I will get Married at the Right Time - Pawpaw

Osita Iheme, aka Pawpaw
Osita Iheme, aka Pawpaw, is one half of the popular
Nollywood comic pair known as Aki and Pawpaw. Both
men have since moved up the creative ladder, from
being just comic actors to making their own movies.
Osita released his fourth movie last April. It is titled Ada
my Love. Although most Nigerian filmmakers often shy
away from seeing their own works, he is not one of
them. Out of the four movies that he has shot so far, the
one that appeals most to him is Mr. Limpopo. He is
likely to be caught seeing the movie for as many times
as possible.
“I simply love that movie. The story is good and the
casting is fantastic. I’d love to work on the storyline
again and do it in a better way,” he says.
Unlike his alter ego, Aki (Chinedu Ikedieze), whose wife
put to bed a couple of weeks ago, Osita is still a
bachelor. Asked why he has not followed Aki’s example,
the comic actor looks confused and he is speechless for
awhile. Then he says, “Marriage is not something that
anybody should rush into. I will get married at the right
time. When it’s time for me to get married, you will
know. You will be informed.”
The actor dismisses the rumour that he is still waiting
for the proverbial Miss Right, saying, “There is no Miss
Right anywhere. I don’t believe that I should meet Miss
Right before I make up my mind about marriage.
Besides, there is no wife for anybody. Once you get
somebody attached to you, she will become your wife.”
Despite the popularity that he enjoys among millions of
movie fans across Nigeria, even beyond the country’s
borders, Osita says that he has been publicly
embarrassed by the same fans and admirers on some
occasions.
Recalling a particular incident, which occurred
somewhere in neighbouring Benin Republic, he says,
“An excited fan removed my cap and gave me a knock
on my head. He said he had been seeing me in the
movies and only wanted to confirm if I was really the
one. Although I felt quite embarrassed by his behaviour,
I let the incident pass because I could see that he acted
out of excitement.”
Film acting, he says, did not come by accident.
As a youth, he used to be a member of the drama group
in his church. At a point, he had decided to take up
acting as a career if given the opportunity.
But, the actor says that he would have liked to be a
singer if his dreams had failed to materialise.
“I would have become a singer. To me, singing is a
means of expressing myself,” he says.
Osita also takes a look at the impact of the present
economic situation on the movie industry and
concludes, “It is tough getting by nowadays. This is
probably because filmmaking is no longer as lucrative
as it used to be. But what else can we do? The
recession is affecting everybody and the entire nation.”