Chika Ike
You
do not come across Nollywood actress, Chika Ike, for the first time and
fail not to wonder why she is being trailed by a string of scandals.
Although she cuts across as the ‘girl next door’, a conversation with
her reveals a thirst for success.
Although every tweet or Facebook post by
the leggy actress is likely to generate a barrage of comments, mostly
negative, Ike says, “Honestly, I have learnt to cope with them. I have
developed a rhino skin, Initially they used to get to me but now I’ve
realised it comes with the job and part of growing up.”
Away from the pretty face and svelte figure, Ike has a lot going for her scandal-wise.
Recently, she caused quite a stir on
Twitter, when she tweeted a copy of her school leaving certificate,
after critics doubted her age. Although she says the motive behind the
act was misconstrued by critics, she could not be bothered any less.
“I dint tweet my WAEC certificate to
prove my age because I don’t really care if anyone believes I’m 27 or
not. I only tweeted it to start conversations with my fans about their
WAEC certificates and results. I was surprised that it was interpreted
the other way around.”
With a calm mien, Ike’s marital status is
yet another bone of contention in the entertainment circles. Having
gotten married at age 20, shortly before her foray into Nollywood, the
dark-skinned actress succeeded in shrouding details of her marriage
until she and her man parted ways after five years.
So did she consider herself fortunate at
the time? She says, “Lucky? I did not consider myself lucky. I
considered myself to be in love at that time. But as you know , things
and people will always change. Life happened, honestly nothing because I
learn from every experience in life. Maybe if I had done something
differently I wouldn’t have gotten the experience I have today.”
While some will give anything to be
romantically linked to a top shot and benefit from a series of largesse,
The University of Lagos graduate of Human Kinetics and Health
Education is unhappy with stories making the rounds that Senate
President, David Mark, alledgedly financed the establishment of her
Abuja-based upscale fashion accessories store, Fancy Nancy Collections,
which opened in 2011.
“I made this particular issue clear in
several interviews. I don’t know David Mark personally. I only know him
as the Senate president. David Mark did not buy me a car, neither did he
help me with my shop in Abuja. All I’m thinking about right now is my
divorce as I am officially separated.”
Ike’s flamboyant life style and numerous
trips around the world are an open-secret. Recently, private pictures
and videos of her holidaying in Maimi, US and shopping in Dubai were
trending. But how do these pictures get out?
“Any of my avid follower on Twitter will
realise that I tweet and ‘facebook’ a lot of pictures and daily
activities.So, no they were not leaked. I shared it on my Twitter page
@chikaike and it went viral on the Internet. I guess people liked it a
lot.”
It has been eight years since Ike
accompanied her sister to a movie audition and ended up as an ‘extra’ in
the film and things picked up from then onwards for the leggy star. A
few years down the line, her face has become a regular in many movies,
many of whom are shot in the east. But Ike is not giving up just yet.
She says, “I have played diverse roles in movies but I will really like to play a historic figure.”
