I Left The Industry Because Of Sexual Harassment

Gospel singer, Gloria Doyle, back in the days, made more name because of her outrageous dress style than her music. She explains to ‘Nonye Ben-Nwankwo why she chose that style.

You are now marketing a hotel; have you left your music career?

No. I have not left it. A friend of mine runs the hotel and I only help out to market it. We are trying to create awareness.

Now that you are into hospitality business, is it not taking your time?

If I tell you that it is not taking my time, I would be lying. It is taking my time but I am enjoying it.  I will still go back to the studios. My fans are saying that they need something from me.

But you released an album last year?     

Oh yes I did. I launched the album last year but a lot of people didn’t buy the idea of me doing tungba. It is a kind of juju music. They couldn’t reconcile my hip hop gospel with tungba.

So the tungba didn’t do well in the market?

We didn’t even put it in the market at all. It was just for my fans and family.

So are you forgetting it entirely?

Not really. In the next two or three years, if I am still in this country, I will put all the stuff I have done together and maybe make a compilation of them all.

What do you mean by if you are still in the country; do you have plans of leaving?

My kids are not here. They are in the US. My son is graduating soon as a medical doctor. They are doing very well. I will soon go over there, especially during his graduation.

You talk as if you are going to settle in the US eventually…

I would love to settle down there with my kids eventually. I want to be with them. I have not seen them for up to 10 years.

Are you saying you have been away from your kids for 10 years?

I have just seen them once.

If you eventually leave Nigeria for the US, some might think you left this country because your career wasn’t successful…

I wouldn’t think so. It is just that I want to give my time to my kids. I could always go to the studio in the US and record. It wouldn’t really affect the reunion.

How come you weren’t there for your kids when they might have needed you the most?

I was there for them. I call them everyday on the phone. I was guiding them and telling them the directions to follow. They would always call me any time they needed advice and we were always on Skype. I just wanted the best for my kids where they would utilise the talents they have.

Are they with their father?

They are partially with their father. My first son is on his own.

With this planned reunion, probably, you would go back to your ex…

No way. I don’t think it is possible. He is already married over there and he has his family.

There was a time your outrageous dressing stood you out. Is that chapter closed?

I am almost a grandmother. I am now a minister who ministers in churches. I now tell people that I have been there before. I am more mature now. Then, I think of my kids too. I need to put them into consideration as well.

Back then, you didn’t care at all, you didn’t consider these stuffs you are mentioning now.

I no even ‘send anybody’ even at the moment. It is just that I am more mature now.

How come you never acted?

Actually, I was auditioned last month. I was in the movie industry a long time ago. I did quite a number of movies before I left the industry because of sexual harassment. It was terrible. Some people felt I left because I couldn’t act. But that was a lie. I did some very good movies. Producers would tell me they would want to star me in a particular movie but I should come to a hotel first. I felt these were people I ordinarily wouldn’t have anything to do with them if not because of entertainment. They were now calling the shots and because you were desperate to become a star, you would give in. But I couldn’t do that. If you know your worth, you would definitely scale through. However, I invested my time writing movies. I am not a desperate person. I have the face. I was able to make my name. But I didn’t get to this level out of desperation. My greatest concern now and which has made me proud are my kids.

Do we see you getting married again, ever?

I am going to be a grandmother soon. Honestly, I was discussing this with somebody the other day. The person was telling me that I need to get married. My family tells me that I need to get married. Everybody is telling me that I need to get married. If you get me a husband, I will get married. I am not going husband-hunting. Some people carry it like a placard ‘I am looking for husband’ written on it. But that is not me. I am not desperate. I don’t want to do things out of desperation. If husband will come, he will come. For now, it is not my priority.

But we learnt you were getting married to a younger lover last year, didn’t it work out?

It was a lie. It was a joke that spread like a wild fire. I don’t know where they saw the picture of me and the young man.

Are you saying you have not had any offer of marriage since?

If I say that, I would be lying. I always consider my kids. They are Igbo, since their father is an Igbo man. I remember there was a picture I posted on Facebook some time ago; I was with a friend of mine in that picture. My daughter read the story about me getting married to a younger lover. She sent me a mail asking me if I was really getting married. With the way she asked it, she obviously meant it could never be true that I was getting married.

But would it have been a bad idea?

I want my children to come of age. I want them to be on their own and to be able to take care of themselves. People get married and you find out that the children they had in their previous marriage would be a problem in the current marriage. It might even get to a stage the woman would be asked to choose between her children and husband. I can’t subject my children to that. My being single is still for a purpose. It is a sacrifice I took because of my children. It is not easy to be a single mother. When you have been married before and you find yourself taking sole responsibility of your kids’ welfare, it is not an easy thing.

What really happened to your marriage?

I got married at the age of 19. I was very young. I faced tribal problems. Then again, my husband was really older than me. I needed a friend. It is usually a problem when you don’t get married to your friend. If you just marry a husband, you will not enjoy the marriage. You play, quarrel, make-up, gist and have fun with your friend. But with a husband, it is usually not so. You would be meant to kill a goat or fowl to appease him when he feels you insulted him. He will call a family meeting for you. In all, when I look at my kids, I don’t regret my marriage.

Some might say you were wild and that was what made your marriage not to work…

I am not wild. I have never been wild. It was just that my dressing was wild. Oh yes, I agree, I could wear anything. I looked up to Toni Braxton. Anything she wore, no matter how outrageous, I wanted to wear it.

Looking back now, do you regret dressing those ways?

No. I don’t regret it. But I bring my pictures and I show the young girls of these days and I tell them I have been through this stuff they are doing now. I tell them that I did it then because of showbiz and not as they are doing it now to attract men and sell their bodies.