From growing up in Idi Oro, a Mushin
suburb of Lagos to owning a mansion in the highbrow Banana Island,
Nigerian superblogger and former model, Linda Ikeji,
admits that she has come a long way. OVWE MEDEME caught up with her at the recent launch of her new concept, Linda Ikeji Social, and she talks about her struggle so far.
admits that she has come a long way. OVWE MEDEME caught up with her at the recent launch of her new concept, Linda Ikeji Social, and she talks about her struggle so far.
10 years is a long time. How would you describe the journey so far?
The journey has been amazing. I didn’t
expect to be here today because when I started hustling in those days,
social media wasn’t popular in Nigeria. The first thing that I came
across was blogging. And to be honest, when I started in November 2006,
the last thing on my mind was that it was going to change my life as
much as it has. It was just a place for me to be creative because I love
to write stuff down and I didn’t think that ten years from now, this
would happen. So it wasn’t something that I envisioned. It’s been an
amazing journey, definitely something that I’m extremely grateful for. A
lot of us are on social media but not everyone can say that it has
changed their lives so tremendously. So I’m really grateful for how far
I’ve come.
Before you started making money from the blog, were you not at some point frustrated?
So many times. The worst was definitely
September 19 2010. It was my 30th birthday. I was broke, I was angry
because I had been doing nothing for a long time and I was still
struggling, I was still borrowing money. So I was extremely depressed
and very angry with myself. I felt like a failure. I would cry a lot and
then open my laptop to blog. I didn’t know that was where God was
leading me to. And so, after my 30th birthday, my life really changed.
You’ve carried a lot of controversial news, particularly about artistes. What is your relationship with them like, especially Wizkid?
You’ve carried a lot of controversial news, particularly about artistes. What is your relationship with them like, especially Wizkid?
I don’t want to talk about Wizkid. To be
honest, I have a cordial relationship with other entertainers. I’ve had
run-ins with a few of them but in recent times, that hasn’t happened.
It was when I was being carefree and careless with stories that I write.
But apart from him, in the past year, I’ve not had a big issue with
anybody.
How have you been able to manage it with all the threats that are thrown your way? Doesn’t that leave you scared?
The only person that threatened me was
him. No it doesn’t scare me. I do more good for them than they
acknowledge. Some of them are my friends, some of them have been to my
house but the negativity that comes with blogging is fine. Some people
will take offence, some will react in different ways. I’ve been doing
this for ten years. If by now I’m not used to the backlash, then I
should get out of the business.
From the feedback you get, do you feel loved or hated?
It’s a combination of both. I get a lot
of hate and I get a lot of love. But I try as much as possible to hold
on to the love and not pay attention to the hate because I know the hate
is coming from a very different place.
Sometimes when I trend and I see some
vile comments about me, I’m like, you’ve never met me, why are you
saying these kinds of things about me? I’ve grown such a thick skin, I
just look at it and I laugh. I know when people are frustrated and
depressed because I have been there. I’ve been depressed and I’ve been
angry and my anger was always towards those who are successful and when I
say hurtful things about them, it makes me feel better. So I allow them
that grace to just vent. I understand that success comes with a lot of
hate.
In fact, that is one of the ways to know
you’re really doing well. But of course, I get a lot of love. I get a
lot of people who tell me that I inspire them and those are the ones I
pay attention to.
Have you lost any valuable friendship because of a story you wrote?
Absolutely not; I haven’t. I’ve lost people who don’t agree with what I do but nothing valuable.
With this your new concept, don’t you think you are taking on too much at a time?
I’ve been blogging for ten years and I’m
bored. I want to do something else. I’m 36, this is the time I have the
energy and passion to run this. Besides, I’m delegating. I have a staff
of over 30 people working here. So it’s not too much really. I think
people try to limit themselves. I don’t limit myself at all. I feel like
there’s absolutely nothing I can’t do.
You made a video on your birthday where you talked about a lot of things. Why did you do that?
I just wanted to talk about it. It was
my birthday and I just wished I was married. It’s now that I want to get
married. I don’t wish I was married earlier.
Are you saying you’re not getting proposals from men?
I’m getting quite a lot. People say that
when you’re successful, men run away. It’s a lie. That is when they
chase you the more. But unfortunately I haven’t seen what I’m looking
for. It was my birthday and I just wanted to talk about it.
What are you looking for?
I keep telling people. It’s not that men
are scarce. They are not scarce. The type of men that some of us are
looking for are scarce. If I want to get married next week, I can. I
want a man that I can look up to. Somebody that inspires me, somebody
that will push me, motivate me; somebody who has had some success in his
own career. I’m inspired by successful people. I can’t wait to meet
someone like Tyler Perry.
Does that mean you can’t marry a poor man?
No, I can’t marry a poor guy and I’m being honest about it. He doesn’t have to be rich but let him be successful in his own way.
Have you had to review you standards when it comes to men?
When I was 30, my standards were
extremely high. But I wasn’t really looking. I was just so focused on
work because I’ve always been so ambitious. I wasn’t focused on marriage
and kids and I felt like that would draw me back. So I wanted to just
do my stuff. It was just recently that I started asking myself some
questions. That I started thinking about it. Now, I have only three
criteria.
What are the three?
He must be successful. He must be a good
man in the sense that he has to be very supportive of what I do. If he
tries to stifle me, I’m out. The third one, is the one that likes to eat
groceries well (laughs).
Do you think you’re controversial or just misunderstood?
I don’t go out of my way to look for
controversy. I think that maybe I’m misunderstood. People forget that
blogging, even though it started as a passion, is now a business.
There’s Linda the blogger and there’s Linda the person.
Personally, if I was not a blogger,
there are some things I won’t pay attention to, because I don’t care. I
have things to do in my life. But because I’m a blogger, I have to pay
attention to little gossip. I have to pay attention to who is clapping
back because my readers wants to see all of that. But personally as a
human being, I don’t wish anybody ill, I don’t want anybody to fail, I
don’t want anybody to cry or feel bad about comments. I think I’m
misunderstood which is fine because people who are close to me know me
and those are the people that really matter.
Kemi Olunloyo once accused you of benefiting from Dasukigate…
The reason I didn’t make an issue out of
the Dasuki stuff is because it was overwhelming. I bought a house in
Banana Island for half a billion and people can’t wrap their heads
around it. They start thinking it has to be something shady. Up until
the scandal blew open, I never heard about the man Dasuki. So I know I’m
not guilty of anything.
When you get married, will you leave your Banana Island mansion?
I will move to the man’s house; as long as it’s not a three bedroom flat.
Why do you feel comfortable talking about your age?
I read somewhere online where they said
I’m 42. Let me tell you, it’s so easy to know someone’s age. Just find
out the year they finished secondary school. I finished Lagos Anglican
Girls Grammar School in 1997. I was 16 going on 17. So if I’m 42, it
means I finished secondary school in the 80s. The reason I talk about my
age is because I was a model. In fact when I did my first show in 1998,
I wasn’t up to 18. I had to lie that I was older than I was. I was 17
plus. How can I now be 42 in 2016? People already know my age.
Syndicated from THE NATION
0 comments:
Post a Comment