Kora award winner and Ex Project Fame winner, Chidinma Ekile, tells ‘Nonye Ben-Nwankwo how she has been able to manage the recent controversies surrounding her You won Kora Awards last year and this year again, you were nominated for an international award, Channel O Awards. Did you ever imagine that you would get to this stage? No way. I never imagined it in any way. All I did was just to be focused. I knew this was what I loved doing and I decided to just keep doing it. I didn’t expect that it would get this big. Sometimes I sit back and I think
back of how it started. But did the awards have any impact on your career? Oh yes. When I won the Kora and got back to Nigeria, it was a whole different experience. People started treating me differently. They wondered how ‘small’ Chidinma could go to Cote D’ivoire and bring the Kora home. It added to my profile. Being nominated for the Channel O Award is a big deal for me even if I didn’t clinch the award. How has it been since then? It has been good and challenging. It has been a lot of work. Did you go back to school? Oh yes. I am managing my career and my studies. I don’t have a choice. I wake up every day and I realise I have a lot of things to do. This is really the best time to tidy up my education. This is my youth. I get busier by the day. It will get tougher. I have to do what I have to do before time gets tougher.
Are you not scared or intimidated
competing with other bigger female
artistes in the industry?
I have never been a competition person
even though I am a product of a
competition. But I didn’t see Project Fame as
a competition. I was doing what I love
doing. In the industry, I am not in any
competition. I am just Chidinma. I have
tried to carve a niche for myself. I try to be
different all the time. I don’t like a
situation where somebody will say
‘Chidinma sounds like this person or that
person.’ When that comes, competition
arises. I am not in for that. I just want to be
me and I always try to improve. I want to
be versatile. I don’t want to be put in a box.
I am here to have fun and make money at
the same time.
But you must look up to some of the
female artistes…
Definitely. Most of the time I was preparing
for the Project Fame competition, I listened
to Omawumi a lot. I followed her right from
the time she came out of West African Idols.
I just loved her kind of music. It is African
and she has lots of messages at the same
time. I love Onyeka Onwenu as well. I can
learn from any one. I am still able to talk
and ask question. I am still their baby.
Do you owe Project Fame all you have
achieved?
I owe it to Project Fame to a reasonable
extent. I don’t think I would be here if not
for Project Fame. I didn’t take music
seriously. I felt it was something I could do
during my leisure. I didn’t know it would
become a profession.
If you hadn’t won, you wouldn’t have
been bothered?
It wouldn’t have mattered. I didn’t even
know I was going to win. I felt I was having
fun and if I got money, it was okay. I didn’t
want to be the winner. I didn’t want
everybody’s eyes to be on me. But it
happened and I didn’t have a choice. I
decided to give it a trial. That is why I am
here today.
You eventually came into the spotlight
and it opened doors to controversies and
scandals…
I have been in the news lately. My manager
told me that I am a balloon on top of lots of
needles. People want me to drop on those
needles and get deflated. He told me to be
careful. The first time was when my nude
picture went viral. I actually went for a
photo shoot for my friend. I wore a tube
dress. Some mischief makers actually
cropped off the lower part of the picture
and posted it on the Internet. It was as if I
was nude. I wasn’t happy at all. I had that
picture. I had to post the real picture on the
net and people now got convinced the nude
picture wasn’t original. I thought that was
the end, I didn’t know a bigger scandal was
coming…
You mean the sex video?
Oh yes. I woke up one morning and I was
greeted on the internet with ‘Chidinma and
sex tape’. I was worried primarily because
of my mother. I didn’t let her see the video
but I had to show her the photos. I didn’t
want to go out that day. I couldn’t go out.
But my mum felt otherwise. She told me to
ignore the mischief makers. I almost took
some actions but I thought against it. I met
Sound Sultan on a set. He told me, ‘Babe,
you are now a star. I welcome you officially
into the industry.’ I trended for three days.
Even people who didn’t know me got to
know me. My fan base grew. And then, I
was happy because more than 90 per cent of
the public didn’t believe I was the one in
that video. There were people who didn’t
need to see the video to believe I couldn’t
have done such thing. I am just grateful to
everyone who didn’t believe the story. My
twitter account was hacked and the people
created another account. They kept
releasing nasty pictures and they were even
responding to the tweets as if I was the one
doing it. I was just watching and laughing.
It put me in the spotlight. I used it for good.
But such scandal shouldn’t be good for
your career…
Ever since I started, I have been scared of
scandals. I didn’t want to have any. But I
realised that I cannot run away from it. It
is just normal. It is not everybody who is
happy seeing me rise. Some people are
trying to do something to stop me. But sex
tape is not enough to stop me. They should
bring up something else. The sex tape just
took me to another level in my career. It
moved me up. This is no more ‘little’
Chidinma. It didn’t bring me down in any
way. I am still doing a lot of things.
One of the Skuki boys said he is in love
with you and would want to marry you…
Oh yes. Everybody wants to marry me but I
am not ready for marriage.
But the boy came out publicly and
declared his love for you…
I laughed when I saw that story. I have not
considered his request. I still have to make
more money before I consider marriage. He
is actually my friend and he never told me
something like that. I have been linked with
so many people. People cannot imagine me
being a saint. They are just looking for
something to attach to me.
How does it feel like being a star?
It is a lot of work. People see me and envy
me and say ‘ohhh, she is now a star and she
must be enjoying’. I am not enjoying. The
more you are there, the more you do things.
The expectation is now so high. Being a star
is not so much fun because you have to do
more work. You have to please people. You
have to smile even when you are not in the
mood. It is so frustrating. But then, you owe
it to some people, you have put yourself out
there. This is what I have signed for.
Nobody begged me to do this.
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