Legendary comic-actor, John Ikechukwu Okafor well known as Mr. Ibu has revealed how fatherhood, marital crises shaped and reformed his thought.
Speaking to The Punch in a recent interview, the actor underlined the responsibilities in parenting.
According to him, he was a careless father at first but mended his ways with a perfect chance.
He said:
“When you are young and single it is a big difference from being a married man, and a bigger difference when you start to have children. When you have babies, you are becoming a man, and when you are becoming a man, you are thinking big. There were certain things I wouldn’t do that I do now because I am the head of my family and family comes first. Also, my children look up to me, learn from me and emulate me.
“I have to show them that I am responsible so that they can be proud of who I am. God says you should nurture them, provide for them and that is what I do. Fatherhood makes you a responsible person. We have fathers who are responsible and others are irresponsible and careless.
“When I started my journey into fatherhood, I was a careless father, but by God’s grace I was able to retrace my steps, build up myself and today I am proudly a responsible father. If you are a careless father, who doesn’t care for his children, who doesn’t have love for his family, who doesn’t have love and passion for building a home, such a person is not a man. I have been able to live up to my responsibilities as a father by providing for my family and making sure they never lack.
“You have to build confidence in yourself. You learn every day as a father, and I never miss any opportunity to learn every day and this makes me a better parent.
“I have people who learn from me and I teach them how to build a home even though I had some ups and downs in the course of trying to build a home. My first and second marriages failed; they (my wives) left me after having a child each for me.
“I wondered what made them make such decisions and they made me know that it was because I didn’t have money. This made me know that I have to be able to keep my family and provide for them and make sure that they are satisfied and not have any reason to look down on me.”
