Iyabo Ojo has been in the news lately. Recently, she unveiled a restaurant, where she sells amala, a Yoruba local delicacy. Abula Spot, as the star actress refers to the restaurant, is situated in highbrow Lekki, Lagos.
While many people have struggled to understand why she ventured into such a business in Lekki, an area known for everything that is classy and of quality, others have hailed her move as well-thought-out. The Abula building also houses a spa and a lounge on its rooftop.
I didn’t take any loan to open this place. When I got the place and I felt I needed money, I sold my land somewhere on the Island and almost all my gold. I sold a batch of my gold and later the second batch
But it seems excited Iyabo Ojo is not disturbed by the many distractions she gets from people over this new venture. She says her Abula Spot actually made her to open a restaurant in Lekki. She also discloses that prior to opening the business, she had noticed the lack of a good local spot, where one could buy his or her local delicacy at a cheap price.
She says, “So, when I moved in here, I decided to open my restaurant. I have had it in mind before I opened a spa in Ikeja, but I felt I didn’t have the time. When you are doing a business that has to do with food and drinks, you must have the time to monitor it.
“Since I now live on the Island, moving from the Island to the Mainland has been difficult. I had two shops in Ikeja, but I decided to close one. The aim is to stay in one place and monitor things myself.”
According to her, the other shop in Ikeja is a boutique and things cannot go wrong even if she doesn’t visit often. She believes that once you have a shop attendant who can relate well with customers, you can go to sleep.
She confesses that her original intention was to invest in the Abula Spot and a spa in Lekki, but immediately she saw the building’s roof, thoughts of running a bar came to her.
Ojo also says she’s not ashamed of being tagged a “local lady” for investing in the ‘amala’ business, insisting that she made her name in the movie industry by acting in her local dialect, Yoruba language.
“I am a local chick! I made my name by acting in my local dialect. In Yoruba land, ‘amala’ is the main thing and everyone has embraced it. So, I am proud to be selling amala because that is my culture. I brought a local delicacy to Lekki and I made it classy. You should have noticed it by now, my Abula Spot is managed well. The fact that something is local doesn’t mean it is dirty or you cannot relate with it. Funny enough, the Abula Spot sells faster right now. Since we opened, for a week now, we kill one goat a day and we do two-pot of ‘amala.’ So, I am not ashamed; I enjoy people calling me ‘Iya Alamala’ because that is who I am right now,” she explains.
Despite selling amala, Iyabo Ojo’s favourite food is plantain and egg. She also likes yam and rice. But since she started the restaurant business, she says the local delicacy is now her favourite, because she can eat it whenever she likes. Though her signature dish is ‘amala,’ she stresses that she also sells other foods such as pounded yam, fufu, garri, rice and a host of others.
She does not think her decision to delve into the food industry will affect her life as an actress. Describing herself as an organised person, she notes that when one’s life is planned, laying hands on different things at the same time will not be an issue.
“At a time I opened my shop at Ikeja, I wanted to go into the English movie industry. But I opened my business first and a year later, I started shooting English movies. I’ve done about six English movies now. I rushed it because I knew I would take a break to open this business. For a month or two months, I don’t plan to be filming because I need to put things in place,” she says.
Similarly, even when Iyabo Ojo is out of town, she has confidence in her workers manning the restaurant. She insists that she only employs people who can relate with customers well, adding that all her employees pass through training sessions.
“I don’t even work every day, like before. I can be home for two weeks without filming; so I would rather be here. I’ve outgrown the stage of acting every day and I choose the movies I act in. But when I have to work, I know I will take some days off. Even the most successful people in the world still find time to travel. You cannot run a business on your own, you have to employ people to help you. If you have a good relationship with workers, you make them your friends and family members; then you can be relaxed. If I was chewing more than I could bite, I would not have enough teeth to chew more. Our plan in life is that once you open a business, you should open more branches.”
Diverting from her ‘amala’ business, she explains that she started producing English movies because she felt the need to reach out to a wider audience. While admitting that she made her name from Yoruba movies, she says, as a producer, she has to think like a producer.
“Every good producer wants to expand or tell his or her story to the world, not to a certain people. We all know that everybody understands Yoruba language. I knew I would still cross over to English movies from the outset.
“The Yoruba people are gifted, as we have original stories to tell. But I feel that we can also tell these stories in English for more people to relate with them. If you watch my movies, you will know that I am telling Yoruba stories in English Language.”
Though she had desired to venture into the English movie industry a long time ago, she maintains that she needed to study the terrain well, and this took a while. Also, she admits that English movies are more capital intensive than the Yoruba movies, adding that there is nothing like “please help me” in English movies.
But for showbiz, the mother of two says she will not be driving an expensive car. According to her, a lot of people would rather spend their cash on designers and gold or expensive cars. But, for her, she is a breadwinner and has a lot of responsibilities.
She says, “I didn’t collect any loan to open this place. When I got the place and I felt I needed money, I sold my land somewhere on the Island and almost all my gold. I sold a batch of my gold and later the second batch. But I also have the support of good people. Some of my godfathers and godmothers supported me, I will not deny that.
“If I buy an expensive car, it is because I am into showbiz. But most times, I am always driving my Toyota car. I only drive my Range Rover whenever I have an event to go. If I was not a celebrity, I don’t think I would be using an expensive car. Showbiz comes with razzmatazz, but I will never make that my first priority. My business is my first priority. I am a bread winner and I have a lot of people who depend on me for survival. I have two children and five adopted children.”
Since her children are grown up, she says she now has more time for herself. But when they were younger, she planned her time well.
“All the producers that I have worked with know I don’t sleep at locations. That’s my policy. There are exceptional cases, but those come once in a while, especially when we are shooting a crime movie, which requires night scenes,” Ojo says.
