Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, has revealed that she was unable to mourn the death of her father when she learnt of it.
The actress who made the revelation in a chat with Chude Jideonwo, said, she was emotionless when she learnt of the demise of her father whom she was very close to.
She said, “I think everything I have been, positively or negatively, was solely because of that ― my father’s death. It affected me so much that I did not even know how much. I did not even mourn my dad.
“They picked me up from school, I was just 12; understand that I was very close to my dad. I was an only child for a long time. My dad and I were close and he was the manager of Lagos Country Club; I mean Lagos Country Club when it was the only club. Ikoyi Club was just trying to grow teeth at that time.
“All the presidents, everybody was there. So, my dad was like a hip man. Because we were so close, I started rolling with people of influence from a very little age; it was nothing to me. I was always with them. I will sit down and my dad would tell me, ‘cross your legs’ and I would cross my legs. There are presidents and everybody there talking and I am sitting down and imitating them. My dad would tell me that you know you can be a first lady and I would agree with him. So, this is how close we were.”
According to her, the first time her father broke her heart was when he enrolled her at Command Secondary School, Kaduna.
She continued, “The first thing he did that broke my heart was when he shipped me to Kaduna when I was about nine. I was a child, so, I did not take it very well. I asked myself why my dad would do that. At the time, they had just given birth to my younger brother. I was seven when they gave birth to my younger brother. So, at age nine, he shipped me to Command Secondary School, Kaduna.
“He took me there. I remember when he was leaving, we were both crying. But as a child, it kind of affected me because I thought, ‘so now, he has other kids and I am no more important to him.’ So, he left; that is very far away. Kaduna is not somewhere that daddy can just come. I was there and growing.”
Just while she was preparing for her JSS3 exams, the actress said that she was summoned home, and while at the airport waiting for her flight, she knew something was wrong.
She knew someone had died but never thought it was her father.
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