Reno, VeryDarkMan appeal for support as Mr Ibu cries from hospital bed
Nollywood veteran, John Ikechukwu Okafor, aka Mr. Ibu, who clocked 62 on the 17th of October in a now viral video has appealed to Nigerians for support as he is in a critical condition and risks leg amputation.
known for his funny speech style, and physical appearance significantly marked by a protruding tummy, that causes his audience to laugh, ironically, that same physical feature is significantly causing him pain, as he is now bedridden with an undisclosed illness.
According to Mr Ibu he has been battling with the ailment for a while, and has been down for many weeks, but is now at a critical stage and the medical director has stated that if the new idea for treatment doesn’t work “the best solution is to cut off my legs”.
In his words “Just see me, if they cut off my leg where do I go from here?” He told people to pray for him to get through the ailment in one piece.
His adopted daughter Jasmine also spoke on how he is being treated in the best private hospital in Lagos but is not getting better and is being referred to another hospital.
She also lamented about the bills that she has been footing but is now “financially drained” and “can’t do it alone”, she called on well-meaning individuals and organisations for financial support and prayers, as well as help with medical treatment abroad.
Individuals have since responded, sending in well wishes, and financial support. Reno Omokri on X (formally Twitter), sympathized with and asked that people come to his aid, but faulted Presidential candidate Peter Obi for not coming to Ibu’s aid after his open support for him during the election campaign.
Martins Vincent Otse, popularly called ‘VeryDarkMan‘ termed the video to be embarrassing, stating that he is ashamed of the Nollywood industry for letting their colleague undergo such a situation.
He said, “Nollywood is supposed to have a structure for legends… Nigerians don’t value legends…This is someone that created nice memories for us… these are the people that gave Nollywood a name”. He appealed to his over 600,000 followers on social media to send #1000 to Mr Ibu’s account which was made public.
Mr. Ibu joined the Nollywood movie industry in the 2000s and is popular for his role in the movie 2004 movie “Mr. Ibu”. He has over 200 movies to his credit including “Mr. Ibu and his son”, “Coffin Producers”, and “Husband Suppliers” among others.
He hails from Enugu and Studied at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu.
