Nollywood actress Tayo Sobola has revealed the strange and enigmatic events that resulted in her being crowned the Sarauniya (Queen Mother) of Nasarawa State’s Uke Kingdom.
She described how what began as a straightforward charity visit evolved into a moment that changed her life in an interview with The Nation.
“I didn’t pick myself, nor did I know anything about it,” she explained. “I was invited to join a charity mission in Uke by an acquaintance who visited my shop in Abuja. He pleaded with me to come along, and I agreed. I simply picked an outfit from my collection, wore it, and left for Nasarawa.”
Sobola revealed that upon arrival at the Emir’s palace, she and her team sat waiting for the Emir to appear. While waiting, she noticed an intense conversation between her companion and another man but paid little attention to it. Soon after, the Emir emerged and unexpectedly invited her to sit beside him.
She noticed people gathering, speaking in a language she did not understand. Then, the Emir made an announcement that she would not be leaving the palace until she was bestowed with the title of Sarauniya.
Confused and taken aback, Sotayo, as she’s fondly called, sought an explanation. “Apparently, where I sat down upon entering the palace was the seat of the former Sarauniya, and the kingdom had been waiting for years for a stranger to come and unknowingly occupy the seat,” she recounted. “Each time a visitor entered the palace, the palace soothsayer would consult the spirits to determine if the person was the destined successor. That day, it turned out to be me.”
Are you working on any major film now?
I am not producing cinema movies right now because I don’t have the money. It’s only rich people that do cinema movies and I don’t have that money right now. The truth is not everybody has the money to walk into the cinemas to watch movies. Every average person now tries as much as they can to go on YouTube to watch movies. Recently, I’ve been getting comments on my social media pages asking when I’ll be back on screen. But the thing is if I say I’m going to the cinema now, it’s more like me trying to prove a standard and if we look at it properly, that is how it’s supposed to be and that is where I belong. But what happens to average people who can’t afford the cinema? Transport to and fro and cinema tickets aren’t cheap but they can easily watch movies on YouTube in their comfort zone. I want to feed the eyes of those who cannot afford to go to the cinema because I am for the masses. But I am open to both.
Filmmakers are recreating their old movies, will you also be reproducing your breakout movie ‘Arewa Onijogbon?’
People have been asking me to reproduce my movies like ‘Bella’ but I can’t do it and still take it back to YouTube. I understand that there is something going on in the cinema corridor these days and there’s no stability in some parts and trust me, I’m not ready to waste my brain. I don’t want to waste my brain to do anything relating to that. I want to make money, not trouble.
What’s your opinion on the recreation of old classic movies?
Everybody knows that I don’t like interfering in people’s business but if we have to be very honest, the old movies will forever remain better than whatever anybody is trying to recreate because if it did not sync well you would not want to recreate it. Recreating your old movie is like a bank asking you to come and update your passport. For whatever reason I think that the old ones still feel better than the new ones.