Women should build up each other

Ifeoma Fafunwa loves Ankara fabrics. She also loves her fellow women and would love for the female folk to work in harmony. The architect, who has an unveiled passion for the arts, is a film and theatre director as well. Ifeoma, who recently produced a mind blowing stage play, Hear Word! spoke with WOLE ADEPOJU on the play, why she waited till her late 30s to walk down the aisle and sundry issues

One would expect a production like ‘Hear Word!’ to have been packaged by an expert. Could you let us into your background?

Well, I was born in Lagos and left for the United States at age 16. I graduated with a degree in interior architecture and worked for many years in architects’ offices in the U.S. However, I always had a love for theatre and film and I spent a lot of time watching or dreaming of being in theatre or film.

I started taking acting classes in my mid-twenties and I did become an actor for a while. I would go back and forth between architecture and acting; sometimes I would do the two at the same time.

By the time I moved back to Nigeria, I had already done some directing and writing in film, theatre and TV. I ran into Joke Silva, who was my senior in Holy Child College and she asked me if I would like to direct the ‘Vagina Monologues’ which she was producing. That sort of launched my ‘Nigeria theatre journey.’

What about women’s issues? When did that become an interest to you?

When it comes to women’s issues, which is what this particular ‘Hear Word!’ show is about, the impetus was coming back to Nigeria and experiencing how oppressive the culture was towards women. I asked myself if I could meet up with this kind of burden; women were juggling so much.

It was a daily frenzy of braiding or weave-on, nails, aso-ebi, balancing work, looking after the children, in-laws, friends, managing their husband’s girlfriends, diplomacy at the office, warding off the surrounding males, cooking and making sure their husbands are satisfied and with egos intact. It looked like just too much. Parallel all that with the fact that women are kind of cold to one another, and find one another threatening.

When I asked myself what all of it was about, that’s when the need for this play sprouted. It came from asking the question; ‘If women built up other women, if the culture was supportive of women, if legislature was invested in women; what is the incredible possibility?’ There are 80 million Nigerian women. What can they be doing to build up Nigeria instead of (smiles) ‘eyeing’ one another?

How long did it take you to put ‘Hear Word!’ together?

I think it took several years to cook. I might not have known I would get to this exact point, but it may have been more than five years ago that I had a desire to tell this story about the incredible capacity and potential of Nigerian women. You studied architecture. Where did you get the love for theatre?

I think the love for theatre was always there. I was born in the early 1960s in Nigeria, and back then, you did not just come out and say you wanted to become an artist; everybody wanted their children to be lawyers, doctors or accountants. It did not even occur to you to state that you wanted to be an actor or a painter… it was a very tough thing to do. I believe I was born to be in the arts.

How were you able to do the casting without issues?

The casting was based on actors who could dedicate the time because what you watched took a lot of time to put together so. If I needed to work with people who were dedicated both to the message as well as the art form, I open eye, which means that the company that produced ‘Hear Word!’ has a mission to produce the best performance art you can find anywhere that has a social message of women and showcasing the potential for Nigeria. That takes time and passion to properly accomplish.

What do you say to men who see this play as a rebellious move?

We were all very pleasantly surprised to see so many men attend ‘Hear Word!’ It was about 50 per cent male turnout on the last day. This is new. But back to your question, no man has come up to tell me that the show was rebellious, in fact, the comments I get are quite the opposite. Some of our avid supporters are men. Besides, the characters who get the criticism in the play are women which is what they like – to come ask themselves the hard questions; Why am I lowering my own value? Why am I mistreating my own children? Why am I being terrible to my daughter in-law. ‘Hear Word!’ is a play where women can reflect. If a man is feeling uncomfortable, he is likely feeling guilty (smiles).

One wouldn’t expect you to have come up with some of the local dialogues in the play.

Well… (Laughs) I think you are looking at me with sunglasses on; I was born in Lagos. I left when I was 16 years old but my parents were not people who believed in sheltering us. They wanted me to know Nigeria. We travelled across Nigeria, I knew my grandmother, interacted with many people. I do research, ask questions and hint at what I want.

The actors contribute, I encourage other writers to contribute and sometimes I ask people I meet. The characters are people I know. They are from the real people that I have met, then the actor brings their own spirit and understanding to the character and dialogue.

Do you intend to get the play to wider audience because being a stage performance has shut out so many from sharing in the message?

Yes… we plan to eventually get it to where everybody in Nigeria can easily see it. At present, we are interested in promoting performance art so, we look for sponsors who would send us to anywhere. We were at Mushin Market, Oshodi Bus stop, and UNILAG (University of Lagos). At UNILAG, we had 1600 students at a subsidised ticket price. We are ready to go anywhere because we want to spread the benefit of watching this type of show. We have plans that next year, we will do much more open air productions where anybody can walk right off the street and come ‘Hear Word!’

How do you feel when people sing your praises and congratulate you for a successful production?

I feel very good about it but I am clear that this production is a combination of many people’s efforts and commitments. The actors: Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, Joke Silva, Bimbo Akintola, Kate Henshaw, Iretiola Doyle, Dakore Egbuson, Omonor, Elvina Ibru, Ufuoma McDermott, Lala Akindoju, Odenike, Rita Edward, Debbie Ohiri and Zara Udofia. The stage manager, Seyi Emmanuel, and the tech team and crew. I had amazing sponsors, writers, advisors, friends and audience members…. no be small thing. The audience as you can see, you watched it yourself (referring to the interviewer) becomes a participant in it.

When I conceived it in my mind, I wished for many people to be involved and it has started already. I hope it will get even bigger. Hopefully, people will send us stories, to tell us their stories, share in building the show.

You are an Igbo woman married to a Yoruba man. Did you do that because you were afraid of the touted harsh cultural treatment Igbo daughters-in-law are subjected to when their husbands die?

Not at all (laughs). I married my husband because he treats me well; it did not matter where he came from. I am grateful he is a Nigerian and he is from Lagos (where I grew up), but it is his consideration and kindness that I found marriage worthy. He was and still is my best friend. I married in my late 30’s; I had my criteria and I was not going to tolerate anything less.

It’s an issue in this part of the world when a lady marries late. How would you react to this based on the cause you are championing?

I think people would do what they want and it’s anyone’s choice to marry whenever they want. ‘Hear Word!’ only expresses the undue pressure placed on women to marry by a certain age. It also shares of the trauma and danger of a woman marrying before she is 16.

I personally do not think a woman should marry before she is 18 because I did not have the foggiest idea whom I was, what I wanted and what I could tolerate by that age. I believe it is best to marry when you know something about yourself and I think the sooner a young woman gets out into the world and lives by herself, feeds herself and earns a living, the quicker she will have an idea of what her value is.

With the cause you are championing, could you tell us what your experience has been in marriage?

I think here is where I should be thanking God and feeling lucky (silence).

What would you do if someday your husband brings a child claiming he got him or her from another woman?

It would be conceited of me to say I know what my reaction would be. I do not know. The question seems to me so different from my reality right now. That is the honest truth. I don’t know what I would do because, like I said, my husband is my best friend. So, I would need to try to understand what was happening.

I can safely say that it won’t go over lightly… it would be the end of an era as we knew it. Things will shift. Levels go change. The peace and equality that my children now believe is reality will become a thing of the past. If I am still in the marriage when the dust settles, it would have to be a very, very attractive proposition.

You appear to be one who is not given to frivolities. What were your growing up years like?

I come from a very conservative background. My mother was a vice principal in a school and my father was a civil servant and a sport personality. My mum was very religious. She did not believe in any flamboyance, she did not wear makeup and she believed in strong ethics and values. Maybe that affected me.

My mother was not in any way moved by status or money, not in the least bit. She did not bend or compromise her values for anyone, king or pauper. As a child, I did not understand it but as an older person, I realised that she was very comfortable with her choices, her principles and her person. My father was the son of the Owelle of Onitsha but he never told us that. My parents were regular, humble people and I think that is the basis for my behaviours.

What is your beauty routine?

I wish I had a good beauty routine. Life gets hectic so I have to keep it simple and do the best I can. Things for me are quite simple with plain soap, water and Oil of Olay. What is more complicated is that I watch what I consume. I avoid foods that are packaged, processed or preserved, so most of the food I eat comes from local markets. I avoid juice and soft drinks. Where I am bad is that I enjoy desserts. I know if I wasn’t eating desserts I would look fabulous! (smile)

Tell us about your love for ankara fabric and your style.

My style is rather simple. On occasion, I might dress up in formal wear complete with gele/headtie or I will try to look hip and wear a pair of jeans. However, my regular daily style is quite simple and comfortable. I like long dresses and long skirts made of ankara fabric.

Ankara is special to me because it has so many colour combinations and patterns that it allows me to match my mood to my outfit. I can make it formal by embellishing it or sew something very simple.

Ankara can be made into something classically Nigerian like Iro and Buba or into a very contemporary short dress. I like the versatility and I love that my favourite designer, Ituen Basi, uses ankara for her designs. It is cotton so it is light, cool and you can wash it. Although the origins of ankara are not African, it has become globally identified as ‘African Print’ and the patterns are influenced by West African tastes over many, many years.

Tell us about your family. What is your family life like?

I am married and have four lovely children. My husband is an easy-going guy and is very supportive of my work. So, he helps me a lot. We work very hard during the week so on the weekends we both hang out with our kids. We go to the beach or go swimming and play games together as a family. Like everyone, I worry about my kids because they do not get to do the things I did as a child like ride a bike on the road or walk to a friend’s house.