Bucci Franklin Opens Up on Growing Up Fatherless, Praises Single Mothers

• Nollywood actor Bucci Franklin has revealed he grew up without his father, praising his mother, Mrs. Joy, for raising him alone.

• In an interview with Chude Jideonwo, he admitted to struggling with alcohol, cigarettes, and girls as a teenager due to the absence of a father figure.

• Despite his father’s absence, he said he has forgiven him and now sees him differently.

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.”