With the Valentine just around the corner, ace
comedian Julius Agwu and his wife of five years, Ibiere recently granted an
interview to talk about their relationship.
One could imagine being married to someone like Agwu
would mean cracked ribs for breakfast with laughter in the air 24/7 but Ibiere
said on the contrary; “He could be very annoying; forget all these things he
does on stage. He gets me annoyed.”
Click to read more after the cut...
Agwu not one to take a bullet down defended himself
quickly. “She is an introvert; most times I am the one who would ask, ‘are you
okay? What is the problem?’ She would just keep to herself and that really gets
at me. Sometimes, I would expect her to ask me how I am faring but she never
does. Though I like the fact that she really doesn’t have friends; but I still
don’t like the way she treats me. Before we got married she would ask me,
‘baby, have you eaten? Try and eat something please.’ Since we got married, she
has not bothered to ask me if I have eaten! These days, I have to beg her to
ask me if I have eaten,” he said.
But all is in good fun. They seem to be the most
comfortable couple around with a gorgeous daughter, Zahra. Agwu said as a
couple, they consciously decided not to engage in irrelevant arguments. In
agreement, Ibiere replied: “Before the situation gets to the stage of
quarrelling, we speak about our feelings instead of bottling up issues.”
You
have been married for five years. How has the journey been like?
Ibiere: It has been good.
How
did you meet?
Julius: We met at a wedding in year 2000; she was
part of the bridal train. Incidentally, Okey Bakassi and I were the comperes at
the event, and both of us competed on who would be the first to ask her out. I
made the first move but she was too little, she was underage.
Ibiere (cuts in): I was 18, I was not underage.
Julius Agwu: Well, she was 18 but she was a baby. I
just saw one beautiful girl. I was smarter, I was faster, and I was able to get
her contact. We became friends but she started putting up an attitude whenever
I tried reaching her. At a point, I called her bluff and wondered who she was.
In fact, I forgot about her.
Ibiere,
why did you put up an attitude?
Ibiere: I was not putting up any attitude, I just
concentrated on my books, then, I was in my first year in the university.
Was
your attitude as a result of his profession as a comedian?
Ibiere: The fact that he is a comedian had nothing
to do with my decision, I wasn’t just interested.
So,
at what point did you change your mind and show interest?
Ibiere: After the first meeting, we lost contact for
two years; we met later and became friends.
When
you met her later, what was your reaction?
Julius: I met her two years later in 2002 when I
lost my father. I was very angry because at that period, my career was just
kicking off. The day he died, I went to Chioba, my village to settle his
hospital bills. On getting there, I saw a crowd of mourners at our gate. I was
so angry that I made up my mind to drink myself to stupor. I went to a town in
Port Harcourt to have drinks with some friends who had come to commiserate with
me. When I left our table for the toilet, I ran into her on the corridor. She
informed me that it was the eve of her birthday and she had come out for some
drinks with her friends. I informed her that I had just lost my father. We
moved from there to another club and since it was her birthday, I decided to
buy drinks for everybody. After all the money I spent at the club, they wanted
to leave. So, I asked her, “are you leaving without even giving me a kiss?” She
said, for what?’ I realised she was still putting up an attitude and that got
me very angry. This was in addition to the fact that I was tipsy. Again, I
called her bluff. During my father’s burial, she came, but she was still a baby
because she still had her curfew and she was not supposed to stay out late. But
I was impressed that she made out time to visit me.
At
what point did it occur to you that he might propose?
Ibiere: At no point, when he proposed, I was not
actually thinking about marriage because I had just graduated and was not even
thinking of marriage.
But
Julius, do you agree that part of this attraction could be the fact that she
was not really interested?
Julius: One thing about me is that I like to have my
way. I have always had my way and she posed a challenge for me through her lack
of interest. But I did not just see a beautiful girl, I saw someone who was
intelligent and stern. She was principled from the outset. She is actually my
greatest critic.
Since
he is a jovial person and makes money out of telling jokes, are there times you
expect him to be serious about some issues and he is not?
Ibiere: He knows when I want him to be serious and
he sees it on my face. Most times, I don’t even need to say anything, I just
look at him and he knows I mean business. Also, I know when he is serious. When
I see his facial expression I know.
His
job entails a lot of publicity. How do you deal with that especially being with
him almost at every event?
Ibiere: I am always with him but I am not in the
public glare because I don’t bring myself out there to be seen. I am always in
the background.
Do
you laugh at his jokes when he is on stage?
Ibiere: If it is funny I laugh, if it is not I don’t
laugh.
What
does he do to annoy you?
(At this point, the couple stared hard at each
other).
Ibiere: What does he do to annoy me? Hmm… I don’t
want to go there.
Julius: Go there now.
How
do you settle fights?
Ibiere: We fight until one of us is tired; usually
he is the one who gets tired first.
Is
it true?
Julius: It is true. The kind of job I do is to give
laughter and joy. So, each time we quarrel, I don’t feel comfortable, I can’t
claim to give people joy when I am not happy. I thought I was an expert at
keeping malice. until I met her.
Ibiere: You are worse than me. I might not be happy
but if I am angry, I can still talk to him but if he is angry, he can go on and
would not even say a word to anybody.
Has
your bond grown stronger?
Both: Yes it has. Funny enough it has.
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