Posted by By SAMOD BIOBAKU (sixthsense34@yahoo.com) on
Being the only male child in a family of nine; with eight sisters to contend with, as expected, he had an early baptism of being constantly hounded by the opposite sex.
Being the only male child in a family of nine; with eight sisters to contend with, as expected, he had an early baptism of being constantly hounded by the opposite sex.
Subliminally configured towards feminine alliances and interests, he discovered his hunger for professional modeling at an early age.
However, nothing in his upbringing or professional calling prepared him for some of the rude shocks he has come face to face with in the course of doing what he knows how to do best, modeling.
In a chat with Sunday Sun, Hussein Olalekan Mohammed fondly dubbed Ebony (for his complexion) revealed some incredible details of how he has had to cope with sexual advances from rich homosexuals who prey on Nigerian male models.
In addition to this, he also spoke on the Nigerian modeling industry, which he tagged as emerging. 'The Nigerian modeling industry is still growing and it's putting food on my table. The truth is that if you're good at what you do, there's a tendency that you could become the best. My role model is Mohammed Ali because he is the world's greatest."
Born and raised in Lagos by a Yoruba mother and a Cameroonian-Fulani dad, life for him began in Agege in the midst of eight sisters. 'I have eight sisters and I'm the only boy. My dad is late; lost him two years ago. He was a captain while he was in service. I'm the first child and I have eight sisters. I'm used to women because I grew up among them. I give more time to women and I've come to understand them much better. I find it easier to manage them."
Under the Modella brand, Ebony has soiled his hands in various modeling contracts. Some of his recent modeling engagements include an MTN job in South Africa and a Fanta job in Kumasi, Ghana. 'I just renewed my contract with Modella and this will run till 2010. I also participated in the Ghana Fashion Show in 2006. Most of the jobs I have done are event jobs. We host shows and handle crises for organisations like Rothmans and many others. We also do event management and entertainment as a whole."
Ordinarily, the prospect of sharing a room with a naked woman could be invitation to trouble, but for Ebony, it has become part of the job.
'Of course, I get to share dressing rooms with female models during run way shows but the truth is that I'm used to it already. I'm a professional and you don't expect me to drool over the sight of a nude woman. It happens all the time and I'm used to it. In the beginning, I must confess to you that the sight of it always excited me but not anymore. When you're on the field, you get to see these things everyday."
His encounters with homosexuals have not been too pleasant as he narrates his experiences. According to Ebony, he has been harassed by so many of them that spotting a homosexual from a distance has become an effortless exercise.
'With God, I have been able to overcome homosexuals. When I'm on the field working, big Alhajis walk up to me and begin to do sweet talking. They tell me how attractive I look, drop their cards and later call me up for dinner invitations. There have been so many times like that. The truth is that, I have lost count. When they come to me like that, I know what they want. It's been so frequent that I now find it easy to spot them even before they open their mouth to speak. Before it gets to the point when they get bold enough to ask for sex directly, I tell them to bug off. I tell them to bug off when I feel I've had enough. I say something like: ‘Excuse me.'"
He also narrated an incident where the homosexuals offered to pay him N100, 000 to have sex with him all night. 'God forbid but if he gets persistent, I'll most likely deliver a straight punch into his face. There a lot of big names involved in this thing but as you already know, names cannot be mentioned. Someone recently priced me for N100, 000 for a night. Of course, I declined the offer."
His most embarrassing moment is one he vividly recalls because it fetched him a blinding slap. 'There was a girl I used to know way back in school. I was in Victoria Island one day when I saw a lady who could pass for her identical twin sister. Thinking she was the one, I moved closed to her, held her arm and said hello with a huge smile on my face. The next thing I got was a slap and for a moment, I was too stunned to speak. That was when I realized my error and I apologized. She also apologized for slapping me but the harm had been done."
Modeling, according to Ebony is about being creative. He reiterated the fact that, if handled properly, Nigerian fashion and modeling would nurture cultural greatness. 'My first step towards modeling was when I contested for Mr. Ebony while in the higher institution. I continued to build my interest in modeling by watching great models strut their stuff on the run way. It has now become a part of me and I enjoy doing it at all time."
'We're trying to change a lot of areas through modeling. We are for instance, trying to change how people dress in relation to Nigerian fashion and designers. We need to let people realise that we have designers who are world class. I do run way too."
I've been in this job for over nine years and we work as professional contractors. We handle the execution of the jobs on the field. Our work usually depends on the brands profile.
Don't forget that I'm an event manager and one of my professional calling is to handle crises. Women are a primary part of what I do. When we have jobs, I deal with a lot of women; sometimes I have as many as 150 women around me at the same time and I manage them well. With God, we've been able to put things in place.
However, still single and searching, Ebony believes that one days, the woman of his dreams will come along. 'A lot of them are coming but I'm still waiting for the right one to come along. I'm also planning to dabble into a bit of TV presentation when the time is right"