Veteran Yoruba Nollywood actor Ladi Folarin has spoken about a painful mistake from his teenage years that led him to leave Nigeria for London many years ago.
In an interview with FeelRightNews TV, Folarin recounted how he accidentally got a young girl in his neighbourhood pregnant.
He explained that it was never intentional and that both of them were still very young at the time.
When news of the pregnancy became known, the situation quickly became difficult. According to him, even his close friends in the area began openly mocking him.
He said one of his friends started calling him *Baba Ibeji*, a phrase meaning father of twins. The repeated ridicule and embarrassment eventually became too much for him to handle.
Folarin admitted that if he and the young woman had not been mocked by their peers, he might have remained and seriously considered taking responsibility as a father.
However, the constant teasing weakened his determination.
Eventually, he chose to run away from the situation entirely. The child was later born and given the name Bidemi, which means he was born when I was not at home.
Folarin said he was absent at the time of the birth because he had already travelled overseas.
He left for London, leaving behind the young mother and their newborn child.
In his words: “I mistakenly got a girl on our street pregnant. It was not intentional. We were both young then. When it happened, even my friend in the neighbourhood started calling me *Baba Ibeji*, meaning father of twins. If my friends had not mocked me and the girl then, I would have seriously thought about fatherhood. In the end, the child was named Bidemi, meaning he was born when I was not at home. I was not there because I ran away. I travelled to London.”