My father was a pastor and he made me hate God - musician Spyro

Nigerian singer, Spyro has been open about his relationship with religion. But it turns out that he wasn't always this way.

The singer was a guest on the latest episode of the Tea with Tay Podcast, where he spoke to host, Emmanuel Taymesan, about his upbringing, growing up in the Mushin area of Lagos. He opened up about his experience as a pastor's son, stressing that at the time he "hated God" because of his father.

He began, "My father was quite strict and he's a pastor so you know the way pastors are with their kids. They're really strict because they have this ideology that their children are the ones that..." after which Taymesan chimed in saying, "Na we dey spoil pass," and Spyro nodded in agreement.

While his father, a pastor, instilled strict values, Spyro admitted that the pressure was intense, leading to a dislike for religion during his early years.

"The pressure is not good, I must say. But I didn't even know God through my dad, even though I was right in front of the Bible. Every morning we'd wake up to the Bible, I was forced to do it so I didn't know who God was. In fact, my dad made me hate God, the personality of God," he added

Spyro revealed that the daily routine of waking up before dawn for fellowship and being constantly surrounded by the Bible, created a negative perception of religion. Despite growing up in a religious environment, he emphasised that he found he has come to enjoy religion on his own terms, separate from his father's ministry.