Popular Yoruba actress and comedian Kudirat Abeniade, known as Mama No Network, shared a video post on Facebook detailing the hurdles she overcame to achieve stardom. Reflecting on her past, she explained the origin of her alias, Mama No Network, and the pivotal moments that shaped her career.
Born to a Muslim father and a mother who followed the Cherubim and Seraphim faith, Kudirat’s upbringing was marked by diversity and challenges. Despite doubts from her family, a prophetic declaration at a church vigil in CAC Ajegunle foretold her extraordinary destiny, sparking a journey filled with hardships and resilience.
“My father is a Muslim while my mother attends Cherubim and Seraphim church but they got married so I can be born. My father who is from Ijebu-Ode gave birth to me at the age of sixty years. I was his first and last born, a child that was given birth to at old age although my mother had given birth outside the marriage. I attended Muslim School in Ijebu-Ode after that, I was in Epe. I left Epe because my father was old and wasn’t able to take care of me so his younger ones were asked to take care of me. I indeed faced a lot while there but I became smarter in their midst.
“My mother then took me to a vigil in CAC Ajegule. When we got there, the pastor preaching saw me and asked who gave birth to me and my mother came out. He then asked what work I was doing and she said tailoring. Meanwhile, I had already told her that I didn’t want to learn the craft and she shouldn’t waste her money but she didn’t listen and still put me there to learn. The pastor then said “This child you’re seeing is going to be a glorious destiny and also going to take you places, but the journey from one town to another is where she will start getting to be known. A lot of people will be under her and worship her.” My older ones thought it was a joke and refused to believe it.”
Recalling her early passion for theatre, Kudirat defied familial expectations, sneaking out to pursue her dreams against all odds. Despite resistance from her husband and mother, she persevered, ultimately finding her spotlight in entertainment.
“I married and lived in Bariga, where I was learning tailoring. My mother didn’t like theatre and didn’t want me doing it but I sneak out every morning to go to the theatre and I did so till I got married and gave birth. At a point, my husband said we couldn’t be doing theatre together, and advised me to stay back and take care of the children because I had miscarriages and was left with one child. I initially thought it was because he loved me but it wasn’t so. But I stayed back to take care of the child.
“I wasn’t comfortable sitting at home and didn’t understand why he sometimes stayed up to a month at a location. I thought to myself, is that how it is? Isn’t it the same theatre I learnt and also did freedom? Let me also have a feel of it but he refused. But from the moment I began to sneak out, the whole truth came to limelight and I became popular.”
Confronting marital infidelity, she found solace and purpose in her burgeoning acting career she said “I always listened to my husband whenever he told me to stay at home but all that changed when I caught him having sex with another lady. I greeted him and left the room. Not long after, I was featured in my first movie and the world saw me. From then, people began seeking ‘Madam No Network’ in movies.
Mama No Network’s resilience in the face of adversity serves as a beacon of hope, as she encourages others to trust in divine intervention and endure life’s challenges with patience and faith.
“What’s important is that we allow God to take charge, have patience, accept our fate, and endure things. During the time my husband and I were having issues, it was just as though I should buy a gun and shoot ourselves but I accepted my fate. It got to a point, where I had to come out about the issues and tell people to ‘please come to my aid, they’ve snatched my husband, have mercy on me’. An elderly man said I can’t fight for yourself, but I should let God fight for me. I was pained to the heart when the man told me this because I was on the verge of losing him to an outsider, but as God would have it, he has fought and brought me beyond my expectations. And since then, I don’t joke with God.”
When asked how she came about the idea of Mama No Network, she said the idea came to her when she was doing stage plays, before the advent of streaming platforms. She said while acting, she was told to repeat what a Babalawo character said or did. While doing so, she thought of the idea of pretending not to hear what he said and that was how she continued