Nollywood actor Bucci Franklin has opened up about his childhood and praised single mothers for their resilience.
In a candid interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo on YouTube, the To Kill a Monkey star revealed that he grew up without his father, even though he was alive at the time.
“As a kid, I had my woman shege. It is not easy to be a single parent. My mum had to go to work. Not having a father figure is quite difficult,” Franklin said, commending his mother for raising him alone.
He emphasized the need for male guidance in a boy’s life, adding: “Maximum respect to women out there taking care of their children by themselves. But you need a man in your life. If you do not want to get married, you need a brother to play that role. For boys especially, you just need a father figure.”
Franklin admitted he struggled as a teenager, experimenting with alcohol, cigarettes, and girls. “I was into girls, drugs by drugs, I mean cigarettes. Drinking beer at a very young age. Coming back home completely wasted,” he recalled.
Despite the hardships, the actor said he has forgiven his father: “My dad is good, but he was not in the picture. I see him now for the man he is, not the man he was. I have forgiven him.”
He credited his mother, Mrs. Joy, for shaping the man he has become: “The man that I am today, and that I would continue to be, is because of Mrs Joy.”