By Olamide Jasanya
American singer-actress, Anika Noni Rose, has disclosed her love for the Nigerian culture and even says her favourite Nigerian word is ‘Mba’, an Igbo word which means ‘No’.
She said this while speaking with American magazine, Essence, about her role as Kainene in the movie, Half of A Yellow Sun. According to her, she was excited to have been cast to play the role of an Igbo woman in the movie.
‘I loved Kainene in the book. I loved her. I was really happy to find out that it was her I was playing…my favorite Igbo word was ‘Mba’ which means ‘No’. it just sounds like it means no. Mba.’
She further described the ban on the movie by the Nigeria Film and Video Censors Board as disappointing.
‘I say it’s disappointing. You can’t hide history. We want to see history and share history and talk about history so that you don’t get caught in the cycle of repetition because we are human and it is our tendency to repeat,’ she said.
The ‘Half of A Yellow Sun movie’, which features Rose, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Onyeka Onwenu and Genevieve Nnaji has had its showing delayed in Nigeria due to delays in obtaining certification from the NFVCB for its public release.
