Celebrating women of ‘The uprising’… wives on strike 3

Omoni Oboli is a Nigerian actress, scriptwriter, film director, producer, filmmaker and an executive producer. She recently premiered her movie ‘The Uprising, Wives on strike III’ and trust me when I say it was an outstanding one. They did a brilliant job with their roles and Women’s Hub was given an exclusive interview with the female lead casts. If you have ever watched ‘Wives on strike’ 1 and 2, in 3, know that Omoni took this one all the way up. I can tell you, it is a must-watch. You won’t understand until you see it so ensure you take out time to go watch it at the cinemas with family and friends. In this edition, we celebrate the female lead casts and share with you their experience on set and views on the film.

Omoni Oboli

I looked at the state of Nigeria today, and I thought to myself, if I am going to address one thing going on in Nigeria, I am going to have to use my strongest voice, and film is my strongest voice as a filmmaker, yes, that is my voice. The intention is also to entertain, so trust me, the movie is very entertaining, but I set out to pass on a very strong message and that is what we have done.

In addressing what is going on in Nigeria today, take kidnapping for example, there is a lot of kidnapping going on in Nigeria today, there are so many issues we are facing today as Nigerians, including bad governance, in fact, a lot. These are the issues we are addressing in the film.

The role of women in the society, the sisterhood and bond is what women should share. The movie is a mix of emotions, you will laugh, learn, think, cry…all in the movie. This is Omoni like you haven’t seen before and I am grateful it is a success today. My character showed what it means to stand for justice and the truth, we all have a lot to learn from the film as individuals and as a nation.

Uche Jombo

Wives on strike is always fun, it is always a ride. From the very first film. This is the third and it happened 10 years after, meaning three films and a series later, it still has the same core value, which is call to action. The interesting thing about wives on strike is that they are all stand-alone films. What they have in common is call to action, sisterhood, a collective group of market women coming together as one with what they were able to achieve. It’s about women, people in general, coming together to ask the government questions and refusing to back down till they get their answers. ‘Wives on strike’ is also about women supporting women. If you have seen any ‘Wives on strike’, you will still enjoy this because it is amazing, however, this one is a bigger film. Even if you haven’t seen any before, you will still enjoy it because it is a stand-alone film. Most importantly, one thing you will take away is laughter and fun, however, there are serious issues being discussed. My character, ‘Madam 12:30’ is a unique character. On what to expect from her, expect her to make you laugh, yet cause you to think deeply.

Hilda Dokubo

I was working with a team of professionals so it was cool. As long as this film is concerned, expect to laugh, to cry, to be afraid for everyone and expect to keep shouting. Wait till you see my character Ebiere. There is Ebiere in every woman. If you look at the challenges we are going through as a nation, trust me when I say in this movie, we give all the answers. We say to the government exactly what they should be doing through this movie. Make sure you rush to the cinema to watch this movie once it starts running. You will be glad you did.

Elvina Ibru

Lessons to learn from ‘The Uprising’ is that there is nothing more powerful than unity. I have come to realise that in Nigeria, women don’t support themselves enough so we need to support each other because the main problem of women is women. I say this boldly and beat my chest to it because women are the first to criticise each other, put down other women and say you can’t do something a certain way because someone didn’t do it that way. Women need to reunite because there is strength in unity and women are built strong. If we were not strong, we would not be able to give birth to children. Thirdly, what this film has to offer is that decision making is very important. You have to think, and if you make the wrong decision, it can change your life forever. My character didn’t appear a lot, if you blink, you might miss me. It is also not a character you will normally see me play but I will tell you that whatever she said in the movie plays an integral part to what actually happened at the end. Omoni knows her onions. Take anyone you can to go watch it, you will not regret it.

Chioma Akpotha

Being on the set of Wives On Strike 3 was amazing. First of all, any opportunity to gather with my sisters is always welcome. Beyond filming and every other thing, whenever we come together to do ‘Wives on strike’ it’s like we are bonding more, it’s like we are killing two birds with one stone, filming and bonding and sharing moments together. The story is completely different from what we’ve always been used to, but it has the same message which is justice for the girl child, justice for humanity, for the oppressed and suppressed and that set was amazing. We had other new actors join us to bring their wealth of knowledge and it was great. We had a lot of challenges but we overcame and love saw us through. When you go to the cinemas to see it, you will testify that this one is particularly different from the others. Just like the others, this one, we tackled issues in the country that have been long pulling on the fabric of Nigeria. We did it in such a way that we sent a message to the authorities to look into what is killing us. WOS3 is a strong message, a cry for help. We are using the medium of storytelling and film-making to call for help. The fabric of the nation has been pulled to shreds and until the powers that be tackle these things that are bent on killing the nation, that is when we will enjoy being our brother’s keeper. Working with other actors was warm and uplifting. For those going to the cinema to watch, you will have fun, laugh, cry, scream and of course want the government to do better.

Ufuoma Mcdermott

We went big, we went different and it was more daring. The other issues we expressed in the other ones were certainly not small issues because societal issues cannot be categorised as small because, whatever affects someone truly affects the person and how the person would react to the issue that affects them, you really can’t tell. To one person, child marriage may not be a serious issue, some will even say that is how it has been from time immemorial and that it isn’t new, but the girl who is being given away in marriage knows what she is going through and how ripped her soul feels when that is done to her. So, to you, it might be small, but to that person, it is a different ball game altogether. So, to the current one, we were daring by touching on the issue of kidnapping and seeing how the government can come in to create security because we reckon that without security, there is really not much we can do. Without security you cannot have peace, businesses cannot thrive, everybody is scared, it is almost like the fear of the unknown, you don’t know at what point you will lose your life, your child, your mother…anyone, it is a very dicey issue. This time, we went big on the issue and the wives came out in full force. Remember they are all mothers and they were able to rally other market women as well because someone’s child was kidnapped and we reckon that it could be anyone’s child. The women were angry and they got together to call out the government. Being Mama Amina for the 3 installments, the fact is that we are able to make you laugh, and while you are laughing, we just throw in the truth. The reality is that, these women are ordinary citizens except Mama Ngozi, who in this one has a political appointment, they were all market women. They all wanted a country that works. I feel honoured acting as mama Amina, and to use my talent in a way that people are entertained, informed and educated. We all have a voice, let’s use it.

May Yul-Edochie

It was quite an experience for me because it was actually my first movie so I really didn’t know what to expect. I got on set and everything looked well put together. Something very fascinating caught my attention. The director, Omoni, was dishing out instructions all the way from Canada via a screen, it was really amazing. To me, I really wanted to see how that would play out, and it did. Originally, I was not in the movie, I did the promotional advert for the movie and it was good, it went viral, so they had to create my character. That is how I got into the movie. We did the first take, I got thumbs up, and it gave me that boost and I became more confident. We did the rest and it became easy. Talking about lessons, for me, something to take from that movie is upbringing. It encourages the youth to accept the good upbringing their parents are giving to them, it is not easy because your disobedience or going the wrong direction can cost you your life and bring so much pain to your family or the society. It is a family movie everyone should watch. Also, I could feel the togetherness amongst the women. The support they gave each other, the empowerment inspires and motivates. We could see how this is typical in today’s Nigeria. There is a situation, and the government is having this nonchalant attitude towards it because if the police had stepped in, that boy may not have lost his life. All of these put together is creating a ripple effect of positive change that will resonate across the country. On my character, I played the role of Iya Oloja. Iya Oloja is the leader of the market women. She is a powerful woman that sees to the affairs of the women. As long as the people were unhappy, Iya Oloja was not happy either. She had to do something about it. I want everyone to see this exceptional and unpredictable movie. A beautiful story line that is part of our lives, teaching us to be better and live in one accord.

Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori (KieKie)

It is such a great privilege to be on this installment. I remember when Omoni called me to tell me she wanted me on this project, I asked her for the role, she said “Iya Bola” and I said “wow!” It was such a huge responsibility because the women’s community is not something to joke with. We have a lot of common issues, we want to speak up, we want to be heard, we want to be paid a lot of attention and having to be in the film and be able to portray this on a larger scale makes me super happy!

Issues in the movie which also resonate with what is going on in Nigeria includes kidnapping, which is quite heartbreaking. Another one is the boy child, this needs to be given a lot of attention because everybody is focused on the girl child alone, how about the boys? The movie also portrays friendship, togetherness, association and more. Women need to understand that doing things on your own is great, but together, we are stronger. These strong points you will see come alive in the film.

With my role, you will be annoyed, you will laugh, you will be able to relate her to someone you know but trust me, you are going to love her eventually.