By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Nigerian comedian and actress, Helen Paul, is opening up in a new conversation with Daddy Freeze about her japa journey. Helen Paul relocated five years ago to America, and is now revealing how the whole thing came about after she was rejected for an American visa. Here’s what she said.
Speaking about her japa story, Helen Paul said:
HELEN PAUL: It’s been five years since I relocated to America. I didn’t know I was going to relocate though. I applied for my visiting visa and I got rejected. For what reason? I wasn’t sure and it was the same day as my PHD graduation from the University of Lagos. So my appointment was 6:30 in the morning. So I went to renew my visa, then I got rejected.
So I was wondering why, because my husband wanted to take me out to just celebrate together. So he was thinking we’d go and visit my godfather in Chicago. So, when I got the rejection, I was surprised. Like, why? Then I spoke to my father in Chicago who got us a lawyer.
When the lawyer called, she said “you’ve been doing some jobs in America. You’ve been doing things, you have accounts, and you’ve not been paying tax.” So I said “Eh! Is that it?” Because most times as entertainers, we don’t know.
We don’t have the information. You have visiting visa, then you come abroad and you put it on Facebook or Instagram and you have people calling you “come to our bar, come to our party.” When they’re paying you, some of them are so innocently wicked or don’t know, when they’re filing their tax, they will still put down that account you gave them as the record that they’ve given you a job. So some people it’s from inside the airport they deport them because they see the records.
So, when I discovered that, I said what am I to do? To cut the long story short, my godfather called and said “Helen, let’s try out that green card. I see you relocating to America.” So that’s when it came to my head.