He said his dad wanted him to further his education after he got his first degree at 18, but he flouted his decision.
Jim Iyke, the veteran Nollywood
actor, has talked about his father.
He narrated how his dad evicted
him from his home over his decision to become a thespian.
He said his dad wanted him to
further his education after he got his first degree at 18, but he flouted his
decision.
Iyke said his late mother,
however, supported his decision to join the film industry, stressing that she
gave him the opportunity to realise himself.
The award-winning actor made
this known while appearing on the latest episode of the Is This Seat Taken
podcast, hosted by actress Chinasa Anukam.
He said, “I was a straight A
student. And the course was already, I mean, you know the Igbo parent, they
decide your life before you are born and probably after you die if they outlive
you.
“I was about 18 and a half when
I finished my first degree. The idea was, ‘Get your MBA.’ That was the whole
plan. My dad’s boss is American, so he already had a setup. And I came home one
day and said, I think I really want to be an actor.
“Now, my dad’s fair argument
then was that I’m excruciatingly shy. Now, how come you come out? A well-known
introvert comes out to say, You want to be an actor? But I think there was
something—you know, call it female intuition or whatever. She [my mum] just
believed, even before I did. I just saw a glimpse of something that made me believe
this is what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t hard-formed. There was no core to
it. There was no master plan. There was no road map. It was just a simple
conviction. But she believed before I did. And I think that is what makes
mothers as unique as they are.
“She started supporting. It
became unbearable to stay at home. So much so that one day, my dad woke up and
said, ‘Listen, there can’t be two captains on this ship. You either go get this
master’s going as quickly as possible. Take one year, go do whatever nonsense
you want to do, come back, and then we set the course again. Or you leave my
house.’ So I left.
“What she [my mum] instilled in
me all through that time of staying with her, learning from her, directing me,
guiding me—I think that’s what pretty much shaped the man I became, how I
pursued my goals, and what I eventually became today.”
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