Nollywood movie producer, Ifan Michael, has narrated how he was sexually abused by his guardian at age 10. Ifan in an interview with Chude Jideonwo
Nollywood movie producer, Ifan Michael, has narrated how he was sexually abused by his guardian at age 10.
Ifan in an interview with Chude Jideonwo said he was forced to leave Port Harcourt where his parents resided at age 10 after they separated.
He said he first made for Enugu before proceeding to Lagos after a movie marketer promised him an opportunity.
Ifan said he was left with nowhere to stay when the said marketer became unreachable on his arrival in Lagos.
He said this led to him squatting at a brothel with a call girl named Chidinma who had offered to take him under her wings at her place in Surulere.
“It was in Babajide, a call centre for runs girls. She took me in because I was Igbo. I explained my situation and she felt she could take me under her wings. Yes, I grew up in a brothel. She does her job in the morning and afternoon.
“Most times, I slept late at night because she’s busy doing her stuff. She was good to me and had others she was also helping. I was with her for almost a year. Trying to find a home, I stayed with a man who sexually abused me.”
Ifan said he later had to move out of the brothel after Chidinma’s employers questioned her relationship with him.
He said he later moved in with a barber, identified as Bros Ubi, who took him in but started abusing him sexually.
“He began to abuse me sexually. This was 2001 or 2002. I couldn’t go back to my parents. They didn’t even know if I existed. How I left Bros Ubi was him accommodating a young girl, 17 or 18,” he added.
“I couldn’t have known it was assault. I thought of him as a saving grace at the time but I did tell the girl to stop sleeping with him. She reported to him and I got chased out of the house at 12 am.
“That was how I met OPC guys who flogged me thinking I was a thief. I had a scar on my back.”
Ifan started out as a celebrity stylist and brand consultant, styling Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Yvonne Nelson. In 2016, he forayed into filmmaking and produced Lotanna.
He released the film in 2017 and received an AMVCA 2018 nomination for the ‘Best Film West Africa’ category.
In 2019, he co-wrote, produced, and directed Foreigners God.
