After her ex-husband, Nollywood actor David Nnaji abandoned her and their child with special needs, Joy Odiete a.k.a J’odie became a single mother who is fighting hard to be the best parent to her son.
The little boy Chinua was born with cerebral palsy.
The Delta State born singer and special needs child activist in an interview with Nation says she is ready to stay single and celibate, if it’s written by her God.
“With all what I went through, would I give love another chance? Hmmm, God is love – nothing but love lives here. I know you are talking about marriage though. If God sends me my Boaz, why not? I will gladly, as I’m still young and ‘everything’ is in very good shape. On the flip side, I’m willing to stay single and celibate if God writes my script that way. Whichever way, I’ll do it with joy,” she said.
Considering what she had been going through due to her son’s condition, Jodie says she not actually scared of having another child.
No, that is not my fear because my first experience of having a child was not an easy one due to complications, surgery, and the child not crying for 9 hours and so on. Then after all those things I was left alone to take care of the child. So my first experience wasn’t a good one but that doesn’t mean if an opportunity comes in a more supportive circle, I will like to give it a try because raising a child shouldn’t be what one person would do. Having a special needs child can be out of complications, it’s not like you made it happen. Now, I am more aware and there are certain tests you can do to verify and follow up. Not that I didn’t do antenatal care then but there are some things that I would not take chances anymore. I will be much more intentional about where I will give birth because that hospital where I gave birth did not help, they didn’t even have enough oxygen to give my son. Apart from that, I almost died.”
Speaking on her most powerful songs of all time ‘Kuchi Kuchi,’ and what inspired it, she said: “That song is 12years now. I did it when I didn’t even know what it meant to be a mother. At that time, because I am a very emotional person, my producer Phat E was like you’ve been doing different songs but none about love, I want you to do something about love. At the time, I had a terrible year back so that was why I was avoiding anything to sing about love. He then made a beat for me and I took it home but I couldn’t write anything on it because I was looking at love from only romance. One day, I woke up around 2am and said love doesn’t have to be only about romance so I changed my perspective to see love from a different angle. I asked what I would say to my child if I were a mom. So that’s how I was able to put together those lyrics. I never knew the power of that song until people started sending me messages from different countries.”
