Tsakute Ladi Jonah, popularly known as Saskay, came into the limelight after participating in the reality show Big Brother Naija season 6 in 2021. Saskay developed a passion for painting and fine arts at a tender age. During her university days, she won awards like Model of the Year and Female Personality of the Year. In this interview with IFEOMA ONONYE, the model, who is now gradually finding her feet in Nollywood, speaks about other career and education plans
Everyone is talking fashion this season in Nigeria. What’s new and impressive in fashion that many don’t know?
I’ve been able to find my style. I would describe my style as Androgenous Afrofusion, which is basically being able to fuse both masculine and feminine outfits, African prints and all of that. At first, I was a little bit scared seeing that if I’m wearing masculine outfits, people might see me in a different light but then, I realised that it’s fashion. It’s okay.
So, you’re not a girly kind of girl.
I’m a little bit of both. That’s what I’d say. I can be a girly girl and I can be a girly man.
Now that you’re taking fashion influencing seriously, what’s going to happen to your pursuit of a career in the film industry? Are you abandoning that?
No. But like I said earlier, I’m looking to work with people, who are producing quality. I’m not just looking for the fame that comes with acting but I want to do something that would speak to people or something that properly appeals to people.
Following your time on Big Brother Naija Season 6, many had thought you were headed for the Nigerian film industry. What happened?
I’m still trying to dive into the film industry. It’s just that I’m particular about the type of films I do because as much as I believe that I’m an actor, I want to do something that is of good quality, something that actually appeals to people in the right way. But I’m doing other things on the side.
Can you tell us about the other things that you’ve been doing on the side?
I’ve been influencing full-time – lifestyle, fashion – just doing a little bit of everything. But recently, I decided to dive into fashion influencing a bit more and that’s just because I think I finally found my style and I’m ready to put it out there.
Do you have filmmakers that you hope to work with?
I have actually done something even though it’s not out yet. I played the lead role in a very beautiful movie that I believe will be out in a few months and I think that would really determine how much I would dive into the movie industry because I gave it my all.
What kind of roles would you prefer?
To be honest, I want something challenging. I want something that would make me sit down and have to take days or weeks to fit into that role, to put my mind into that role. I don’t want something that I just read the script and I can just go on set and read it back out. No! I want something that would challenge me from who I actually am.
For example, I really want to play a bad girl kind of role because the few movies I’ve done recently, they put me in really mellow roles, like me being a young teenager or maybe in a campus but I want something that is a bit more bubbly because it’s not really who I am. But imagine me being like a party girl, something very out there.
Unlike every other industry, the creative industry generally seems not to have a unified entry point. Do you agree with the notion that anyone can enter the creative industry?
I agree. But at the same time while it is okay to call yourself something, you must understand that there are people who have done this before you that you have to look up to. There are videos and trends to watch. There is an education you can get. It might not be a formal education but there is a type of education you can get, for whatever type of influencing you want to do and it’ll help if you have people you look up to in that particular industry. That is education too and it’s very important, to be honest.
What’s your advice to young people who want to get into the creative industry?
First of all, being a creative has to start with your mind. Your mind really has to be there. If you think you’re not sure you’re creative, you have to develop it. Like I said, there’s education you can get, which might not be formal. The way I educated myself is by watching Instagram videos. I’m on all the social media apps watching what people are doing. What are people I’m looking up to doing? Of course, I have particular people I look up to that I know have had no scandals and all of that. There’s a particular way you want your brand and you would actively avoid having any form of scandal. I’m not saying it may not happen but by the time you’ve had this informal education, you would also know how to navigate when such things happen. But you just have to be intentional about it.
Does influencing pay the bills?
It absolutely does. Anything is lucrative when you are sure what you are doing. In fact, influencing is the number one thing I do. It pays most of the bills, to be honest. By the time you have grown your community and you know what it is you want to put out there and your audience actually loves what you put out there, then it’s enough to pay the bills.
What’s the next step for you in life, not just career?
I’ve been thinking a lot about that seeing that we are at the end of the year. New Year in a bit, and new goals. I really want to go back to school. I have been wanting to do my Master’s for a while but there have been a few challenges here and there. I am kind of a bookworm. I love school. So, being away from it feels like something is missing in me. So, for now, the only thing I’m sure of is that I want to go back to school. I’m not sure what I will do; I just want to go back to school. I might do Media and Communications if I want to continue in this craft. That is to solidify my stand as an influencer but I really want to work behind the scenes more. But at the same time, my first love is applied intelligence. Let’s see what God has in store for me next year.
What other talents do you have?
I’m an artist. Not a lot of people know that because I don’t really put a lot out there. It’s also because I’m not monetising it. It’s something I just do when I’m bored, something I do for fun. I’m also a dancer. I used to be a choreographer a few years ago. I may have lost a little bit of it but I’m trying to get back there. It’s also something I just did for fun, not really to monetise it and I want to keep it that way you know. I have things I’ll do for work and I have things I’ll do for fun.
Do you have the fear that leaving to go back to school might mean you’ll lose your star power, and coming back to the industry might be a struggle?
Not exactly because I don’t plan to fully be in school and away from my work. I plan to somehow infuse both and I know it’s going to be crazy. But so help me God. I think it’s something I can do. I don’t really see influencing as work. Sometimes, it’s something I enjoy doing.
What’s happening on the love front?
I’m very much single but I have realised that over the years, I have been sort of actively looking for love. Now, if it comes, it comes but let’s just work on loving me as a person instead.
Are you under any form of pressure to settle down? As is the Nigerian way.
And I’m northern. Let’s remember that. Thankfully, with the family I come from, there’s really no such pressure. My family wouldn’t mind me settling down now because they believe I have a steady income, and everything is fine. So, what am I waiting for? It’s just that I’m waiting for God to send a man.
What is your preference in a partner?
I’d like be after a rich man but somehow my mind doesn’t register that when I’m looking at men. There’s just one thing I know. I don’t want someone in the entertainment industry, which is so hard because I’m in the entertainment industry, and most people I meet are in the entertainment industry. I want the regular nine-to-five person.
So, if a nine-to-five stranger slides into your DM, would that work for you?
No, my DM is the wrong place because I would never respond to any sort of proposal from my DMs. I think it’s better if I meet the person one-on-one. I would never take such a person seriously. I’m sorry but I’m a millenial in my head, but a Gen Z at heart.
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