Nri – Anambra State born Nollywood actor, Zeal Chigozie Atuanya is quite famous for his acting skills. He is also a producer, model, television personality, and entrepreneur.

In this interview, the proud father of one shares with Vanguard News how he has been coping since the COVID-19 pandemic, his new projects, life after the lockdown and lots more.

Excerpts;

How have you been coping since covid-19 pandemic?

My name is Chigozie Atuanya. Honestly speaking it has not been easy with everyone.

The state of Coronavirus in the whole world is quite alarming. People get scared every day and people don’t even know whether to go left or right. I believe God is the way forward. He always has a way of saving his children.

I am someone that believes so much in nature. There are certain things you cannot take care of; nature would take care of it. We are trying to cope this period because we have no option than to fight to survive.

Coronavirus is a very wicked virus and there are still other deadly viruses than corona which no one talk about anymore. Even when you have simple headache they say it’s Coronavirus. When you have catarrh they say it’s Coronavirus, so we still cope.

We are at a point that even your loved ones run away from you when you have another kind of sickness or problems they assume it’s Coronavirus. They won’t even bother or come close to you. They don’t want to die, they rather stay at the corridor to view you. That’s to see how dangerous the virus could be. I won’t blame them because those that went close to those infected with the sickness and they died.

So we try to cope forcing it on ourselves not to get involved so hard with the problem of coronavirus but nature would take care of it which I know it is taken care of it already .

This is what you see in life most times what you don’t expect is what you see and what you expect you would never see it .

What did you miss most since the lockdown?

I miss Oneness, togetherness, going to church, friends hangout, play, some business that requires gathering is really suffering it. This time around, it’s either you go in by 7pm or 8pm. Everybody now goes home early. I really miss a whole lot but thank God that everything is coming back to a better shape.

Did you start up new projects?

We have a whole lot of projects that we are working on, production projects and outside production projects; my roofing business. It has not been easy but we would never disappear. We have been doing it.

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Couple of projects has been coming and going and I glorify God for everything. Another project is Uncle LaLa. It is another great project that I am working on. It’s on the pipeline. In as much as people are seeing it gradually it’s part of the project.

Too many projects and a whole lot of works are going on right now. I believe that with time all would be unveiled.

But the two particular projects are my production project and my other personal business project. These are two projects that I am really really working on and I so much believe that God would see me through.

Tell us more about Uncle LA LA TV?

Uncle LaLa it’s a brand on its own. I call it a colourful brand that has to do with a young man that is extremely rich, but didn’t go to school. He is very articulated when it comes to certain things that happens in his environment. He is a man you can’t easily cheat.

Before you get close to him he has known what you are about to do, so it’s a character that’s been there which we created long time ago. We were coming out gradually. I shot some beat in US and then that was with a reason that I know very soon the movie would come out. There is a reason for extending the movie till date.

I am very happy that the reason for that is really working for me. People still see some couple of clips of Uncle Lalala.

The point there is, if you look at Uncle Lalala it’s of two sides. Either you take the message or you laugh. If you don’t want to laugh you take the message, if you don’t want to laugh then you smile, if you don’t want to smile you look at the message.

The content goes with a whole lot. For every content of Uncle Lalala, he wants you to learn something. Then all you need to do is open it, grab the message and close it back that’s the idea of Uncle Lalala and it has been working and  I always glorify God for it.

We are trying to blow it in a bigger frame, there are some grand job we are trying to fix before we can now come out in big way. So, what we are giving people now is a little way of saying look at what we want to do, very soon Uncle Lalala would get married and will have a full family on his own. The way he talks he is the only person that talks with such character.

I believe that with time people would flow with Uncle Lalala.

What would you advice to colleagues on the adverse effect of Covid-19?

Most times they say they don’t advice a wise child to come out of sun. It is obvious everyone is shouting corona virus.

My colleague has their pattern of doing things. Everybody is a king in his own cubicle. You don’t really do advice but you can’t stop talking because in life an elder always speak while the children listens. So, anybody can advice us and I do so much believe that people who want to listen would listen. Like me, anybody can advice me.

Let’s be very articulated, let’s try as much as possible to open our eyes widely this period because I noticed a quite a number of people have been very sick and same time trying to cope and go to work. I’d advise we should be very careful no matter who comes around you.

I remember the movie I shot before I got ill. The actor playing with me, when it came to my turn to shoot, we had issues. When he came directly close to warn me, I noticed quite a chunk of saliva coming out from his mouth and splashed on my face. It gave me a whole lots of concern. I did not sleep throughout that day because I felt I had done something wrong.

We should be very careful with what we play with sometimes because most times, we think we don’t get close to each other. No matter how you want to shout and get it right while acting, we should know our limits and how to work things out because for the whole day I wasn’t really myself. I felt something wrong had happened.

You have been a busy man, how do you have time for family?

It has not been easy. Everyone wants to make his family comfortable. Everyone wants to achieve it in life and the only way is you stand, you take a walk, stand up you run, stand up and you move, stand up and take bold step. That’s the only way you can make it in life.

It has not been easy for everyone out there including those doing movie. If you are bold and you really want to make it in life, you take a step. It depends on the people around you. It depends on how they pray for you.

It depends on what they have in mind for you. It depends on how they encourage you, because whatever that started now would end one day. It can never be there forever but you use the strong blood as a youth to fight and get to the top.

It has not been easy but we try as much as we can as humans and leave the rest to God.

There has been confusion on the internet on your state of origin, please can you clarify that? What’s your state and town of origin?

I am from Nri. Nri is a town, so I am from Nri Kingdom. I’m from Akanpkese village in Nri but my mom is from Agukwu in Nri.  I am not from Agukwu.

What are your plans for the rest part of 2020?

2020 came with a whole lot of threat, lots of taking lives, lots of surprises. This year is really not good. The rest of 2020, I still pray that God would really see me through to end up the year with good success and wide progress.

For the rest part of 2020, we would remain happy, we won’t cry sadly.

Vanguard