Former Glamour Girls star, Barbara Odoh, tells KEMI DAYO-AIYETAN that you can be a minister of God and still look gorgeous.

SHE is everything you can think of – an actress, a model, a talk show host, a journalist, an author and even an evangelist.

What more? She is a noun with many adjectives – glamorous, sexy, gorgeous and many more. Maybe her figure and face earned her all this.

”I don't think so,” she starts. ”It all emanated from my role in the popular movie, Glamour Girls. Though I would not deny having a great figure despite being a mother, I think it all has to do with who you are and how you want to be seen.”

Barbara Odoh. Would she mind if called Barbara Sexy? At least she tends to be sexy in her looks.

She says, ”You can call me whatever you like; that would not bother me. People don't understand me because they believe my beauty starts and ends within my thighs! Really, fashion is what you interpret it to be. I am my style and my style is me. I can decide to put on a pair of stilettos to a party but prefer putting on flip-flop to meet the President.

”What I need is an appeal in simplicity and I do get it. You could be sexy in suit. You could be sexy in pants and tops and you could also be sexy in casuals.

”I'm crazy about my Jeans and I would wear them anywhere. There was a time I was invited to a party and the guy begged me to wear suit because that would make me look very serious. So, I obliged, wore my suit, and wore my fitted camisole and knee-length skirt. By the time I got to the party, there was a guy whose eyes glued to my body all through and he was all over me.

”He cared less about what anyone said and would not let me go! Imagine what could have happened if I had gone there in my Jeans.

”Though I concealed everything by wearing a suit, nature could not be hidden. It is not in the clothes; it is the appeal and, no matter how ugly a woman is, something in her appeals to certain men. Maybe that is why some call me 'Simply Gorgeous.'”

Though she could be referred to as an actress, Odoh now lives in Abuja and has decided to go into other business ventures.

Now a minister of the gospel with a programme called Practicaliving, she already has planned a talk show television programme.

”Once an actress, always an actress,” she enthuses. ”There are different stages of our lives and each stage has its vision. After the controversial role in Glamour Girls, I was in other films but at a stage, I was not visible to home video fans again because I was under transformation.

”God was preparing for another stage and I think I am in another now. There is a lot that I want to give to the society which goes beyond acting. I am interpreting acting in every way I can. I'm a very practical person and that has made it impossible for me to be understood by some.

”I still act when I get a good script but I really want to impact my society more with the book I have just finished writing which is based on man and woman.”

What does she mean? Could she be talking about her relationships and her recent divorce? ”No,” she promptly replies. ”The story of my relationships is actually for another edition. The book is about both sexes and our differences.

”It is about functionality, responsibilities, how we can complement one another and erase the stereotypes in relationships.

”These are revelations sent fresh from heaven and I would not talk about it until its launch in July.”

Her inspiration, Odoh reveals, is from God. She says,”I knew that, some day, I would write but I never knew it was going to be now. The spirit of God woke me up one night and started dishing out ideas to me and I started writing.

”It lasted for hours and by the time I was through, I saw God's glory. At a point, I wanted to be academic about it, but the Spirit forestalled me. You see, God's ways are not our ways and it is what He wants to convey to the people that a minister must agree with. I know people will say all sorts, especially about my failed marriage, but I must confess that I am the first convert of that book.”

She talks so much about God. Has she started a ministry? ”I have a ministry,” says Odoh, ”but it is a para-church and not a church. Practicaliving is part of the ministry, even this book. When I talk about God, some people wonder if I am serious. They look at the physical.”

Maybe her mini skirts and halter neck tops are not really for ministers. ”Is there any particular dress code for ministers of God?” she queries. ”I wear what suits me and whatever makes me comfortable. My mood dictates what I wear and looking sexy is not ungodly.

”I wear tight jeans and any day I want to wear skirt, it has to be above the knees. Moreover, I love and adore my cleavage and I believe it's one of God's best gifts to me. When you look at a woman, it is what you want to see that you see. Why not appreciate God's work and not put yourself in trouble?”

Born in Ibadan, and raised in Lagos, Odoh is from Delta State. Now, one of the “big babes” in Abuja, she would confess to you that ”I am not a designer labels freak. I am too stingy to even buy some labels because I would not want to empty my account for a Fendi pair of shoes/bag and be unable to pay school fees or eat a healthy diet.”

So she doesn't have a place for designers' item in her wardrobe? She replies, ”Oh! There is. Just that I'm so practical that I can get a good tailor in Wuse Market, sew my clothes and, on the other hand, I can withdraw money from my account and buy a designer dress.

”I'm not a trend follower because, if you do, you could go bankrupt. I don't have to wear whatever you wear because I may end up looking like a scarecrow in it. Style is what we go crazy about, which could either bring admiration or controversy even when people don't like it. I'm just me – no beauty routine. I eat what is good for me and I don't go out of my way to look extra-ordinarily good. God's glory does that already in my life.”

Though she would not deny that Nigerian women are fashionable, Odoh stresses, ”We need to be able to go beyond fashion and build a formidable team in moving this country forward. Being fashionable is great and no Nigerian woman disappoints me with fashion, but we must not put our interest in personal clothing and jewellery. I have come to realise that it is more fulfilling to put a smile on someone's face than stockpiling our wardrobes. We can still be fashionable but learn to touch lives because it is more enduring than fashion.”

So, for Evangelist Odoh, would she accept the bath-tub role she played in Glamour Girls again? ”Do I really want to be seen doing that again? I'm now ordained of God and I minister to people. So I would not do that again,” Odoh says.

”I can't deny being sexy because that was what attracted me to God. Being sexy is God's business and culture has nothing to do with it.

”You are really sexy when you are you, and not dressing like someone else. I am Barbara. I love looking good and that is what matters and not what anyone thinks of my person.”