Being married to a Prince and never having to work, is a beautiful fairy tale - Princess Kate Emiko

      

When fashion enthusiast and popular boutique owner Kate Emiko got married to an equally popular Warri Prince, Yemi Emiko, her rich Edo cultural background was an asset, which endeared her to the huge traditional way of life of the Warri Royal family.

But Princess Kathy as she is popularly known had weight issues which resulted in her first two children being delivered by Caesarian Section (CS). According to her, it was the battle for life; that led her to her real calling. Today Princess Kathy Emiko is a popular Nutritionist and in this interview with Paul Ukpabio, she takes us into the rich Warri and Edo cultures and the challenges that led her to stabilize her home and help women with obese issues.

Warri has a rich royal African tradition. What is it like being married into Warri royal family?

I agree that Warri Kingdom is associated with royalty which dates back to about 600 years ago, so marrying into a Warri royal family gives me an opportunity to witness first hand royal splendour and being able to partake in it, I consider it a great privilege.

You are a Princess by virtue of your marriage, but were you worried about the challenges at the initial stage, what were your immediate fears or concern?

Yes I am a Princess by virtue of marriage, and was not worried of any challenges when I married my husband and the reason for that was because I had dated him for a couple of years before we finally got married. And also I was not looking and seeing him from the royal stand point, rather, I saw him as a friend, confidant, a lover, and as we became close over a period of time, marrying him became a mere formality and a mere transition to the status.

Many women desire to get married to a Prince so that they never work again in their life! But yours has been different. You have been in the fashion industry and moved into nutrition, skin health and body fitness what has been your motivating driving force?

Really, you mean some women would wish they marry a Prince and never work again? That must be a nice, beautiful fairy tale (laughs). Well, I thank God who met my desires. I have a Prince who can take care of me no doubt, as God has provided for him. But he allows me to be. He lets me to fly, let me use that word. And then he lets me to do things based on my desire to help women get out of obesity and their diet challenges. It is a calling for me. Initially when I started, I didn’t know that it is a calling. You know when you say something is a calling it means that God has put it in you to reach out to others. I want to help women and I am doing that by the grace of God. I guide ladies in living healthy lifestyle; to get out of obesity and its challenges.  It is a calling for me instead of just sitting and doing nothing after childbirth and regretting over the body and having other health challenges like aging prematurely.

With your equally rich Edo cultural background, what are some of the similarities in both cultures?

Well, as you know Warri Kingdom emanated from Bini Kingdom, so one will be stating the obvious when I say that there are similarities between both cultures. Some of the similarities are seen on the symbols used in both sides. Systems of royalty in terms of regalia, cultures of the people, similarities in chieftaincy title and even the splendor and aura around kings in both kingdoms.

So can you say you are now a complete Waffarian? And kindly tell us some of the things that makes one a Waffarian?

Oh, I have been a Waffarian even before I met my husband. That is because I schooled in Warri, that was at the College of Education, and I came back to do my National Youth Service Corps programme at Chevron Plc. The hallmark of being a Waffarian revolves around being a detribalized Nigerian. And of course it is also about the prowess of speaking the Pidgin English which is very unique to us. It also means intelligence as you know, Warri no dey carry last! We are also our brother’s keeper! We are about unity, putting ourselves in other people’s shoes and considering the happiness of others. That is what makes one a complete Waffarian.

Growing up under a man like Professor Anthony U. Osagie who was a Vice Chancellor of Igbinedion University for over a decade, what values did you learn from him?

Yes, I recall that his life was all about education, education and education. It was one of the key values that I took away. He taught me the values of education and also how to put others before self! He was selfless. He also taught me that whatever I want to do, that I should get approval by getting certification. That I must know my onions! That was why when I left school and went into the fitness business, I searched and got certified. Till date, I still do a lot of courses, education is the key. Bible says that people perish for lack of knowledge not for lack of prayers.

You had the challenge of obesity, tell us about it, was it partly the result of your privileged early lifestyle?

My obesity issue started with my first pregnancy. Thank God I was able to take care of that. It motivated to know that it is still possible to regain my old figure. That is getting pregnant, putting up so much weight, losing weight and still going back to my pre-pregnancy look, just the way my husband met me. I have always been a very hard-driven person. Even when I was in the university, I was not obese. But when the babies started coming and I saw how I was growing fatter, I was alarmed. Thank God for that call and the fact that I didn’t ignore the call and with the help of God, I did something about it. I conquered. It was a challenge for me and since I was able to conquer it, I believed that I should help other women out there who desire to have a wonderful figure. A woman’s figure is important. She is supposed to be on top of her health and not just to have a wonderful figure and look after the children. We have a role to play while God plays His part. It has been a very wonderful journey for me and it has become my passion. So I decided to go for qualification, which was very important. I got certified. And of course I started reaching out to a lot of people. I know knowledge is endless so I continue to learn, do more research.

How did you resolve your obesity?

It was a journey and it is still a journey. It was tough. A big challenge! I tried a lot of things from different diet pills, different diets, until I got the solution when I had my second baby in Paris. I attended a port mortem class, post pregnancy class and that changed everything. You see it is about food, if you can tackle your food intake, you will be able to resolve obesity issues. And one thing about eating healthy, it has to be with grace and not by power. The ability to choose between buying ice-cream or chocolate for something else is grace and not by power! Most often, we all know what to do, some of us can write a book on how to eat healthy. Don’t take sweets, sugar, fizzle drinks, shawama, pizza, it is all easy to say. But the capacity and the enablement to do so, is where the grace comes in. I was able to resolve that and I am still in it. I don’t have a lackadaisical attitude towards eating. I eat with wisdom. I tell my clients too. Now I run an academy and I talk about grace to make the right choice of what to eat.      

‘Body Perfect,’ perhaps we should ask you, can one actually have a perfect body?

Genesis 1 verse 31 says: God looked at what He had created and approved because He saw that everything was beautiful and perfect and the Bible says in Psalm 139 verse 14 that: we are wonderfully and beautifully made, everybody has a perfect body. God is not a God of mistake; He has not made anyone imperfectly. But we have to plug into that perfection by taking care of our body physically and spiritually.  

What advice do you have for women who are struggling to break the fat or trying to prevent the fat after pregnancy?

What advice do I have for them, it is not rocket science, it is do-able. To be healthy is do-able. So after the pregnancy and delivery of the baby, just follow the right precepts, be patient. A lot of women want to go back to their former dress size the next day, it is not possible. It took you nine good months to carry that baby, increase in size and then deliver. So it probably will take you another nine months of consistency, of determination, of discipline to get back to shape. But the bottom line is that it is not rocket science. It is possible and you can do it. 

Do you miss owning a boutique?

Not at all, now I realize that it was not in my calling. During the period when I was running the boutique, there were so many struggles. And that is what happens when you are not in your calling. Those who own boutique must be trying. I don’t know if it has changed but that time, I had people that buy without pay. Oh, they were plenty. So I’m so happy in what I am doing now. I’m passionate about what I do now that I don’t miss boutique in any way. When I see people doing the wrong stuff about their health, I can’t hold back I approach them. Some insult me, some embrace me, but I don’t hold back the information. I give free health talk.

You teach nutrition, can our eating habits help in a pandemic like covid-19?

Virus loves acidic body, they swim there! And acidic foods are everywhere. But when your body is alkaline, virus takes a bow and leave. A lot of people’s bodies are hosting ground for diseases as a result of what they eat and drink. Nutrition has a huge role to play in terms of covid-19. Take vegetables, drink lots of water, herbal tea, pepper, ginger, garlic, onions, you know garlic drives away vampires. Covid-19 is a vampire but it cannot stand garlic. Eat right.

What does success mean to you?

When I see my clients succeed and share amazing testimonies, and they keep rolling in to the glory of God, that is what success means to me. Testimonies of fertility, testimonies of fibroid shrinking as they are on the diet and good things are happening to their bodies makes me have butterflies in my belly. Such testimonies cheer me up. That is what success means to me as I get assurances that God is behind me and the hand of God is behind me.

Most often, in what perspective do you view wealth? 

Health is wealth. It takes a new meaning to me. It is not how much is in your bank account. I do evangelism too in my ministry and I go to hospitals, I see men and women naked not because they can’t afford clothes, they have money to afford clothes with millions or even billions of naira in their bank accounts, but at that moment nothing means anything to them, even their abundant money means nothing, they just want good health to enable them get out of the hospital. At that ,moment, a healthy truck-pusher on the street is the wealthiest man because he does not strain to push his truck compared to a man with billions on hospital bed putting on pampers and on drips. Health is wealth. When you are healthy you have hope to fulfill a wonderful destiny. A sick body cannot dance for God. When you are healthy, the sky is your limit.

You are also an author of a fitness book you titled: ‘Jesus wants you fit!’ What has religion got to do with fitness?

(Laughs) Oh religion has a whole lot to do with it. Right from the beginning when God created man, He gave him a diet. Genesis 1 verses 29, which tells us that God is interested in what we eat, how we eat and even wants us to worship Him in our diet. After He created man, He made provision for food so we don’t go the wrong path. In Proverbs 23 He tells us how to eat against gluttony. The bible talks a lot about eating habits because the way you feed your flesh determines the way your spiritual man will grow. Philippians 3 verses 19 say there is a god of the belly whose end is destruction. So there’s a lot of connection between religion and fitness. If you don’t take care of your body, it is suicidal.