Nigerian singer Peter Okoye popularly known as Mr P, has revealed that his greatest fear is poverty and being broke, not death.
He made this known in a recent interview on Nancy Isime show, Mr P stated his not afraid of death, but the thought of returning to a life of poverty terrifies him.
He explained that this fear came from his experience growing up in extreme hardship, including living with his family of eight in a one-bedroom apartment that was eventually demolished while they were still inside.
He explained, “I am not afraid of death. The only thing I am afraid of in this life is poverty, of being broke.
“I have tasted it [poverty] before. I have been in our house with my parents and siblings and a bulldozer came and demolished it.
“We were living in a boys’ quarter, me, my mum, my dad, all of us. The whole family, six boys and two girls living in a one-bedroom apartment. They had to divide the room with a curtain. So, the landlord had sold the compound, we were trying to plead to get some time to plan our relocation and then a bulldozer came and started demolishing the house while we were still in the building.”
In a separate conversation with Nancy Isime, Mr P also addressed the split of the P-Square group and the feud with his twin brother, Paul (Rudeboy), and elder brother, Jude Okoye.
He stated that he chose his wife and kids over his brothers and the P-Square businessbrothers and the P-Square business. He said he would not betray his immediate family for the sake of the music group.
Mr P was a part of Nigerian music duo made up of him and his twin brother Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye, they co-write and co-produce most of their songs.
Known for their artistic reinvention, musical versatility, and visual presentation, they are widely regarded as one of the most influential African acts of all time and one of the most successful music groups from Africa.
They were integral to the evolution of 2000s and 2010s African popular music.
The duo was launched into the mainstream recognition following the release of the song “Senorita” in 2003, and later gained recognition after releasing their sophomore album Get Squared in 2005.
The success of the album earned them a nomination at the MTV Europe Music Awards for Best African Act in 2006. In 2015, P-Square was awarded Artistes of the Decade at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2015.
The group which later disbanded to pursue solo music careers using their new names RudeBoy (Paul) and Mr. P.(Peter). The duo, undeniably, had bankable solo careers.
