Veteran Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie, has kicked against the idea of Nigerian men getting down on their knees to ask women to marry them.
In a video circulated on social media on Thursday, the 72-year-old actor could be heard saying, “Any young man who gets on his knees to propose to a girl, is not just an idiot, he’s a bloody fool, a compound buffoon”.
The revered actor said in the video that the act is a replication of the foreign culture that translates to the woman taking over the family.
“We are trying to copy white people, right? I believe in the sacrosanctity of our culture, the essence and the core of our culture,” he said.
“The white man kneels down to propose to a girl, you know what it means? The girl takes over the family. This is why whenever you disagree with your wife overseas, you are kicked out and the wife takes the house. As a young man, you should be in charge of your destiny. Kneeling down for a woman makes you a fool”.
The ‘Lionheart’ star also said he does not believe the practice signifies love or civilisation.
“I have lived with my wife for 51 years, nobody has come to say ‘please stop beating this woman’. Is it hatred that united us?” he asked his interviewer.
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The actor joked that men who insist on going on their knees to pop the question, risk being kicked out of the house by their wives.
“Kneel down before your wife and I’ll sympathise with you when she takes over the home,” he said.
This is not the first time the actor would court controversy over comments around marriage and relationships.
He made similar comments in Igbo language in January 2020, saying: “A marriage is recognised when a woman offers her future husband wine on her knees, signifying his authority. Therefore, the wife should kneel before her husband and not the other way round.”
He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Josephine and they are blessed with six children. They have been married for more than 51 years and their union is said to be the longest in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
They were both broadcasters and parents to six children. Their sons, Linc and Yul, are both in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
