Exclusive - Charlyboy is Crazy, not abnormal - Olivia, Charalyboy’s grand daughter

In this interview, Charlyboy’s grand- daughter, Olivia Edeh opens up on some family secrets and at the same time affirming that her grand dad, Charlyboy is often misconstrued by her mates and friends. Olivia believes he has been given the best grandfather any child can dream of.

This interview was conducted by Dannydigits. The excerpts.

May I know you please?

My name is Olivia Edeh, I am seventeen years old, my grand dad is Charlyboy and I am his first granddaughter. My mother is Yvonne Oputa, my parents are divorced and I bear my father’s surname.

How old are YOU and what is your educational background?

I lived in Gbagadaso I went to grace high school Gbagada for my nursery and primary school. I did six years in primary school, then I went to grace high school as well and I recently graduated from the same school. I was the social prefect and the hostel prefect of my school. I was the president of the creative fingers club, so yes, I just had my prom and my graduation recently and I am heading to the university pretty soon, in a few weeks, outside the country.

Now that you are through with high school, what course do you want to study in the higher institution and what higher institution do you want to attend?

Emmm, I have two options, I will either study political science or international relations with a language and I am thinking it will be French. I am an art student and I will like to work for the government and the higher institution. All of this is confidential for now, can’t tell you.

Why? Why those choices of course and school?

Because, first of all, I like French, I think it is a beautiful language and I know I can work as an interpreter and a translator and I know that when you study French you have the opportunity of getting a better job according to my research and with political science, I did government in school and I fell in love with the subject as well as history. I am an art student and that is where my strength is. And I see myself working for the Nigerian government someday. That is why I love the choices I have made.

One of your Aunties Dominique has tattoos, are you going to come back with the same? Why?

I think tattoos are beautiful, no offense, but then majority of the people in my family have tattoos.  Maybe because I see them every day, I don’t really have interests in them any longer. I can only admire them, nothing more. I can admire from afar but I am really kind of scared when it comes to tattoos. I don’t imagine myself carrying them. Although I like them, they look fine but I don’t think I will carry them or piercings. Tattoos and piercings are painful, I have seen what people go through when they get them on, I don’t see the point of the pain, but I have not and I won’t simple.

What are your hobbies, likes and dislikes? What kind of people do you like?

I like to read novels a lot, I can finish a whole novel in a day, a very big one, but it depends on how interesting it is. When I say novels, I don’t mean all those romantic; harrow Queen and all those ones, no. I like science fiction, Nora Roberts, informative. Logical stuff, that is it and then I love to cook, I can cook for Africa, I just love cooking. That’s just my hobbies and I am learning a lot now that I am out of school but even before now, cooking, reading; I just love doing them. Dislikes, hmmm, I really dislike people that lie, I hate lies and I don’t like people that cheat or steal, I hate that stuff. It’s better to just say the truth about everything you do and with me when you lie and I get to find out it really irritates me. I think that is all. 

What do you have to say about growing up, especially with your grandfather for the past 13 years?

It is good with him around, it has been good, I have been in the boarding school throughout the six years I spent in secondary school. He comes to visit me in school during visiting days, he is always there for us, he sends provisions and lots of other stuff and I really appreciate it. But if you don’t make good grades you are in trouble; in the house, he is different. When it is time for summer holidays, we go for vacations together. Having him around, I always feel safe, secured, loved and cared for, it gives me the confidence and all that. I am proud to have him as my grandfather. During Christmas, we go to the village most times and celebrate Christmas with the whole family. I would really love to say that we have a special and unique family, we are never bored.

Knowing who your Grandfather is, were you at any point teased in school about his personality? How did you take that?

Yes, I guess some times, people especially in my school would just say funny stuff and everything but then I know the kind of person my grand dad is, I have stayed with him at home for a long time, so I know him. So when people say stuff about him, I just shrug off and dust off the things they say and move on with my life. I always have his back in moments like that because I know who he really is. My grandpapa is nothing like charlyboy. I am use to the teasing and I don’t think it is ever going to stop because he is an entertainer and charlyboy is part of our life. I don’t expect everybody in this world to understand him because that is the way life is; not everybody would understand what you are doing or the kind of person you are and they would always say it is not their business. So when they tease and say things, I know better so I just ignore them simple and act like normal. All I know is that Charlyboy is crazy, but not abnormal, even though my grand dad is Charles Oputa, not Charlyboy.

You grew up with your Grandfather charlyboy, what kind of a father is he?

Let me just put it this way, he is a normal grandpa, just like every other person but special. OK, his style is different yet he is still very loving and caring as I said earlier, but some people feel oh, ok, he sleeps in a coffin, he is a vampire or something like that, an illuminati. I really don’t know the origin of those stories because there are no coffins in our house, neither do we have a snake for a pet, so sometimes I think some of the stories are all cooked up. He is even more normal than some of my friend’s fathers; he loves, caring, always and there for us. He is a good person not like the way people describe him. I guess what he does outside the house is part of his job, like a show and stuff like that, but he is very normal person and he believes in God as well. People just think that he is a juju worshiper, or in one cult or the other, I know gradpa likes to make people scare of him sometimes, but he is not what some people think, else how do you explain all the very important people that come to our house, Presidents, Pastors, Governors.Ministers and even very poor people just off the streets. My grandpa is special and different that’s what I know.

Knowing who he really is, do you find yourself defending him … in what kind of way?

Hahaha, sometimes he really catches me by surprise not every time I defend because sometimes i am also surprised along with the public but as it happens most times when I know what it really is. What is true or a lie, I always defend him. But sometimes, I am surprised and I don’t know what to say because I am surprised as well… that’s the whole part of the Charlyboy package, most times a lot of things just come out of the blue bam!! And there. Now what would you do, when I don’t know nothing about anything? I simply keep quiet.  So, most times I keep quiet because I don’t know.   The things I am very sure about, I defend him to the last and I am always by his side mhmm.

Between your Grandfather and Step Grandmother who are you closer to. Why?

I am closer to my step grand mum because she is a woman and as caring as grandpa is, he is a man, and honestly I have girl issues so I can’t just walk up to him because sometimes he can be so straight and crazy, and I don’t want crazy answers. My step grand ma is also easy to talk to like my grand pa but hers is better because she is a woman, an American but she is so cool and very understanding more than grand pa but my grand pa can be igbotick and African sometimes. Do you know we have curfew in my house, even with my big aunties and uncles who are even living on their own in America; in the house, no one is allowed to stay out after 8pm, to do that it’s like you must write application one month in advance and lobby through my step grandmum and if you are lucky, you get an approval. So I am closer to her because she is cool, when I say cool I mean she is down to earth and funky.

What is that single experience you have had with him that you would never forget in a hurry?

Hmm these experiences are too plenty and if I start now your tape will finish but then we have done some cool stuff together like most times we just drive out and go for a ride on his bike and stuff and just chill out. One time we even drove to Nassarawa state just the two of us and it was amazing. It was just off the hook, it was fresh, at the end of the day I got burnt with the silencer sha but it was still cool considering sweet time. So many things in my memory, he likes to play pranks on our birthdays sometimes, around the house and a whole lot of funny stuff. We have good times.My friends come over to visit and I am given my space, he is just cool.

Any Negative experience you would rather forget?

Yea, there is one, the nude picture thing that just happened recently, I wish it never happened but I understand, I know now that some people on his bb took his profile pictures and spread it all over.  At first, I didn’t know where it was coming from, because I have seen the pictures in the house, and they are old pictures sef, he is a good looking man for a sixty one year old man, he is fit and everything but it is sad that people misinterpreted this and so many other bad things they were saying because they didn’t understand, even my friends were a bit worried especially when it went viral, my God, did I have to answer questions, that’s the only bad thing that I wish never happened, but the good part is that we all can talk to him about anything, so when he told us how it happened we all had a good laugh, because he would never do something deliberately to hurt anybody especially his family.   

Is there anything you would like to say to Nigerians about who your Grandfather really is?

Are you talking about the one on Charlyboy side or Charles Oputa’s? This is because there are two parts. Charlyboy is a fun filled entertainer, he entertains people, he is a musician, he is a blood donor, he likes to give out blood and I don’t understand that part very well,  but I guess it is a good thing, he is an ambassador, he gives to the less privileged ,he is training some people in school he, goes to schools, talks to young people because he is a motivational speaker and he is really good at it. Overall, Charlyboy is a very good person. Then, as Charles Oputa, at home he is a Dad, he can scold you when you are wrong and be your friend at the same time and he can be all the things a real Dad can be. So he is very good person, a real daddy, and my daddy.

What have you learnt from him so far?

I would say leaning, because I am still learning from him and I still have a lot to learn from him. I have learnt that life is not a bed of roses, even the fact that we are his children; we must work hard to make our own mark that we must never take for granted our background, and that we must struggle to build our own identity. I have learnt that the economy is hard, life is not always what it seems because when I was younger, life was always about disco, ice-cream and biscuit, but now I endeavor to make my own way. He has opened up my eyes to see that you have to be determined, hardworking and focused to earn what you want, that you can’t always depend on people, you can’t take someone else’s hard work, you have to work hard yourself. You can’t reap where you did not sow and you have to be very diligent in everything you do to achieve your purpose. I have learnt that I can be anything I want to be as long as I stay focused, workhard and plan. Grandpa is always talking to us, how we should not disappoint him, so there is pressure in being his childooooooo. You must stay focused, else nothing for you.

You said you want to work for the Government but your grand pa believes in working for himself to earn from his creativity and get something out of nothing, so are you saying you have a different perception?

Yes, I am slightly different, I believe in hard work as he taught me, but I am a girl and I am going to be a woman, so this working on your own, starting from nothing is kind of difficult in this economy, so I would just get my degree and my masters hopefully and move in to the society, work for the government, help people through the government. It might be a slower process but it still moves, so that is my direction. So, in families sometimes the members are bit different, individual differences often define a family.