Veteran Nigerian singer and activist Charly Boy has opened up about his complex relationship with his father, former Supreme Court Justice Chukwudifu Oputa.
In an interview on the ‘With Chude’ podcast, Charly Boy, revealed that his struggles with authority began at home, stemming from his father’s strict rules and punishments.
“My thing with the status quo started from the house. I always used to wonder, why should my father be telling us what to do and giving us all these commands. Time to eat, time to pray, time for this and that and I was sick and tired of it,” he began.
He recounted being frequently whipped and punished for questioning his father’s authority, despite being encouraged to query and investigate.
“I was the one who was whipped the most among my siblings and I was the one that was punished the most because I wouldn’t do what I was asked to do. My father forgot that he was the one who played that in my head, he always used to tell us to query and investigate everything, so I used to have this vocal battle with him all the time.”
Charly Boy admitted that their relationship remained strained for years, with neither understanding the other.
“I didn’t understand his methodology and he thought I was this kid from hell that needed to be punished and trashed seriously and I don’t think we liked each other that much until everyone started getting mature and he started getting older. We then started seeing the beauty of our personalities.
“We didn’t agree on anything and I found out that this didn’t enable me to bond with my father. He didn’t know who I was and I didn’t know who the bloody hell he was,” he concluded.
