Veteran Nollywood actor Emeka Ike has pushed back against the growing belief that love and marriage have become scams, insisting that genuine relationships are still built on trust, commitment, and sincere affection rather than financial expectations.
The actor made the remarks during an interview with BBC News Pidgin, where he addressed the increasing conversations surrounding modern dating, marriage, and money in Nigeria.
However, Ike maintained that love itself is not the problem. Instead, he argued that relationships become deceptive when people enter them with hidden financial intentions while pretending to be emotionally committed.
According to the Nollywood star, the growing trend of treating romance as a source of income has contributed to the belief that marriage is no longer genuine.
“No, love and marriage is not scam, but there are a few people that are hungry, that are using relationship as a meal ticket. That’s where it becomes a scam.
“Love is beautiful. Relationship is beautiful. To find a person who will like you, oh wow, na sweet matter,” he said.
Furthermore, Ike explained that many people begin relationships without revealing their true motives. He said this often leads to disappointment when one partner eventually discovers that the relationship was driven by financial gain instead of love.
According to him, such actions amount to deception because one person enters the relationship expecting benefits that were never openly discussed.
“But when you are liking him for an end that he’s not aware of, that is a scam. Or when you’re liking her for a back end wey she no know say na wetin you like her for, na the scam be that.
“So plenty of girls are going to relationship because of what they want to get, wetin dey wan collect from the man.
“They should just go and be doing bambiala and be begging for money. Not using relationship. Relationship is supposed to be sacred.”
Moreover, the actor urged Nigerians to stop reducing marriage to financial transactions. He noted that true love should remain the strongest pillar of every successful union.
He added that pretending to be in love for personal gain weakens the trust that healthy relationships require.
“Love is a foundation. Love is the pillar of every good relationship. Let’s stop messing it up in Nigeria. Let’s stop pretending that we’re in love,” he said.
According to the actor, every marriage faces different challenges, and couples should avoid copying advice from people whose relationships may have already failed.
In addition, he encouraged women to support their partners through difficult times rather than relying on opinions shared on social media platforms.
He explained that patience, communication, and understanding remain essential ingredients for a lasting marriage.
“Good girls, no listen to them. Because na the life them they live be that, they come they make am look like say everybody suppose dey do. Na lie.
“People endure in relationship. People try to find out the problem of their spouse in relationship. People try to solve it. People tell their spouses their problems wey them no know. And the spouse will, like, logically comply. How do you know? Because you have been following him mentally, and you know how to help him or help her.”
Furthermore, he cautioned against allowing online opinions to influence personal decisions at home. He argued that every relationship is different and cannot be measured by another person’s experience.
“Make Nigerian girls cool down. No dey listen to those women wey their marriage don scatter, na them full online.
“No take am go meet your husband for house, go dey follow am up say ‘them say’, nobody say anything. Your own relationship cannot be the same thing with that other man. Lai lai, they are not. E fit resemble but no be the same thing.”
