Nollywood actor, Prince Jide Kosoko, has opened up on how he ended up marrying four wives.
Speaking in an interview with Vanguard, the actor said, “I never envisaged being a polygamist though I am a product of one. My parents didn’t support it either. My first wife was a business woman. I craved for somebody who was in the same field with me.
In those days, the best advice you can get is from your better half and that was how the second woman came to be. Along the line, I lost the two to child births within 11 months interval. I had seven children at that time, so I didn’t plan remarrying or having more children again.
But after much persuasion from my doctor and relatives, I decided to have a woman with the agreement of not having more children but a complete African woman will not agree to that. One thing led to the other and I got two women again. So being a polygamist is not intentional but God’s design which I do not have a right over.”
Prince Jide Kosoko (born 12 January 1954) is a Nigerian actor, director and producer. He was born to a royal family, hence his traditional title of prince or “omoba” in the Yoruba language.
Prince Jide Kosoko was born in Lagos on January 12,1954, to the Kosoko royal family of Lagos Island.
He studied business administration at Yaba College of Technology. He began his acting career as a child actor in 1964 in a television production Makanjuola. He has featured in several Nollywood movies in both English and Yoruba languages.
The young Kosoko grew up in Ebute Metta and was inspired by the success of Hubert Ogunde to go into acting, when an acquaintance who was working with the Ifelodun traveling theatre troupe invited him to audition for a role in Makanjuola, a tele-movie. Kosoko accepted the invitation; he later auditioned and was chosen for the role, playing a character called Alabi. Kosoko continued with acting, he performed with the Awada Kerikeri group consisting of Sunday Omobolanle, Lanre Hassan and Oga Bello, and had guest appearances on the T.V. show, New Masquerade. In 1972, he formed his own theatre troupe.
Kosoko has written and produced his own films and stage plays including Ogun Ahoyaya. Kosoko became visible during the Video film era, producing his own film, Asiri n la in 1992, starring in Asewo to re Mecca[10] and Tunde Kelani’s Ti Oluwa Ni’Le part 2.
Kosoko is an ambassador to a popular juice production company Chivita. In 2016,he endorsed MeritAbode Limited,owners of Emerald Estate. Kosoko is also one of the brand ambassadors for Western Lotto.
He is married to two wives, Karimat and Henrietta, with children and grandchildren.
He is the father of Bidemi, Shola, Temilade, Tunji, Muyiwa, and Tunde Kosoko.
