Work for your money, don't depend on men - Nollywood actress advises women

The actress said she doesn't know how to ask for favours and she refused to beg men for money.

Nollywood actress, Didi Ekanem, has urged women to stop depending on men for money, and work for their own money instead.

The actress, who said this in an interview with Sunday Scoop, also explained why it's important for a woman to strife to make her own money saying this would make them less dependent on a man.

The businesswoman revealed her happiness that her money is enough to sustain her and has helped her to live within her earnings.

Ekanem said, “It is important for a woman to work for her money. There is no point for any woman to depend on a man for money. I don’t know how to ask for favours and I refuse to ask men for money. I am happy that my money sustains me. It has helped me to live within my means.”

Recall that the actress suffered a huge loss last year when she lost her stock in a fire incident at her house.

Ekanem posted a series of videos of the burning house on her Instagram page wherein she was seen crying profusely about the situation.

Looking so helpless, she mentioned that the fire had consumed everything she has worked for in Lagos.

However, Ekanem has now recovered from the loss and said “It all boils down to the need to work hard and make one’s money. Some persons were asking why I cried and put up pictures (of the burnt house) on Instagram.

"They said I was chasing clout. But, one week after, I got a new apartment, and some people started talking again. I then said to myself, ‘My house got burnt, not my account balance’. It was easy for me to come out of it because I had savings.”

Ekanem also shared some interesting facts about her side gigs apart from acting, “I have just opened a store, and I am working on my new collection. I have also started a food business. These are things I have always loved. I love cooking and feeding people. We are in the social media era where people can easily monetise their passion.

"Becoming a fashion designer is not something I had always thought of. I needed to make extra money for myself. Anything you see me do, it is because I have passion for it. I went into fashion designing because it is something I enjoy doing. It was not easy because I had to go to school to learn the basics and have a better understanding of what it takes to become a fashion designer.”

On why she posts funny videos on social media, the actress said, “I love to create videos because I am a very funny person ‘when I am inside of me’. I just felt my fans needed to see my funny side. I can be very serious with work but there is another side of me that is very funny.”

Ekanem has once boasted that she feels good having one of the biggest bums in the Nigerian movie industry.