In a moving and dramatic recount of her life journey, popular Yoruba actress and traditional medicine practitioner, Actress Felicia Ishola, popularly known as Egeremiti, has opened up on her years of struggle, hardship, and transformation, including a harrowing incarceration experience in Cameroon alongside 15 other Nigerian actresses.
Speaking in an emotional interview, Ishola revealed that the relentless demands of her acting career left her with little time for personal life.
In a desperate bid to seek better opportunities, she and 15 other actresses, including the well-known Iya Ibeji Omoarayele, embarked on a journey to Cameroon, a journey that ended in regret.
“We went in joy and returned crying. We sold everything we had: clothes, jewellery, everything. The person who took us there abandoned us and fled by sea. Because we didn’t have travel documents, we were thrown into prison”, she recounted.
Their plan had been to revive their acting careers by performing in Cameroon. When that failed, Egeremiti moved across multiple African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Gabon, and Ghana. In Abidjan, she spent seven years learning traditional spirituality and medicine.
“I eventually bought a house in Abidjan, but lost it and everything to war in the country. One of the worst days of my life was when we packed all our belongings into an uncompleted building. I was sleeping and snowing [snoring] when my husband’s friend hit me so badly that I wept bitterly”, she explained.
Egeremiti revealed that she returned to Nigeria 23 years ago with nothing but a single piece of clothing.
Her foray into traditional healing grew from her experiences, leading her to travel as far as India and Kenya, performing what she described as “magic” and offering herbal remedies.
Today, she identifies as a full-time herbalist, claiming to treat ailments including HIV/AIDS, staphylococcus, infertility, stroke, and ulcer.
Despite her renown as Egeremiti, she laments that fame has not translated to wealth adding, “I have the name, but I don’t have the money.” she admitted.
She revealed that she had to borrow clothes to appear on TV interview programme.
Despite the setbacks, Felicia Ishola remains resilient, holding on to her calling in traditional medicine and raising her only child.
