Media personality Frank Edoho has opened up about a difficult period in his life, revealing that he went through a dark phase two years ago while still appearing on television.
Frank spoke about the experience during an interview on Outside The Box, saying he had to maintain a composed public image despite what he was dealing with privately.
The interview comes days after his estranged wife, Sandra Onyenucheya, shared her own account of their relationship, accusing the television host of cheating, emotional abuse and financial misconduct.
“I don’t want to go to the gates of heaven and they ask me what k!lled me and they say it’s a woman. Whether that woman be my daughter, my wife, my mother, I don’t want that. I don’t want that to be my way out of this portal.
“I want to d!e with a smile on my face saying that all the people I met, I tried to put a smile on their face, and to have the only regret that I wish I did more good. Not that I wish I had more time, that’s all,” he said.
Frank also spoke about the pressure men face in silence.
“The task of manhood is very daunting. Men don’t speak. Men go through a lot. Whatever a man is going through, he’s just silent. He doesn’t say it. He holds it to himself. And some of them go to the grave with it. Too many, actually.
“For two years, there was a couple of years back I was in a very dark hole but nobody knew. I couldn’t call you guys. I just said, you know what, this is a journey I have to make on myself to reorganise myself. And I’m happy I did. But at the time, I thought that the walls were caving in,” he said.
He added that broadcasting taught him to maintain composure regardless of personal challenges.
“Broadcasting taught me how to have a poker face. No matter what you’re going through, when it’s time to go on air, ‘Hi, good evening, welcome, I hope you’re having a nice time’, the only reason you’re not there is that you’re d.ead. If you’re alive, it doesn’t matter what you’re going through, you have to be there doing just that.
“But ironically, I can’t do it in real life. I can’t switch off like I switch off when the microphone is in front of me,” he said.
Frank, who is widely known for hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, has been in the Nigerian broadcasting industry for over two decades. He was previously married to broadcaster Katherine Obiang before later marrying Sandra Onyenucheya.
