I Can Never Act Nude, Never Ever—Okawa Shaznay

For one who has acted as the mean and fearless  lady in movies , you would assume Okawa Shaznay would gladly jump at acting nude to become popular as some of her colleagues in the make-believe world did and still do.

But it’s a No from her.

The Cameroonian-born actress declined.

 

Receiving the Eloy Awards which was presented by Debola Williams

“Why should I act nude? It’s not me,” she responded.

Tell Okawa that some actresses who are pretty acted nude and are famous now and she replied:

“Well, that’s not my direction. However, I’m not in a position to judge any actress doing that. I grew up wanting to be an actress and one who would be a model to many others. There are many young people who have accepted me as a role model being a young person myself. I would not want to disappoint them.”

Popularly known for her role in the TV series, “Delilah” Okawa, who is currently a Nollywood actress, resides in Lagos.  A graduate of Accounting from Texas Southern University, she grew up in Cameroon, Nigeria and starred in her first movie “Master DJ" in Cameroon in 2004 just before leaving for the United States.

She recently won the Best Actress of the Year 2016 at the prestigious Eloy Awards in Lagos.

How did she receive the news? “First, I was surprised when I was nominated alongside Iyabo Ojo, Toyin Aimakhu, Meg Otawa and Ruth Kadiri. These are actresses that would pull the stops anyday and I admire them. I started canvassing for votes from fans and followers and didn’t know I would emerge winner. I was sitting there and when I was called, I was shocked. It was a humbling experience at the awards ceremony. I was surprised when Toyin Aimakhu also congratulated me. She is such a good-natured person.”

Still on the awards she said, “I believe all the nominees are also winners because everyone did a good work and stood a chance of winning. I feel really humbled.”

On why she has decided to stay in Nigeria, the pretty actress, who has acted with big names in Nollywood including Ramsey Nouah and Rita Dominic, described Nigeria as the ‘hub’ of entertainment in Africa.

“Nigeria is where you have full time entertainment in Africa. The production scale in Nigeria is unequalled. Nigeria has many talented actors, producers, directors and cinematographers whose hands are always on deck. This is where you can achieve your dream as a thespian as long as you are in Africa and I decided staying back. Though I still go to Cameroun, I am fully resident in Lagos,” she said.