way, I can fight my battles on my
own strength.
PT: Following your new
status as a child of God, will you remarry or reconcile with your estranged
husband?
Tonto: Love
is a beautiful thing and love is exquisite. So, of course, I will remarry once
I find true love.
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