Renowned Nollywood actor, Charles Inojie, took a poignant trip down memory lane, shedding light on the challenges of his upbringing, particularly the profound impact of his parents' separation during his early years.
In an interview with Chude Jideonwo, the actor revealed that his parents parted ways when he was a mere 8 months old. His mother left, leaving his grandmother to nurture him, even breastfeeding him in his early years.
His father went on to remarry, prioritizing his relationship with his new wife over his son's well-being. Charles Inojie shared that his stepmother made his life challenging. He only lived with his father for eight months before their separation. When he gained admission to the university at 20, his stepmother influenced his father not to support him financially until her child was ready for university.
Years later, Charles reconnected with his mother, but the emotional strain persisted, hindering a strong mother-son bond.
“When I wanted to go to the University, I became back to the house to tell him I have gotten admission. The woman began to laugh, faced my Dad and told him ‘If this one has to go to the University, he will wait for my own child to grow so they will go together,’ that is a child I am older than with 18 to 20 years,” he narrated.
Speaking about a reunion with his dad, he expressed, “I met him, and we sat for close to thirty minutes, nobody talked. I was crying, he was crying. I said ‘I have to start going, but I am now out of school. My first work, they said Papa must pray for his child.’ I bought a drink and put N5000 in an envelope and asked that he prays for me, and he said he wasn’t going to touch it, and that his conscience will not let him, having not contributed a dime,” he shared in part.
The emotional interview has stirred deep reactions online, prompting a reflection on the actor's resilience and journey through hardship.
[blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"]
I was not ready for how emotional this became.
Charles Inojie is one of Nollywood’s greats – as an actor, as a director, as a comic. He has made us laugh too many times to remember.
But where did all of that come from? A life of pain.
First his parents’ marriage crashed.… pic.twitter.com/lBUwX8bMyU
— Chude Jideonwo (@Chude) November 10, 2023
[/blockquote]