Nollywood actor Chinedu Ikedieze, better known by his stage as Aki, has talked about traumatic childhood memories related to his tiny stature due to stunted growth.
He described how he was frequently made fun of by kids in his neighborhood as a child in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo. He claimed that the taunts followed him around and that his siblings occasionally called him the same derogatory names when they disagreed, which made the experience even more agonizing for him.
According to Naija News, he clarified that the persistent taunting had a profound emotional impact on him. He was so overwhelmed by how people treated him and how society saw him that at one time he almost considered suicide.
Chinedu also talked about how important his mother was to him during those trying times. He claimed that she supported him, consoled him, and told him to disregard the taunts. Since he was unable to perform manual labor like many other boys his age, she urged him to concentrate on his studies and create a career for himself.
He stated: “Kids in my neighborhood made fun of me all the time. Even my siblings sometimes used the same hurtful names during arguments. I was pushed into a really dark place by the way people treated me. I once thought the weight was too much to bear.
“I thought I was being treated unfairly by society. When things were truly difficult, my mother was there for me. She advised me to ignore the taunts and concentrate on my studies. The physical labor that other lads were performing was beyond my capabilities. I now have direction and hope for the future thanks to her advise. My success was shaped in part by those words.
