By Fasuyi Tolulope Samuel
Award-winning Nollywood special effects makeup artist, Hakeem Onilogbo, popularly known as Hakeem Effect, has shared the emotional journey he and his wife faced while trying to conceive.
In a heartfelt interview with actress Biola Bayo, Hakeem revealed the intense societal pressure they endured due to their inability to have children early in their marriage.
He disclosed that some people took it upon themselves to send disturbing messages to his staff, instructing them to tell his wife to get pregnant.
“It got to a stage people used to call her Hakeem’s mother,” he recounted. “A lot of people started saying I had used her womb because immediately she came into my life, everything changed.”
The cruel remarks and relentless judgment became overwhelming, leading the couple to explore surrogacy as an alternative path to parenthood. However, fate had other plans. Just as their surrogate reached six months of pregnancy, Hakeem’s wife miraculously conceived naturally.
He shared, “We had to go for surrogacy. By the time our surrogate was six months pregnant, my wife was already pregnant.”
Hakeem also reflected on his past relationship, which spanned nearly a decade but didn’t end in marriage. While he acknowledged that his ex-partner was a good woman, he described his current wife as a divine gift.
“There is a saying that behind every successful man is a woman,” he said. “I was married for about 10 years before meeting her. My ex-wife was a good and better wife, but God gave me the best.”
In addition to opening up about his personal life, Hakeem spoke on his journey in Nollywood. He credited the late actor Murphy Afolabi for launching his career and giving him the moniker “Hakeem Effect.”
“Osumare by late Murphy Afolabi brought me into the limelight, and he was the one who gave me the name Hakeem Effect,” he said.
In a surprising twist, he also recounted an unsettling encounter during his early days in the industry, where an older man made inappropriate advances.
“We were taken to a place, one old man put me on his lap and started kissing me. He said, ‘Can I take it from the back?’” he revealed.
Despite the hardships and disturbing experiences, Hakeem’s story is one of resilience, divine timing, and a testament to unwavering hope in the face of adversity.
