•Popular Actress, BISI IBIDAPO-OBE, Tells City People
She remains one of the most beautiful showbiz divas ever to light up our screens. And even now that she’s been inactive in the movie industry for a few years now, Bisi Ibidapo Obe remains a force to reckon with in the Yoruba genre of the movie industry. Tall, undeniably attractive looking and we must add, very ‘curvy,’ this talented and industrious lady who has a child from her hugely celebrated romance with the very popular Senator Dino Melaye, has continued to stun everyone with her high flying lifestyle and enchanting looks. City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL, had lunch with this pretty actress in her tastefully furnished home in Magodo area of Lagos and she shared quite a few intimate things with us.
Share your experience with us, Bisi, how has it been for you as a single mother?
Well, I thank God. I give all the glory to God. It’s not been easy, I tell you. I must thank my family, especially my parents for their support. They made it all so bearable for me. Friends, too, have been very supportive, and I’m talking about very true and sincere friends here. But I think I am particularly grateful to God for deeming it worthy to count me worthy to be among mothers. It is really a beautiful experience, I must say.
Really interesting. It’s always a beautiful feeling each time people call me, ‘Mummy Destiny, Mummy Okiki, Mummy Oluwadarasimi,’ and that takes away all the stress I may be passing through as a single mother. I really love it when they call me that. And I also thank God for the kind of child He has given me. She’s such a beautiful girl. She’s a big girl now. She’s so active, always cheerful and rarely falls ill. She’s a wonderful child. So, I thank God, He’ been so good to me.
How has it been taking care of her on your own? It must be quite a task picking all of your bills all by yourself, paying her school fees, putting this beautiful roof over your head and taking good care of Destiny as well, how has it been handling all these?
To be honest, it’s not been an easy road to walk at all. Things are very tough in the country now, everybody knows that, so it cannot be easy for a single mother, but I thank God all the same, He has really been kind to me. Believe me, it’s been tough raising her all by myself. But again, God has been wonderful. My daughter has never lacked anything. Friends, families, everyone has been supportive. And I am a hardworking lady myself. I just thank God for blessing me.
A lot of people do wonder, what kind of business is Bisi into? For a single lady, you live well, you have a beautiful home, you drive expensive automobiles, how do you sustain all of these?
I have a big warehouse, I’m a major distributor of rice. I also have another shop where I sell ladies’ under wears in pretty large quantities. A lot of people do not know this, but I’m also into interior decorations as well. Apart from all these, I also sell bags, shoes and any stuff that I find profitable.
Tell us about Destiny’s father, Senator Dino Melaye, who has become one of the most popular Senators of the Federal Republic, how supportive has he been? Has he been playing his role as your father’s child?
Yes, he has. He’s trying. He does the little he can.
What kind of child is Destiny? And tell us the traits that she’s taken from you?
Well, she talks a lot, and I think she took that from me. She’s also very intelligent, and like you know, her father is an extremely intelligent man. And I am also intelligent as well. Another remarkable thing about Destiny is that she dislikes being cheated. You just cannot cheat her.
This is why, as young as she is, you can’t engage her in a playful fight and she’ll let you be the last to beat her. She won’t, she’ll rather she gets the last laugh and be the one to make the final strike on your body, otherwise, there will be no peace. She’s very playful and active, and she rarely falls ill too. And of course you can see she’s a beautiful girl, something I’m proud to say she took from me because facially she looks a lot like me.
Tell us how you have coped with advances and pressures from men, especially those who know you’re single?
Ah, that’s a cross all women have learnt to carry. Whether you’re a beautiful woman or not, men will always come after you. I deal with that kind of problem every day.
Men will always come. Truth is, they are necessary evil. Women can’t do without men and men, too, cannot do without women. One simply cannot survive without the other. But as women, we have to be careful though, there are lots of deceitful men out there. I know a lot of them are just after my body. Only very few are real and genuine.
I can understand that the pressure from men will be even more for you considering that you’re a truly stunning looking lady, despite the fact that you’re a mother of one….
They really disturb me, I won’t lie, but really, I’m not surprised because I know most of them cannot ignore me when they see me. I’m a beautiful woman and I have a really good figure, so they will always come. And you know, men, love beautiful women. I just have to be careful with them, that’s all.
How have you been able to maintain your beauty after all these years?
Well, as far as my beauty is concerned, I thank God and I thank my parents for that. But specifically, I ensure that I eat good food and do lots of exercises. Every morning, I go to the gym to work out. I visit the spa regularly and I maintain my skin by ensuring I don’t use substandard creams on my body.
There must be somebody special in your life, Bisi, you want to tell us about him?
Of course, there’s somebody special, but I want to keep him out of publicity for now. When the time is right, I will reveal his identity and make it official.
Who are your favorite foreign designers?
I honestly admire the works of many designers. They’re all doing great. I love Just Cavalier, Fendi, Gucci, Ferragamo, I love a lot of them and I buy their stuff whenever I see any that I find fascinating.
How about Nigerian designers? You must have a few of them that you patronize.
I love all of them, to be candid. They’re all doing really awesome stuffs these days. I will not like to mention names because a lot of them are my friends, I will not like to get myself into trouble by mentioning some names and leaving out some others. But seriously, I like all of them, they’re all doing great.
You have not been very visible in movies lately, is it that you’re deliberately keeping away from the industry?
No, it’s not that I am deliberately keeping away, I have had to make out time to take care of my baby and embrace motherhood full time. I have returned to the movies now. I’ve shot a few movies and I intend to produce my own movie very soon. Hopefully, by July, something will definitely drop from me.
