“Validation Shouldn’t Define You”- Deyemi Okanlawon On Having Not Received A Major Award

Nollywood actor Deyemi Okanlawon said that in spite of being in the movie business for a long period, he had never received a major award.

He added that he has stayed focused and that he enjoys motivating himself despite the fact the country’s award organizers have not acknowledged him.

According to the movie star, if an award comes, he would accept it but noted that he won’t allow the validation of awards to define him.

In his words;

“I have never won any of the serious awards in Nigeria. I have been around [in the entertainment industry] for long enough that if I were the type of person to feel a certain way, I would have been like, ‘Why had I not been awarded this or that?’

“The truth is, I can look into my mirror and congratulate myself. I have done this all my life. And if recognition or validation comes from somewhere else, I will take it graciously. In fact, I had to learn to take compliments instead of deflecting them. Validation shouldn’t define you. If anything, my presence should validate an award, not the other way round.”