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Ojinika Obiekwe: Behind The Stories – 12 Years & Counting | Sister From Another Mister, Taraji P. Henson

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Ojinika-223Ojinika Obiekwe‘s vivacious spirit is evident when she gets in front of the camera. This hardworking and professional journalist, has worked for the past 12 years wearing multiple hats just to get the job needs to be done.  At BellaNaija, while we seek to entertain and educate, we also hope to inspire our readers and show them that there are people who keep striving  to make a difference in their chosen careers. In this vein, we spoke with Oji and shared her story with you.{Click here if you missed it}.

As she looks back on her journey so far, she has chosen to share 12 memorable stories from her career. As she recalls her growth path and the lessons she has learned, she hopes to reach as many people as she forges ahead to an even brighter future.

Read part IX of her chronicles below:

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Biologically, I have two sisters (that I know of, hehe)
An older and a younger one. And I have a feeling that due to my ridiculous and embarrassing ways, they might deny me someday, if they haven’t already.
For that reason and a few others, I’ve been making new sisters along the way, incase those two really end up denying or disowning me. I believe it’s known as a backup plan. So when normal people make friends, I make sisters. I call them my “sisters from another mister”

I don’t discriminate, but not everyone can be a sister from another mister. There are rules and regulations I can’t get into. But I can get into the story behind this piece featuring, you guessed it, one of my sisters from another mister: Taraji P. Henson

So here’s the story:
This interview was shot before “Think Like a Man Too” and “No Good Deed” came out in theaters. so we talked about that
But it was really booked to talk about her partnership with Jergens that benefits women in West Africa
You know me; if it has to do with Africa, I’m down.
Don’t get me wrong, I care about other places, and people and cultures, but Africa is home to me and don’t those wise people always say that “home is where the heart is?”.
Well, there you go…

I met up with her at The London Hotel here in New York City. It wasn’t like one of those epic diva sessions
She had her glam squad there but she was ready to go. They waited for my camera guys to set up …and when he was ready, we just sat and chatted about any and everything under the sun. Not just because I talk too much, but also because I just didn’t want it to be all about one thing.

I know she was there to talk about the Jergens project, but talking about just that would seem like a commercial
So, we talked about “Person of Interest” because she was still on the show at that point (and that’s the first clip you see in this interview)

We also quickly mentioned “Think Like a Man Too” and then the movie “No Good Deed” with “my boo in my head” Idris Elba.
More like former boo in my head…I went to rehab for my obsession and I’m fine and clean and over him.
This is not to say I won’t say “hot damn” everytime I see him on screen or in person: so help me God.
In person, I would say it under my breath, not out loud; I may have no shame in my game, but I do have a little pride, only a little.
Like if pride was measured in salt, mine would be probably, a pinch, or half of that.

I did learn a whole bunch of things about her during this chit chat session
A lot of it, I left on the cutting room floor because these pieces have to be a certain length and you have to decide what stays and what goes.
I do know she loves loves loves to shop…and she would love to visit any part of Africa. I told her I’d take her with me to Nigeria (Hopefully she’s forgotten I promised that). I’ve seen her since then and I didn’t bring it up 🙂 Maybe someday soon: I’ll keep my fingers and toes crossed.

One more thing about her is that she hasn’t changed. She’s still the same nice, kind, funny person she was the first time I met her. And not a lot of people stay unaffected by the fame and success. But she’s just a good person and she deserves all the goodness that life keeps bringing her way.

See? You get what you give.
I’m not just singing her praises because we are related, kinda.
All I know is that she wouldn’t be my sister from another mister if she wasn’t nice.

So here I am bonding with my very nice sister from another mister, Taraji P. Henson
Did I mention she’s also an Oscar nominee?
Yup, she’s that too.

Just saying.

Anyways, Enjoy!

With a career in television that has spanned more than a decade, Ojinika Obiekwe is a Nigerian-born Emmy award-winning journalist who has interviewed people from all walks of life - from A-list celebrities to politicians to the newsmakers of our time. A chance encounter brought her to New York’s WPIX-TV/Channel 11 as an intern. Now as a producer/correspondent for PIX11 Morning News, Ojinika not only writes and produces for the news program but also steps in front of the camera to interview some of Hollywood's biggest names which include the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Jennifer Aniston and many more.

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