Actor Antar Laniyan has shared the extraordinary story behind his name, revealing that he remained in his mother’s womb for 18 months, leading to an unusual method to induce labour.
In an interview on ‘Behind The Fame’, Laniyan disclosed that his mother was advised to eat a lizard-like creature called “Anta” to facilitate his birth.
According to Laniyan, the prolonged pregnancy had people worried, suspecting spiritual issues rather than medical concerns.
He said his mother followed the advice, consuming the dish, and he was born an hour later.
As a result, she named him after the creature, a name he has proudly shared to highlight the sacrifices his mothers made.
Laniyan also revealed that his original name was altered in primary school due to teasing from classmates, leading him to add an “R” to make it Antar, the version known today.
In his words, “There’s a story behind it, and I like telling it at times because I want every individual to know the importance of having a mother: a good mother, a great one.
“The kind of things that our mother passed through before they gave birth to us individually, we do not know because we were not there.
” But when a mother goes into telling you how you came to be, you will weep for yourself.
“I overstayed in my mother’s womb; I stayed 18 months, according to her. People around were wondering what was wrong.
“I mean, something must have gone wrong, not medically. So it could be spiritual.
“She had to eat something in Yoruba called Anta. It looks like a lizard, smaller than a crocodile.
“So my mother didn’t see anything wrong with adding that thing to my name.
She had to take it. They had to prepare it for her. She took it. An hour later, I came.
” When I got to primary school and my friends were playing with the name, I added an R to make it Antar.”