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I am extremely quiet –Jim Iyke

Jim-Iyke1

Jim Iyke

Jim Iyke, in this interview with OLUSHOLA RICKETTS, speaks about venturing into other things apart from acting, the birth of his child, how his mother’s death almost affected his relationship with women.

Why did you stop your reality show, ‘Jim lyke Unscripted?’

I didn’t have a life at the time I was doing the reality show. I was socially redundant. I was only seeing my family twice in a year or thereabouts. Do you remember that the reality show was domiciled in Ghana? The deal we also got from Virgin Atlantic Airlines to fly me all over the world was domiciled in Ghana as well.

 The reality show made me reside in a different country. I was flying everywhere and constantly living in hotels. At some point, I felt it was not the kind of lifestyle I wanted for myself.

To make matters worse, my mother moved to Manchester, United Kingdom, when we were about starting and she became very ill afterwards. My sisters and I debated whether she should be brought back to Nigeria. I just made a decision to return home. It was one of the things that forced me to leave Lagos for Abuja. I needed to take proper care of her. The period she died was a very difficult time of my life. I lost the passion to do many things.

So, when my ex-girlfriend had a son for me, I called the crew members and explained to them that I needed to take a certain decision even though it was hard. The options were – I either continued to travel and missed out on my son’s formative years or shut down the reality show. I have never made that kind of sacrifice for anyone in my life.

It is a terrible way of living when there is no higher cause or the need to do anything for other people except you. Everything I did in the part was for my own cause, career, investment and coexistence with any other human beings. I have never done anything for anybody in the true sense of sacrifice.

Do you know people did not take you seriously when you ventured into music?

Of course, I knew. I am my greatest critic. I knew I had to use swag to stand any chance in music. That was why I met with 2face to sing one or two lines. How many true talents do we still have in the industry now? The untalented ones are even making more money than the talented ones.

It is not just about the talent in showbiz; it is about understanding the business. The way you package your gift and sell it to the world goes a long way in being successful. I can mention a few terrible artistes and actors that are ahead of the gifted ones.

Is there a possibility of you getting married to your baby mama?

At some point, she meant a lot to me than anyone. The way I see things in life is beyond how most people see it. It is beyond culture, ideology, religion, or any other thing. When I meet somebody that understands me, I become blind to every other thing. She used to be the only lady who understood me. She knew when I wanted to be left alone all day to study. When you don’t understand this, you may think I am not into you. Someone who understands me knows that I am just comfortable being around her, but I don’t want to have any conversation.

I think everything in a relationship is about force now because everyone is trying to impress each other. I have never been interested in impressing people.

What are you working on now?

I call my new project the ‘Adventurer.’ We want to take people from diverse backgrounds, between the age of 18 to 35, to an exotic location and away from their comfort zones. We would put them in a room and force them to have a conversation.  By the time they come out from the house, they will not be the same again. We may not have N30 million to give them, but we will teach them how to catch fish.

Were you as opinionated as you are now while growing up?

I was extremely quiet and I believe I am still quiet. I am a component of two things.  I am quiet when I am working with people I don’t know well. But I am free whenever I am with my family and friends.

Are you still cool with Nadia Buari?

Things didn’t get messy as people thought. Two people met in the entertainment industry and there was a reality show at a time that kept us together. So, we did a smart thing anybody who found himself or herself in such situation would have done. And when the entertainment was over, we moved on to our normal lives.

For anyone who thought anything extraordinary happened, it was a live show except that it played into our personal lives too. I got what I wanted, which was followership and I appreciate the audience for watching. She understood what she was coming into and I understood as well. We got the mileage we both wanted and we moved on with our lives. Five years down the lane, people are still talking about it.

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