Spyro Recounts Childhood Trauma, Reveals Scar Left by Punishment From His Father 22 Years Ago

Nigerian singer Spyro has opened up about painful experiences from his childhood, recalling how his relationship with his pastor father was affected by repeated accusations and punishments while he was growing up. The singer shared the experience during an interview with Arise TV broadcaster Rufai Oseni, where he reflected on how events from his childhood continued to affect his perception of himself. According to Spyro, his father would sometimes accuse him of stealing whenever money went missing in church. “My dad is a pastor. He will tell outsiders that this boy is a thief. Once money misses in church, he will point to me,” the singer recalled. Spyro said the accusations were particularly painful because they were sometimes made publicly, only for his father to later discover that he had not taken the missing money. He explained that despite the embarrassment, his father would sometimes later find whatever he had been searching for and attempt to make up for the situation by buying him milk. However, Spyro recalled another incident that left a permanent physical mark on him. The singer said he once told his father that a school cleaner had scratched his head with her long fingernails. According to him, his father did not believe his account and accused him of lying. Spyro said his father accompanied him to confront the cleaner, who denied knowing him. After they returned home, he said his father punished him by flogging him. “When we got home, my dad flogged me and left a mark that’s still on my back 22 years later,” Spyro said. The singer described the experience as particularly painful because he believed he had told his father the truth but was punished for it. “It broke me because I told this man the truth and I suffered for it,” he recalled. Spyro said the treatment affected the way he viewed himself while growing up. He explained that because he felt his father already regarded him as a “terrible child,” he eventually began thinking that he might as well behave according to that image. “If not for the love from my mom and how she was able to constantly balance things up, it affected me because I felt since he believes I’m a terrible child, let me just be terrible,” he said. The singer credited his mother for providing the emotional support he needed during those difficult periods. According to Spyro, her love helped counterbalance some of the negative experiences he had with his father and provided him with a different perspective of himself. His revelation offers a glimpse into some of the childhood experiences that shaped him before he became known professionally as a singer. While Spyro did not suggest that the painful experiences defined his entire relationship with his father, his account highlighted the lasting impact that childhood accusations, public embarrassment and physical punishment can have on a person's self-perception. The singer's disclosure has since generated conversations about parenting, childhood experiences and the importance of believing and listening to children before judging them.