Veteran Nollywood actor Pete Edochie has sparked conversations on social media following a wide-ranging interview in which he spoke about his career, marriage, culture, politics and his standing in the Nigerian film industry.
The actor, renowned for his commanding screen presence and proverbial expressions, was a guest on comedian Isbae U’s “Curiosity Made Me Ask”, where he fielded questions about subjects ranging from being described as a Nollywood legend to his views on marriage and cultural identity.
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Several excerpts from the interview have since circulated on social media, generating debate over some of the 79-year-old actor’s views.
Several excerpts from the interview have since gone viral, with his remarks on marriage, cultural identity and his place in Nollywood history generating debate on social media.
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Here are seven remarks from the interview that stood out.
‘I’ve never called myself a legend’
Addressing the description of him as a legend, the 79-year-old said, “As a matter of fact, people refer to me as a legend. I’ve never introduced myself as one. So, they assess me as one. I never do anything to impress anybody, no. This is an interview. I do my best to come across sensibly. I have never done anything; I am not in competition with anybody.
“I’ve never got them to say, “This is Pete Edochie; I’m a legend. So, if you say I’m a legend, I thank you very much. If you say, ‘Get away, I’m not a legend; it’s your business; I don’t give a damn.’ I saw myself as something of an actor, and I decided to experiment, and it worked.”
‘Whoever says we’re on the same plane, let him come out’ — his challenge to other veteran actors
Speaking about comparisons between him and other actors over who is older and who started their acting career first, he said, “When I did “The Merchant of Venice” in 1962, I was 15 years old. Then there was nothing like a film; it was all stage. Except you had Shakespeare in your head. You don’t qualify to be on stage. Call any of them you know who can handle “Shakespeare.” Let that person challenge me. MGM evaluated filming efforts across the African continent. And they said there are only two people we recognise as actors. Pete Edochie and John Carney of South Africa.
“Whoever says we’re on the same plane, let him come out. When I did “Things Fall Apart” in 1985, there was nothing like Nollywood. Nollywood came on board in 1992. When they did “Living in Bondage”, I was the only person in this country who did a film, and white people flew in to come and interview me. No other person has achieved it. Let the person come out. I am glad to be celebrated very much. Very good. People have been writing all sorts of nonsense, claiming they’re senior to Pete Edochie, I just allow them to. Anything goes on in Lagos, so I don’t mind.
“They are entitled to all those things. So I don’t bother. I don’t respond. But now that you have said it, I am now challenging you. Let the people come out. When the white man gives you credit for employing his language effectively to communicate, then you say, I think I have done well.
“I was given national honours before all of them. I got national honours under Olusegun Obasanjo. Others campaigned for theirs. I never campaigned for mine. I sit down in my house, and the honours come. I think last year, a university from Togo or something; I don’t remember now. They brought me two doctoral degrees to my house.”
Why men shouldn’t kneel to propose
On the practice of men getting down on one knee to propose marriage to women, Edochie said, “Do you (Isbae U) have any evidence that your father proposed to your mother kneeling? I am asking you a simple question. I’m not going the other way. I never do anything because I saw others doing it. I’m a Christian, and a Catholic. If I go into the church and I genuflect, then I make the sign of the cross. What does it mean? I have stepped into the abode of a high spirit. And I must acknowledge that. That is why I go down on my knees.
“If you kneel and offer a woman a ring, you are conceding the headship of the family to her. And that is what a lot of you who advocate for that don’t even understand. Have you ever asked yourself why marriages don’t last in Western countries? That’s the reason. So if your wife decides to divorce you, she’s entitled to maybe half or 75% of what you have. They are beginning to realise it now by opening service in the name of their mothers, not themselves anymore. So the women are beginning to lose.”
‘One wife is enough for any man’
Commenting on polygamy, the actor said, “I believe that one wife is okay for any man. If it works for you, come on, take 20. Or better still, go and ask the Ooni of Ife. He has a lot of them. Let him tell you how he copes with them. When you look at animals, you’ll see why we are referred to as animals. The average dog will not be satisfied with one female dog, just like a cockerel and all that. But you find out that at the end of the day, you keep hopping from one to another. I mean, it’s not that it’s a big deal or that there’s something that those have that these don’t have. Whatever gives you all the excitement originates from you, not the women.
“I had an uncle once. He’s dead now. He married his first wife. And he married the second one. Then, finally, he married the third one. I asked him why. He said there was no way they would all conspire against him at the same time. They went to conspire against him. The other one will come and tell me, tell him what they are saying. Then he said he’s not comfortable. He’s not balanced now. He’s fully wifed. Not long after, he left. I don’t expect you to take more than one wife, no.”
Why Igbo men should embrace traditional dressing
On the Igbo people’s preference for Western clothing over traditional attire, Edochie maintained that, “I have a lot of love and respect for the Yoruba man. He does not joke with his culture. No matter the situation, he comes across with his culture. And I love him for that. I want my people to do the same thing. Have you ever seen me put on a tie? It doesn’t make sense. If people sit around at a concourse, you look around, you can always pick the
“Yoruba people who are there because sartorially, they have to express themselves in their tradition. That’s what our people ought to do. What are we putting on a suit for? It’s not necessary. You go to the north, you see the Hausa man has the traditional gear. Then you go to Warri and all that. You see all these things. I think it’s some colonial mentality. It’s tragic. They should not at all. The time for that is gone.”
‘Don’t pray for your wife to feed you’
Edochie further advised men against allowing their wives to become the breadwinners, saying, “You want us to dwell in the future when we are not there yet. Wait until you get married. Then you see what that institution is like. You might marry somebody who will offer you hell and you’ll not be happy sitting down after all the insults to start washing her undies. If your mates come to your house and they see you washing the undies of your wife, they can desert you immediately.
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“Don’t pray for your wife to feed you. If you get into such a situation, you’d like to take poison and die. This is wisdom from somebody who’s been in that institution for almost 60 years. I’ve been married for the past 57 years. If things change and your wife has to feed you for two or three days, you’d like to take poison. The kind of insult that will be heaped on you because your wife is feeding…”
Why Awolowo remains his favourite politician
On his favourite politician, he noted, “I’m not into politics but if you ask me who my favourite politician is, I will tell you it’s Awolowo. You people were not born when Awolowo was in active politics. Awolowo will tell you I’m going to build this thing. It will cost a certain amount, and this is where I’m going to get it. There has been no politician to achieve that. Outside Awolowo, then, Michael Okpara, in the East. Awolowo introduced a lot of things in Nigeria that were not there previously.
“Awolowo brought television into Nigeria. It did. Then you would hear, this is WNBC, first in Africa. That was Awolowo. That was in 1959. Then in 1960, we in the East established our own television, and we were saying this is EMBC, second to none. We were second to the West, but we didn’t want to accept it, so we were saying second to none. Awolowo introduced it. Awolowo introduced free primary education, and it surprised everybody who was born then in the West. No matter where you came from, you benefited from it.
“So on a couple of occasions, when I tell people that this man was my favourite, regrettably, he never became the president of the country. But he wasn’t somebody who would invest so much energy promising you heaven and earth without doing anything. He was not that. If Awolowo told you, I’m going to build these things here, he would build them. Even though I am not interested in politics, he was my favourite politician.”
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