
Just recently when Nollywood director, Tchidi Chikere, got married to
his new wife and actress, Nuella Njubigbo, he has been unveiling
revelations on social media as regards the reasons why he left his ex-
wife, Sophia Chikere.
There have been reactions in various
quarters concerning their dispute, as his ex-wife (Sophia) also, has
taken to social media to defend allegations made concerning her and her
ex-marriage.
Apparently, this development isn’t going down well
with some other celebrities, as top notch Nollywood producer and
director, Charles Novia, took on the issue as published on his blog.
Read below
“One of the best brains we have in Nollywood would
be Tchidi Chikere, a celebrated scriptwriter and movie director. With an
impressive body of work in the past decade and a capacity to discover
new stars or to enhance sagging careers of others, Tchidi is not a
personality one can ignore in Nollywood.
I have known him in a
professional capacity for close to fourteen years and I relate well with
him in the few instances we have met and had discussions. Tchidi has a
burning desire to make a change in Nollywood, to shoot movies which
somehow should re-calibrate society’s moral journey. I particularly love
some of his movies for the uncanny way he brings out everyday
characters in simple lifestyles and turn them to complex evolutionary
beings in complex situations. As a movie director and a scriptwriter,
Tchidi is gifted. Very gifted. Take it from me.
“In my usual
no-holds-barred critique of his acting, I would be less charitable in my
accolades. But I am not writing this to detract from his credentials as
a celebrated auteur. I am writing this out of concern, perhaps more
professional but with a huge personal slant to it as well.
It is a
well-known fact by now that Tchidi got married to an actress, Nuella, a
few days ago. First of all, Tchidi, I must congratulate you on that.
Whatever the opinions people have, we must all respect the wishes of
consenting adults when it comes to tying the knot. He made a choice and
we should respect that, no matter how much the slanderous anonymous
commentators on social media think they know.
That Tchidi got
seperated from his former wife, Sophia who bore him three children is
perhaps unfortunate but like I said, consenting adults take decisions
which they believe is best for them at certain stages in life. Such
decisions might come much anger and recriminations and would always
leave scars in the hearts of both parties. Divorce or seperation is
never pleasant.
My concern in this case has to do with the open
fights between Tchidi and Sophia on social media AFTER Tchidi’s new
marriage. On face value, it would seem to have started with Tchidi’s
rant on twitter a couple of days back against his ex-wife.
The
tweets were quite shocking and less than charitable, to say the least.
Though from the tweets, one could psycho-analyse that Tchidi was really
angry, hurt and perhaps deliberately hitting below the belt at his
former wife. My first reaction when I read those tweets on a blog was
one of shock. Those tweets were totally uncalled for. Totally. Granted,
they might have been written in a miasma of negative volcanic emotions
but total restraints is required from a man in those kinds of
circumstances. And such restraints is justified when the mother of your
blood children is involved! Sophia had a riposte which I read as well
and she had a moral right to respond too. But something tells me that
Tchidi would wish to fire another salvo at that response and thus start
social media bric-a-brac which would inflict more wounds on all parties.
That is why I had to write this open opinion.
In Nollywood and
perhaps to a small extent the entertainment industry in general, most of
the creatives tend to look away when acrimonious matters befall one of
their own. First reactions would be one of aloofness, followed by
private gossip in meeting places. Sometimes, colleagues and friends of
such personalities would whisper malicious things about the subject in
private while pretending to be all coy and concerned when they meet the
suffering subjects in public. Oh Yes! My sector have some psychophants
and pretenders as with politics but isn’t that how life goes?
Perhaps
Tchidi and Sophia are being wrongly advised by masquerading friends? Or
maybe they are not even being advised at all by anyone but are just
ventilating on social media, giving bloggers more hits and the country
one more piece of idle gossip?
Whatever the case, I will openly
advise Tchidi to stop further tweets or replies on this matter. For the
record, I don’t know Sophia or Nuella and haven’t met with any ever and
don’t wish to. My concern, as a father, is for the kids from Tchidi’s
first marriage and perhaps future kids from this new marriage. Do not
celebrate your misgivings on social media. Sheath the swords. Think of
the children. The children. The children.
Those poor kids are
going through indescribable torture and pain already. You don’t need to
add fuel to their discomfort. Angry words once written and published are
hard to take back, even with the passing of time.
Celebrities
are human too. That you see us on the screens or read about us does not
make us less human than the other fellow. Fame and fortune only hide our
foibles and finnicks. But we are human. However, whilst we are human,
there are expectations of decorum we all must adhere to. And if it is
just for the kids, Tchidi and Sophia (and perhaps Nuella) must adhere to
the dictates of decorum.