{"id":274078,"date":"2011-01-15T00:33:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-15T00:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/?p=47621"},"modified":"2011-01-15T00:33:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-15T00:33:00","slug":"onyeka-onwenu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/","title":{"rendered":"Onyeka Onwenu"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
Onyeka Onwenu<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nA woman of many parts! Yes, that is what Onyeka Onwenu is. Broadcaster, singer and actress rolled into one. From the onset of her broadcasting career with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in the 80s, to singing career and later Nollywood, Elegant Stallion (as she is fondly called), ranks among the best artistes that Nigeria has produced.
\nAh, wait for this! Onyeka is also a politician, it should be borne in mind. She really surprised all when she joined the fray in 2003 vying for the chairmanship of her local government area in Imo State, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
\nAs if all these were not enough for one woman, Onyeka is at it again. This time, along with other notable female artistes, she is sweating it out in the studio to release an album in support of the anti-HIV\/AIDS campaign. Also involved in the project are Uche Ibeto, Salawa Abeni, Esse Agesse, Judith Nwachukwu and others.
\nThey are operating under the banner of Association of Female Musicians in Nigeria (AFEM)
\nAmidst her tight schedule, the mother of two spoke last week to Sunday Sun, revealing her attachment to her late father, career, kids and other issues.
\nInterestingly, her politician father died about 50 years ago, when she was barely four years old. But his memory remains stuck with her.
\n\u201cI wish you knew my father. He usually took me along whenever he went for his political meetings. He would hand me over to (Dr. K.O.) Mbadiwe when it was his turn to speak. He was an orator, that if he speaks before anybody, the next speaker would find it difficult to say anything. The late Tafawa Balewa called him \u2018The Old Teacher.\u2019\u201d
\nOf all the movies she has starred in, either as lead character or support, the one most memorable to her is \u201cConspiracy\u201d. Like two or more of her movies, Onyeka played the role of a widow who suffered in the hands of her in-laws. \u201cMy mother was widowed when I was only four and a half years old,\u201d she said.
\nAFEM\u2019s HIV\/AIDS project
\n\u201cIt would be wrong to call AFEM my baby. It was God\u2019s making. But, to answer you, the idea has been there for a long time. We didn\u2019t want something like a women wing of PMAN. But nobody was going to take the bull by the horn. So, one day I decided to write a letter to some female musicians and we sat down and discussed. We had our first meeting last November, and it was like we had started years back.
\nWe realised that there wasn\u2019t enough awareness about the HIV\/AIDS scourge. It appeared that some people still doubt whether the virus exists or not. In spite of the fact that we know somebody who has been infected, or somebody, who in turn knows somebody somewhere, we still carry on as if we are immune.
\n\u201cFrom the statistics that we have, we found out that women were more infected because they have no control over their sexuality. It was either because they were married off young, or some places where, if the husband dies, the other brother took over the wife. Unfortunately, these women have no say.
\n\u201cWe all came together do something that would throw more light on these problems. As artistes, they best way we can do it would be by singing, so we decided to wax an album. The album is entitled \u201cValue for your life\u201d. As artistes, we are not making anything from the project. We are giving our time, talent and money, and all the proceeds would be used to make copies of the work available to people.\u201d
\nMost recent job
\n\u201cI have just finished work on a new movie. It is a story about widows who set out to help themselves. But there was a devilish element that was introduced by the madam of the group. But for the first time, my character was not so nice in this movie. I was not the victim here. It was good for a change.\u201d
\nMovie roles and widowhood
\n\u201cYou must know a woman somewhere who is a widow. When I was about four and a half years old, my father died and my mum was widowed. Having been raised by a widow, and seeing what my mum went through, there is no way to express it. You have to experience it to know how it feels.\u201d
\nMy dad
\n\u201cI was only four and a half years old when he died. But his memory is still very fresh in my head. I was the closest to him. He was a member of the House of Assembly. He died in a motor accident.
\n\u201cHe was a very charismatic man. If he enters a place, the whole neighbourhood will liven up with shouts of D.K. At their meetings, heavens help you if you had to make a speech after him. As a matter of fact, they made sure he spoke last, because if he spoke before you, nobody would wait to listen to you. He was incredibly an honest man. But when he died, those he had helped deserted us. Those he had given scholarships, or sent abroad.\u201d
\nMy sons
\n\u201cI am very close to my sons, just the same way I was close to my dad. They are lovely boys. But I know that it is God that has been responsible for the way they have turned out. I remember that after my father died, my mum turned us to God. It is the same thing that I have done with them.\u201d
\nSinging career
\n\u201cI have not quit singing at all. I have been busy on all fronts. Aside my albums, I have done several collaborations with many artistes in the past. \u201cDon\u2019t forget too that I wrote the song for the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.\u201d
\nPolitics and I
\n\u201cI vied for the chairman of Ideato North Local Government in 2003. I was sure I won it. God has used that first time to teach me some lessons. He used it to convince me, even more of what the people wish me to be. Now, I know that my people are calling for me. I am a strong member of the PDP. It is the party I support and love. We may be having problems now, I am sure we are going to settle our differences soon.\u201d
\nNTA board member
\nOnyeka had in year 2000 laid siege at the gate of NTA and for over two weeks she lived in the open, a protest that elicited the support of notable personalities such as Lagos lawyer Gani Fawehinmi and Charley Boy. Her grouse was alleged non-payment of royalties to artistes whose works the NTA was commercially telecasting.
\nBut today, she is a board member of the organisation she was once literally up in arms against, a case of what goes around comes around.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know the nature of the job yet. That will wait until we are inaugurated. But you know that I\u2019ve worked with NTA. I know its challenges and what it needs to stand out. My problem with NTA was to ensure that artistes were treated well. Don\u2019t forget that I am an artiste whose rights were denied by the NTA. I did what I did at the time so that artiste would not be denied their rights again in the country. That was what I fought for, and I can assure you that it won\u2019t happen to any artiste in this country again. I am grateful to God for allowing me do what I did and I must say that I don\u2019t regret doing 0it.
\n\u201cWhat I intend to do as a board member? Don\u2019t forget that I am a board member. I\u2019ll wait till our inauguration before I say anything on that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A woman of many parts! Yes, that is what Onyeka Onwenu is. Broadcaster, singer and actress rolled into one. From the onset of her broadcasting career with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in the 80s, to singing career and later Nollywood, Elegant Stallion (as she is fondly called), ranks among the best artistes that Nigeria […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nOnyeka Onwenu - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Onyeka Onwenu - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"A woman of many parts! Yes, that is what Onyeka Onwenu is. Broadcaster, singer and actress rolled into one. From the onset of her broadcasting career with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in the 80s, to singing career and later Nollywood, Elegant Stallion (as she is fondly called), ranks among the best artistes that Nigeria […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Onyeka Onwenu\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-15T00:33:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1336,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Onyeka Onwenu - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-15T00:33:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/15\\\/onyeka-onwenu\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/2011\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Onyeka Onwenu - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Onyeka Onwenu - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"A woman of many parts! Yes, that is what Onyeka Onwenu is. Broadcaster, singer and actress rolled into one. From the onset of her broadcasting career with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in the 80s, to singing career and later Nollywood, Elegant Stallion (as she is fondly called), ranks among the best artistes that Nigeria […]","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Onyeka Onwenu","datePublished":"2011-01-15T00:33:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/"},"wordCount":1336,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/","name":"Onyeka Onwenu - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg","datePublished":"2011-01-15T00:33:00+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/15\/onyeka-onwenu\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/onyeka-onwenu.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274078\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}