THE SECRET PAIN OF OSITA IHEME A.K.A PAWPAW

Star actor Osita Iheme is arguably one of the best actors of his generation. He is widely known for playing the role of 'Pawpaw' in the film Aki na Ukwa alongside Chinedu Ikedieze. In 2007 Osita received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the African Movie Academy Awards. He is considered to be one of Nigeria's most famous actors. In a recent interview with Entertainment Express,Iheme opened up about deep pain in his heart, which has continued to stick out like a sore thumb.

He said;I lost my father in 1990 under a mysterious circumstance. I was very young then. I can’t really say much about him because I was still a baby when he passed on. From what I learnt, he was a trader who travels a lot and was into merchandising. He made sure that his children were well brought up. He raised us with a good moral upbringing and the fear of God. He was that kind of father. He was a tall man. I can’t say this was what killed him. He just went home and we were told that he was dead. Let me add that he was a chief in his community.

I took after him his composure and confidence. He has a mind of his own and he would tell anyone what is wrong to their face. I also took the ability to be independent and fend for myself from him. There was no father-figure except my mother. Everything that shaped my personality, I got from my mother. She was also busy playing different roles in our lives at the same time; providing our daily bread and all that. I miss the man because I remember stories my elder ones told me about how he would discipline them. On her part my mother was not an iron lady.

I can’t recall much on how he died, but I asked them what was wrong. I just remember my mother wailing on that particular morning calling my father, Lawyer Ndigbo, a name my late father earned for being a mediator in the community. Interestingly, I had a foreboding of my father’s death in a dream. In my dream, I saw that I lost my dad. When I woke up I shared my dream with them not knowing that it had already happened the previous night. We were living in Aba but my father died in our village. I can’t say that I am a spiritualist but God has a way of communicating with me through dreams.

Asked about how he is managing his size,he said As for facing discrimination on account of my size, I have never allowed that to happen. I don’t allow what people say to dictate how I see myself. Like I said earlier, I am a strong-minded person and I don’t allow certain things to bug me or weigh me down. I also try to surround myself with positive people. I wouldn’t even give anybody the chance to kill my spirit anyway.

I am already thinking of marriage and it will happen very soon. I don’t know the person yet. I can only say that there a couple of them in the picture who I am considering. But as a young man, I have somebody whom I confide in. It is not about the size or shape but I believe that when I find that person I will know her. Yes, I am still searching. In fact, I am 100 percent still searching. The gist that somebody broke my heart sometime ago is untrue. Love has been kind to me.