Veteran Nollywood actor, Leo “Spider” Osuji has recently spoke about how he survived the civil war despite becoming a soldier at the age of 12.
In a recent news by PUNCH paper, the actor in an interview with Godfrey George talked about his experience in radio and acting. He also talked about his life, experiences and how he survived the Biafra Civil War at a young age.
According to the veteran actor, he experienced the civil war directly at a young age. He revealed that he cheated death twice during the war. The actor said he was recruited by a captain in the army who met him travelling home alone. He added that after being recruited, he and other young children were chased out by the soldiers because they were so small. That was how he was freed from the army and not long after that, he left the war area.
In his words, “On two occasions, I cheated death. As a child, I travelled on foot from Biafra Two to Biafra One to buy some things to eat. On one of those occasions, as I was walking back from the market one day, just right behind me a bomb fell and shelled the entire place. When I was going back after travelling for almost three miles inside a trench without meeting anyone, I met a captain who asked me, “Small boy, can you go back?” and I told him, “Sir, with you, I can go back”. As small as I was, I joined the (Biafran) army. We were the young recruits. I was only about 12 or 13. The soldiers chased us out because we looked very small, but later, when things became hard, nobody told us to leave the area. “
The actor added that the experience is something one would not love to re-encounter. He further prayed for unity in the country and advised that everyone should listen should each other so issues can be solved.
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