Emeka Ike

Background
I am a Lagosian by birth and all my education was here in Lagos. I studied Mechanical Engineering in the university. We are nine in the family from the same parents; Elder and Mrs. Nicholas Ike. I recently lost my dad but my parents were the founders of Assemblies of God Church at Isolo. Now, we are all into our own thing now, all scattered into various professions.

Getting into Nollywood
Ernest Obi actually introduced me to Uncle Charles Owoyemi. Ernest was then on the set of Fortunes- a soap opera. He was my close friend and I wanted to act like him. I was very nervous and had lots of butterflies the first time I was auditioned but apparently I did it well because I was invited again after a week. That was the beginning and I have never looked back.
I started with Deadly Affair in 1984 although soaps were popular then. I have since done several films and have lost count of how many. I am a busy man and there was a time I worked non-stop. I don't go to clubs and don't spend time fraternising.

Being a father even as a playboy
I was telling my wife this morning that if she gets pregnant again, I would remove her womb (laughter). I am really scared to get her pregnant again. I have two troublesome boys but I love them dearly. It gives me an indescribable joy to watch them run around as Superman and Spiderman in my house. It feels good to have someone to leave your legacy for. If you have not tried it, you won't know what you are missing during all those lonely periods. As for my reputation as a playboy or ladies' man, it was never really on the negative side. I never really played around. I have not always got involved with ladies but I have tried to be a role model


Me and my wife
I shot a film, 7-12, and I had to take a loan of N3million naira from someone. I was so scared that I was going to church all the time, praying that all my investment would not go down the drain. I have to pay back the money and my father was not rich so I could not afford any loss. I was attending Fountain of Life Church then and one day Pastor Bimbo Odukoya said young men must preserve themselves for marriage. She said, "If you have too many girlfriends, you won't know when your wife passes by". It made sense to me and I parted ways with all my ex-relationships. So, that period I was in the studio editing and I have not had a bath for about three days when I looked out of the window and saw this beautiful half-caste in front of Tade Ogidan's office. She was so natural and she never had too much make-up on or the usual eye shadow that I see everyday. She looked shy with a nice personality. I saw all these without speaking to her. I sent someone to call her but I could not get to meet her that day.
Three days later I met her again at the same place but this time I went to meet her but I could not even introduce myself properly because I have forgotten how to toast a lady. They usually became my friends immediately but this one was not even my fan. I managed to talk to her anyhow and that was early 2000.

When did you get married?
We got married August 2000. When you meet your wife, you can't afford to waste time. No long courtship for me because I knew immediately that she would be my wife when I met her. I even asked her to marry me that first day but I guess she thought I was crazy. When I met her, it was really difficult because I had to travel out of Lagos immediately and I spent the next three months in different locations but something told me she would still be there for me when I got back.
On that first day, she told me she was too poor to be my wife and I was touched by her humility. As soon as I got back to Lagos, I went to look for her at the place she told me she lived. I was so tired of all the fake girls around me and she was like a breath of fresh air. One thing girls don't know is that guys know when you are fake.
Everything happened naturally and we fell in love. Her mum resisted our union at first because she felt her daughter deserved a better man but today everything is okay.

Five years in marriage
You need to see my wife dancing for me this morning at the balcony when I was leaving for work. I was playing music in my car and I just felt lucky. We are still the way we are five years ago even after two kids.

Afro and braided hair -any venture into music?
You know show business is dynamic. It's always evolving. I just want to look different but nothing to do with music. I just own a studio and we hope to produce music stars soon. I do play many musical instruments but I don't think I can sing well enough to be a musician. I will stick to my acting.

Going back to acting
Acting is what I know how to do best. I have not done anything else and no bank will employ me now because they will say they can't pay me. My fans have been calling and asking when I will be back. I look forward to going back and I will continue to give my best.