Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr. P and formerly of the now-defunct P-Square duo, has revealed that poverty is the one thing he fears most in life.
Death, he says, does not scare him.
I am not afraid of death. The only thing I am afraid of in this life is poverty. It is being broke.
The fear comes from a painful chapter of his childhood when his family struggled to make ends meet.
Mr. P grew up in a large family that once squeezed into a one-bedroom apartment.
Six boys and two girls shared the small space with their parents, forcing the family to divide the room with a curtain.
We were living in a one-bedroom flat with me, my mom, my father, like the whole family. Six boys and two girls live in a one-bedroom apartment.
Their housing situation became even more difficult after the landlord sold the compound.
The family pleaded for more time, hoping to find another place to live.
But before they could, a bulldozer arrived.
I have tested it before. I have been in our house with our parents and a bulldozer came and demolished the house.
The experience left a lasting impression on the singer, who remembers firsthand what it feels like to lose a home and struggle with poverty.
The next thing, we were at home, then a bulldozer came and demolished it. We have tasted poverty before.
For Mr. P, those memories explain why being broke remains a greater fear than death, despite the success he has achieved in music.