Hadiza Aliyu Gabon: My name is Hadiza Aliyu but I am popularly called Hadiza Gabon, I was born in the city of Libreville, the capital of Gabon and I also had my primary and secondary education there, after that, I read Law because I have always wanted to become a lawyer. I wrote my A levels and chose Law as a course. I started my first year but along the line, I dropped out of school due to some personal issues I had back then but then I still went ahead to have a diploma in French Language and with that, I taught French language in a private school. After then I came down to Nigeria and joined the movie industry, Kannywood to be precise
My mum hails from Mubi Local Government Area in Adamawa State while my dad is from Gabon.
How did you come about the name Hadiza Gabon?
I am a Gabonese, people especially those in the movie industry do address me as a Gabonese girl. That was how the name Hadiza Gabon came about and it stuck.
How did you come about acting movies?
I started acting movies in 2009. At that time I use to watch them in locations whenever they are on set, so I started feeling like one of them because I had always wanted to act movies, though I also wanted to be a lawyer. So, I started talking to Ali Nuhu about it, but then I had a little challenge in speaking Hausa fluently as I could only speak French. So, it became a challenge for me, because the audience wouldn’t get what I would be saying, so gradually, I started learning the language by mingling with them always until I became so fluent in speaking it, and then I started featuring in Hausa movies. I have enjoyed every bit of it so far.
As an actress in Kannywood what are some of the challenges you are faced with?
Everything one intends to do in life, definitely you must come across little challenge, like I earlier said, the greatest challenge I faced was the language barrier. I had to learn the language that is not mine entirely and it wasn’t an easy task. At that time, the only language I could speak when I came into Nigeria was Fulani and French. Asides that there have really not been any tiring challenges, unless if you count the stress that comes with being an actress. But then in life nothing good comes easy.
How can you rate the Kannywood industry despite the various criticisms it gets?
To me, both Kannywood and Nollywood is one, because we are all Nigerians and we are speaking in the same tone. The only difference is the means of communicating to the targeted audience in each location. Kannywood is trying their very best to reach even the level that it will be compared with Hollywood and I believe one day we will reach that stage, because we have directors and producers who study film making abroad and come down home to practise their field. With the right support, we will get there.
Do you see yourself featuring in Nollywood someday?
I have never thought of this, but if the opportunity comes, why not? I am an actress and I believe I have the capacity to play any role given to me; all I need to do is to collect my script, go through it carefully and act out my character the best way I can. As I said earlier, Nollywood is not any different from Kannywood it is just the language.
What are those memorable moments you can never forget as an actress?
There is this fun while I am on set with my colleagues, we all crack jokes, eat, laugh and even sometimes argue about issues, so itthey are always very interesting to me. We are like one family whenever we all gather in movie locations to shoot a movie. Moments like these cannot be easily forgotten.
Aside acting, what other things do you do?
I do business, I am someone who loves to do business so I travel to my country or Cotonou to buy female fashion stuffs like shoes, bags and even wears to sell, because I don’t want to become a liability to anyone around me. When I am not on set, I am facing my business.
How do your parents feel about you being an actress?
They didn’t like it at first, but with time they came around with my idea of acting in movies, because I am doing really well and they felt that might be my destiny, so they always pray for Allah to lift me higher in whatever I am doing. Right now they are very supportive.
There has been a lot of negativities trailing most Kannywood actresses especially for not portraying Islam in good light. What is your opinion about on this?
I believe you cannot judge someone you have never come in contact with nor seen in your life, so what people say is not true. If we are going to go through the line of Islam, Allah said we should not judge someone unjustly, and you shouldn’t say whatever you witness. I am in the movie industry and I can tell you that I have never seen any lady who plays with her religion by ignoring the call of prayers at every time it is called even when we are on set or at a location. As a Muslim child, I grew up in a house where as you are growing up, how to pray and the importance and benefits of praying is the first thing that you will be taught. It is really unfair for people to think about us in a negative form because we are entertainers.
People have also criticized kannywood to take its theme and ideas from Bollywood, in your own opinion do you think Kannywood is setting a trend from itself?
Everything has changed generally, even our northern culture. If you visit a core northern family, you find out that there are some knowledge they acquired from the western world because modernization has touched everywhere. Their ways of life twenty years ago is different from now, you will not see a Hausa child speaking only his dialect, he must have the knowledge of English because of the school he attends to attain western education. So, to me if people feel we get our ideas from Bollywood, Bollywood to me, also get their themes and ideas from Hollywood I must say because ideas must be shared generally as most movies is based on true life story.
Who are some of the actresses/ actors you look forward to acting with?
I don’t have a particular person in mind, because I will love to act movie with all the stars because each and every one of them have their skills and talent that I learn from whenever we are on set.
What was your best movie that you featured in?
“Yar maye”,I have never played such role before. In the movie, It happens that I come out from a humble home and later went to school and came across some bad companies who mislead me. I wasn’t the lead character in the movie at first, but when they brought the script to me and I read it, I became so interested in playing the role of the lead character.
What is your latest movie?
The latest movie I featured in is yet to be released but the name is “Daga ni sai ke”, it was produced by Aminu Saira.
In Nollywood we have stories of directors who sleep with actresses before giving them the lead role to play in a movie. Do such allegations happen in Kannywood also?
Not at all, at least none that I am aware of. I have never heard of such an incidence in the industry. Whenever a movie director feels I can fit into a particular role of character of a movie, I am invited for discussion and they will send me the script, after that, they give me a date to report at the location. That is all. It never happens in Kannywood. A role is given to you based on your capabilities and nothing more.
If you are not on set, how do you relax?
If I am not on set, I am at home relaxing, because I am an indoor person and I love my privacy to a large extent or I go out to visit relations and friends.
Do you see yourself as a Nigerian?
Yes of course, I love Nigeria because my mum is one and it is a wonderful country to live in.
What is your kind of ideal man?
Someone that has the fear of Allah in him and who will love and respect me.
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