My Father is An Engineer Who Worked at Shell Company; People Call Me Nepo Baby,But I Am Not- Arukwe

NEWS HUB CREATOR • 1h ago

Nollywood actor Uzor Arukwe has rejected the description of a “nepo baby,” insisting that his family background and his father’s employment at Shell should not be used to suggest that his career in the entertainment industry was built on family connections.

Arukwe made this known during an interview on CreativiTea with Linda on Thursday, October 29, 2026, while discussing his upbringing, family background and the circumstances surrounding his journey into acting.

The award-winning actor explained that his parents had professional careers outside the entertainment industry, disclosing that his mother was a teacher while his father worked as an engineer.

According to Arukwe, his father’s employment with Shell has sometimes led people to assume that he benefited from family privileges or connections in building his career. However, he dismissed the suggestion, maintaining that his background should not automatically place him in the category of people who gain professional opportunities through their parents’ influence.

The actor’s clarification came during a conversation about his decision to pursue acting despite his father’s initial reservations about the profession. Arukwe previously spent years working in the corporate sector while continuing to attend auditions and take acting roles before eventually committing himself fully to the entertainment industry.

He explained that his father’s career in the oil and gas sector had contributed to the perception, but insisted that working for a major company did not make him a beneficiary of nepotism.

Speaking during the interview, Arukwe said, “My mom is a teacher, and my father is an engineer. So someone called me a ‘nepo baby’ one day. No, I’m not. My father worked in Shell. When I say he worked in Shell, people think ‘nepo baby.’ No, sir!”

His remarks highlight his objection to assumptions about his career based on his family background, as he sought to distinguish his professional journey from claims that his success was the result of parental influence or connections.