Peter Bunor Jnr: My late dad copied my school notes for me

Peter Bunor, one of Nigeria’s greatest actors, passed away on May 1 after suffering several bouts of stroke for the last five years. The announcement was made to the public by his son, Peter Bunor Jnr, via a Facebook post. In reporting his death, many blogs and news platforms described him simply as the veteran actor.

However, there is much more to the late actor, who featured in countless TV soaps and movies. In this interview with TheCable, Peter Bunor Jr, the actor’s son and confidant, reveals the true personality of a man who entertained Nigerians with passion and was a source inspiration to all who knew him personally.

THE FATHER

The best way I would describe him as a dad is with a strong hand with a velvet glove. For the most part, he was stubborn with many things but he did everything he could just to make me happy.

As regards things like school, his approach was to help me understand what I really wanted to do and who I was. Growing up, I wanted to be an electrical engineer then I got into sciences and I was pretty good at physics. But he knew that I was someone that liked to read a variety stuff. So he was always buying me books to read on politics and history and we sat down together and debated governance. So he told me he thought I should study public administration. Initially, I was not interested but eventually I did and I haven’t regretted it.

People used to call us ‘needle and thread’. That was the kind of relationship I had with him. It was a very close relationship even though like any father and son, we had our fights. Then he would just buy me a new book and that would be it. We just put all our arguments aside and talk about the book like we never had any sort of fight before.

When I was in secondary school and I had to go acting from time to time, I was so busy that when I got back from shooting, he would actually help me copy all my notes that I missed in school from other students. He did that for me so much that my teachers had to write to him to ask him to stop writing my notes for me.

He took me places because he wanted me to be exposed and know things and see things. When we were travelling to Ghana one time, and he insisted we travelled by road because he wanted me to see the West African coast and get all sorts of experiences. He was more of an experiential kind of teacher in the way he brought me up. I did things and went places that most kids my age didn’t get to go.

THE MAN

Like all human beings, he was a flawed human being who had his regrets but as a man he was someone that you could confidently rely on. He was a very focused and disciplined person. It is something you can tell he had nurtured in himself throughout his life.

I would attribute that part of him to his early years in the police mobile force in Ibadan, but he left in a short while.

He was also an athlete in his early years, way before I was born. He told me about when the federal government hired some American trainers for Nigerian athletes; he told me he was involved in long jump, triple jump and 400 metres.

His main principles that I could deduce from him as a person were discipline, loyalty, faith and trust. He didn’t have lots of friends but those who were his friends would tell you the strength of that friendship. He was a very private person and a shy guy. He was the kind of person that would rather stay indoors and read books. As long he had books to read, he could just remain in the house.

He was also a giving and a selfless person to the point that it upset me sometimes. I remember when I was young and I asked him for money to buy something, I think it was a game. Then our security guard’s wife was ill and he came in to ask for money. My dad just looked at me for a while and then gave the money straight to the security guard.

He told me my game would have to wait because someone’s life was involved. He did that a lot where he sacrificed his own personal comfort to help others. Moments like that have been etched in my memory.

THE ACTOR

My dad is among a select of group of actors that can lay claim to birthing what we describe today as the Nollywood industry or at least experiencing its birth.

I know he stumbled into acting through Professor Sunny Oti at the University of Jos.; he was one of my dad’s best friends. He also passed away a while ago.

He started his acting career in his early 20s as a means of making some extra cash on the side while studying at the University Jos. He started acting on local TV soap operas and was paid about N10 per episode.

When I got older, anytime he got a script, he always gave it to me to read and critique. There were times that I didn’t let him act certain roles because I didn’t think they were good. He was a method actor who really immersed himself in his performances. Of course, like every other actor, he also agreed that he had some bad performances. But one thing that is not in doubt is that he had an intense love for acting for him, it was something he really really liked.

HIS ILLNESS

His mother – my grandmother – also had a stroke at some point in her life so he knew that he was susceptible to it. I knew that he had a history of high blood pressure. He told me he found out when my mother was about to give birth to me. He took my mother to the hospital and while he was there the nurses decided to just check his blood pressure while he was waiting and that’s how they found out he had high blood pressure and he was admitted immediately. So he and my mother ended up being admitted to the hospital just before I was born.

When he had a stroke the first time I didn’t know because I wasn’t in Lagos and I wasn’t informed because he wanted to protect me from the stress of worrying and all that. But he was still worrying about us and how what happened to him was impacting us and at the same time he was trying to hide the severity of his condition. Then a lot of things changed from then we weren’t talking as much.

LAST MOMENTS

I was in Lagos when he died and he was in Asaba. I had suggested to him (how long ago) that he should avoid the stress of Lagos and travel to Asaba, where he would not have people coming and going all the time. So the day before, I was informed that his situation had deteriorated and he was admitted to the hospital and the specialist had been called. Then early the next morning, I got a call from my cousin that my dad had passed, which was very painful for me.

My last encounter with my dad was about a month and a half before he died when I flew in to see him and when I saw him, he seemed to be getting worse. I knew his condition was bad before, but I was just hoping that his physiotherapy and his meds would be having a better effect on his health. He asked how I was doing and what was going on with me. He was even apologizing to me for still being ill and for me seeing him like that. He kept assuring me that he would get better and things would be better. That was the person he was till the end, always thinking of other people’s wellbeing above his.

HIS LEGACY

I would like him to be remembered as a man who did his best, a man who tried to be the best father, the best friend; a good teacher who genuinely wanted to touch people’s lives and also wanted those around him to grow to become better people. He was a man that came to this world and gave his all.