Veteran media personality and Big Brother Naija host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu has made a candid admission about a years-long battle with nicotine addiction, revealing that he smoked as many as two packs of cigarettes roughly 40 sticks every single day for 13 years.

He made the disclosure during a recent episode of the MENtality podcast, appearing alongside singer Banky W and health influencer Aproko Doctor.

Ebuka revealed that he began smoking in Junior Secondary School and that what started casually soon evolved into a habit he could not easily control. By the time he entered university, his consumption had climbed to two full packs a day. He described himself as a heavy smoker who was fully aware of the harm he was doing to himself, yet found it difficult to stop without deliberate effort and intention.

The media personality noted that his last cigarette was on the day before Ash Wednesday in 2008, marking the moment he finally broke free from the addiction. He credited conscious and intentional personal steps — rather than any single dramatic intervention — as the key to overcoming it, offering his story as an example of what sustained willpower can achieve.

Banky W, the singer and actor, also used the platform to revisit his own well-documented personal struggles. He revealed that he developed an addiction to pornography while trying to tackle promiscuity, having reasoned at the time that viewing pornography would make him less inclined to move from woman to woman. The strategy, he acknowledged, only traded one destructive habit for another.

The duo used the conversation to stress the importance of self-control, awareness, and personal reflection in confronting addiction and building healthier lifestyles. They also explored the psychological roots of addictive behaviour, with the point raised that many people turn to substances or harmful habits as a way of numbing emotional pain rather than confronting it directly.