Stella Damasus speaks
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Stella Damasus is an enigma. An embodiment of talents, a stunning beauty with an incredible inner power that sets her apart from the ordinary. She is in grief, yet not weeping. She is wronged by friends and family, she would not confront them. She is lonely and besieged by men, the rich, the super rich and powerful, yet has decided to carry on the weighty legacy of the man she married for five years and lost two hours after they both had breakfast, without an accident.
“Now I sleep on the bed alone, no Jaiye to turn to. It is bad enough” 18 months down the scary, lonely aisle without her earthly protector, friend, brother, supporter and provider, Stella is still confronted by the same challenges as when she first lost the love of her life. At 28 with two lovely children to cater for, where does she go? In opening up her heart, full of wound, Stella betrays no emotion, even as she appears faced with the daunting dilemma of re-marrying and challenge of coming with a wild rumour of her affair with a popular musician.
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Which Nigerian state are you from?
Delta State.
Where?
Asaba.
Is Damasus an Asaba name?
No, its a Greek name. My grandfathers first name actually.
How come you adopted your grandfathers first name as your surname?My original familys name was Ojukwu but during the war, that was before I was born there was a lot of misunderstanding the Biafran soldiers and the Nigerian soldiers and all. It was so much that my family members were mistaken for Ikemba (Odumegwu-Ojukwu). A lot of things happened. Our people were killed just because of the name. It got to stage where my grandfather decided that we should adopt just his first name, so that we could be saved from people mistaking us for relatives of the Ikemba. I was actually born into Damasus. Its my elder sisters who were born into Ojukwu before my father changed it.
Where are your mum and dad?
My dad was a banker and my mum also was a banker. He was a manager with the former African Continental Bank (ACB). He was transferred to Asaba. It was there that he set up the Oshimili Community Bank in Asaba, thats where he retired from.
Has this issue of your surname been a recurring decimal and are you bothered?
Yes, right from when I was a child growing up in school, it was always a problem because it was always misspelled and mispronounced because everybody called me Damascus. Even in the movies, you see sometimes they write Damascus and everything. I just learn to live with it because I am tired of correcting people. It is not everybody I can explain this to, how we changed from the original Ojukwu name to Damasus.
You sing and act, what other creative abilities do you have?
I am an events and wedding planner. I also make clothes. I make African outfit called Monafrique. I make African clothes, beads and stuff like that. I am also into equipment rentals. I love to find out what is new in the market and if I can afford it I buy. I design. I cant say Im a writer, but I always have ideas. I come up with concepts that people can fly with.
What are you talking about scripts for movies, short stories, novels or essay?
I have done scripts for drama series. I have done soaps. I have horror films. I have done the whole works in different books on my laptop. I have five different TV ideas that I have always wanted to do. I come up with poems and different things.
Rest here....