Actress Yvonne Nelson’s stint in Nigeria has become another interesting revelation in the aftermath of her tell-all.
In another bombshell, she details how influential men at the helm of various spheres in Nigeria sought to exploit her through close friends she likens to pimps.
In chapter 13, Yvonne set the tone with the thrill she experienced after her break-out movie Princess Tyra.
Her role in that movie catapulted her into more fame which landed her roles in Nigerian production.
With more recognition came more money as more doors began to open for the Ghanaian actress on the West African front.
But some of these luxuries, unbeknownst to her, came at a cost which some of her associates expected her to pay.
On three separate occasions which she decided to share, the encounters were on a different scale than she had envisioned though she had experienced a few episodes in Ghana.
These incidents involved a preacher, a top politician and a revered traditional ruler – all in Nigeria.
The Preacher
During her time in Nigeria, the author encountered a popular and powerful charismatic preacher who expressed interest in her.
It is unclear how he knew she was in Nigeria, but her actress friend may have been providing him with updates about her. When they met, the preacher expected the author to comply with his wishes due to his status and showed no aggression.
“She only said someone wanted to see me and when I went out to see who it was, I was greeted by this popular “man of God”. He was calm and everything about him showed that I should have known what he wanted and kotowed to his wishes,” she wrote.
However, she resisted his advances, and their interactions ended without any further contact.
“I didn’t give in. And he wasn’t aggressive.”
Later, Yvonne learned about numerous allegations of sexual assault against the preacher, adding a disturbing dimension to their encounter.
“After a couple of failed attempts, he gave up and I never heard from him again until I started reading hordes of stories about allegations of sexual assault against him.”
The Politician
Another encounter involved an actress friend who claimed that her uncle, a popular governor or senator, wanted to meet the author. Despite having reservations about meeting late at night, Yvonne agreed due to her friend’s persistence. They went to the Eko Hotel, where the supposed uncle was staying in a luxurious suite. However, she found herself alone with him in the room, sitting on the edge of the bed, as no chair was provided.
“The said uncle of my friend was in the luxurious Signature Suite. She introduced him to me as a popular governor or senator of one of the states in Nigeria. She then went to the lounge of the suite and left me with him in the room. There was no chair in the room, something that seemed deliberate. I sat on the edge of the bed and the most awkward silence I can remember in my life ensued.”
According to Yvonne Nelson, “he, perhaps, had the impression that I knew what to do or say, which I found ridiculous.”
The politician then shockingly requested an HIV test, suggesting the author provide her blood sample.
“There was a fourth person in the lounge. The politician went to speak briefly to him and came back to tell me the man was his doctor, and that I should give him my blood sample for an HIV test. He said it was just a prick and that everything would be done in a short time. I found it disrespectful and shocking. Even if I wanted to sleep with him, that alone was enough to put any normal woman off. If he was interested in knowing my HIV status, why did he think I would not be interested in his?”
She refused and expressed her disappointment, firmly asserting that she hadn’t come for such a purpose. Realizing his advances wouldn’t be successful, the politician muttered something to the actress’ friend, and they left the hotel.
As a parting gift, he gave the friend a substantial sum of money, which she shared with Yvonne.
“For our ‘transportation’ back home, he gave my friend some dirty Naira notes he had produced from the briefcase that lay on the bed in the room. It was 1 million Naira and my friend gave me half of it. When I later googled his name and saw his photographs and association with a number of female actors and celebrities, I wondered what happened before or after those photographs.”
The Traditional Ruler
Though initiated in Ghana, this encounter led the author to the palace of a powerful traditional ruler in Nigeria who had apparently pledged to support her Glaucoma Foundation, which was dear to her heart due to her grandmother’s experience with sight loss. Despite surviving a terrifying flight, Yvonne Nelson arrived at the magnificent palace only to find a frail ruler who made no effort to engage in conversation or showed any interest in her foundation. Instead, he simply beckoned her to join him on his royal bed.
“One had to go through several halls before coming face-to-face with the ruler. Wait here. Come here. Go there. These were the instructions I heard until I met the powerful ruler, who was not so powerful in physique. He was a frail old man who looked like someone who could not survive another five years. The inner court I was ushered in to meet him had a magnificent royal bed, where he beckoned me to join him. Whatever the intermediary had told me did not happen.”
Refusing to comply with his expectations, Yvonne maintained her dignity.
“It seemed, like the governor, this old man expected me to know why I was there. He expected me to go ahead and act on cue.”
Mentally, she had “prepared to resist anything untoward and his attitude fortified my resolve even more.”
“When he asked me to join him on the bed, I wondered what he needed me there for. At his age, what was he up to? I didn’t move. And when he realised he had made a wrong choice, he dismissed me.”
As compensation for her journey, Yvonne received a share of the dollars that the ruler gave to the person who brought her to the palace.
“He gave the man who took me there a wad of dollar notes, who then gave me a share of $,5000 as compensation for travelling to see the king.”
However, her anger and disappointment towards her friend severed their friendship.
She also questioned whether his involvement in organising events for influential men included facilitating exploitative acts.
“He organises an awards ceremony that is well patronised and I wonder whether pimping for powerful men is part of his job. If it is, then in my case, he got the wrong target. I used to respect him because of the kind of people who patronised his programmes. I had known him back in my university days because he was dating my friend.”
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