Nigerian actress and wife of Banky W, Etomi, has shared some of her unpleasant childhood experiences.
She said this while speaking about her career, family, and childhood with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu in the latest edition of ‘BlackBox’.
She narrated how she had struggled getting accommodation by staying with several relatives after her mother traveled to the United Kingdom.
She said when accommodation conditions didn’t go well for them, she moved into a small apartment with her sister although, the apartment was jam packed and they had no wardrobe to keep their clothes. They had to fold them in an empty freezer.
She said, “We started off staying with dad’s sister, then dad’s brother, when those living situations didn’t work out, i stayed with my grandpa. When that didn’t work out, we moved to a property in a place called Jeba.
“My sister and I started living alone. That was quite hard because we were very young. There are days when there’d be no food.
“There were so much stuff in the place and it was just a room and a parlour, we used to fold our clothes in an empty freezer because there was no wardrobe.
“We went through our share of tough times, and I think that’s part of the things that have shaped who I am right now.
“I’m grateful for that experience and I wouldn’t want any child to go through that because no child should have to go through it. But that was the situation we found ourselves and we made the best of it as much as we could.”
She also shared her original experience in London and how she was bullied.
“I was African, [so the kids there would always tell me that], and they made it seem like something you should be ashamed of. They tried to bully me but you can’t bully me,” the actress said.
“I stood up for myself. Bullying was quite a thing at the time. So you hear about a lot of bullying stories.”
By Damilola Olufemi
