Media personality Chude Jideonwo has revealed that he wrote his will at the age of 30 or 31 and decided against having children after a period of deep personal reflection.
Jideonwo made the revelations while speaking on the Beyond With Ezinne podcast, where he discussed how journaling helped him confront his fears, understand his desires and make significant life decisions.
He said he began documenting his thoughts extensively in 2015, asking himself fundamental questions about love, relationships, personal insecurities and his greatest fears.
“So in 2015, I journaled like a mad person. What do I love? Who do I love? How do I like to be loved? What am I insecure about? You know, I wrote down, what am I afraid of? I wrote down the six things I’m afraid of. And I thought, what is the worst that will happen if these things happen?” he said.
According to him, confronting his fear of death prompted him to make practical arrangements for the people and causes that mattered to him.
He explained that writing his will was part of ensuring that his mother and a non-governmental organisation he supported would be taken care of if anything happened to him.
“I wrote my will in 2015 or 2016, when I was 30, 31. Because I’m like, when I talk about what’s the worst that will happen if I die? And I thought, okay, I need to take care of my mother. I need to take care of the NGO that I contribute to,” he said.
Jideonwo also disclosed that the self-examination influenced his professional decisions, including his departure from the position of chief executive officer of RED and his decision to stop working with Nigerian politicians.
Although he expressed deep affection for the organisation, he said public relations was no longer the career he wanted to pursue daily.
“I love RED from the bottom of my heart, but PR is not what I want to do every day,” he said.
He added that reflecting on the consequences of walking away from certain opportunities helped him realise that the biggest thing he would lose was the opportunity to make more money.
Beyond his career and preparations for the future, Jideonwo said journaling also helped him reach a personal decision not to have children.
He described the realisation as significant, particularly because he is an only child and deeply loves his mother.
“So I wrote down, who do I want to get married to? Do I want to get married? That’s when I realized that I didn’t want to have children. It’s a big thing to realize as a human being. Yeah. To realize as an only child. Of a mother that I love dearly, and who I want to do everything for,” he said.
His revelations highlight how deliberate self-reflection helped him clarify his personal priorities, confront his fears and make decisions about his career, family and future.