Nigerian singer Spyro has opened up about a painful childhood experience involving his father, a pastor, revealing how being repeatedly accused of stealing affected him growing up.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV broadcaster Rufai Oseni, Spyro recalled being singled out and publicly embarrassed by his father whenever money went missing in church, only for it to later turn out he hadn't taken it.

He also recounted an incident in which a school cleaner allegedly scratched his head with her long nails, an incident he said his father refused to believe when he reported it, choosing instead to punish him for what he was accused of being a lie.

"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. All the public embarrassment, and then when he eventually finds what he's looking for, he buys you milk," Spyro said.

He went on to describe the lasting physical and emotional impact of that punishment.

"When we got home, my dad flogged me and left a mark that's still on my back 22 years later. It broke me because I told this man the truth and I suffered for it," he said.

According to the singer, the repeated accusations shaped how he saw himself growing up, pushing him toward behaviour that matched the negative image his father had of him.

"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 recalled.

Spyro credited his mother's love and steady support for helping him cope with the difficult experiences during his childhood.

“My father would always tell me as a child that he wasn’t sure I would be successful, so I started seeing myself as a failure. I’d go to school and ask myself, ‘Can I even graduate from here?’ I felt like someone who couldn’t do anything right.” — Singer Spyro pic.twitter.com/yRa1nc86SM

— YabaLeftOnline (@yabaleftonline) September 16, 2026