Nollywood actor, John ‘Mr Ibu’ Okafor, has died after a protracted illness that put him in the public spotlight in the final months of his life.
The national president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Emeka Rollas, announced that the comedian died of a cardiac arrest, according to his manager, Don Single Nwuzor.
This is the timeline of Mr Ibu’s illness until his death.
October 17, 2023 — Birthday in hospital room
The Nigerian public was largely unaware of Mr Ibu’s health issues until he shared a video of himself celebrating his 62nd birthday inside a hospital room.
In the video, the actor was wearing a hospital gown, visibly in discomfort with a swollen left leg, as his family sang him a birthday song.
Before cutting his birthday cake, the ill actor said a short prayer, including praying for peace. His condition worried fans who flooded the comment section with prayers for him.
October 18, 2023 — Mr Ibu begs for financial assistance
A day after his birthday post, the actor and his family posted another video asking for help to sort out his medical bills.
The actor said he’d been sick for weeks and doctors had suggested the amputation of his leg to save his life. “If they cut off my leg, where will I go to? I don’t want my leg to be cut off,” he said.
His family said the cash donations would help him fly abroad for better treatment, as he’d been ill on and off for years.
October 31, 2023 — Mr Ibu undergoes five surgeries
Mr Ibu’s family announced in late October he had received a lot of help from the public and had gone through five successful surgeries.
The family also expressed hope he would be stable enough to fly abroad for further treatment.
November 6, 2023 — Mr Ibu’s leg is amputated
Mr Ibu’s family announced in November that doctors had to amputate one of the actor’s legs after two additional surgeries, in a bid to save his life.
It was an outcome that was received with sadness by the actor’s fans who had hoped he responded well enough to treatment to avoid the fate he didn’t want.
“This development has been hard on us all but we’ve had to accept it as Daddy’s new reality to keep him alive,” his family said.
The family further noted that the actor was still delicate and needed all the assistance he could get from Nigerians.
December 16, 2023 — Clarification on his condition
In a final official update on his health issues, Mr Ibu’s family noted that he was suffering from “constant clotting of the blood in his leg (diseased blood vessels) and other health challenges,” not diabetes as rumoured.
The family also clarified that only one of his legs was amputated, not both of them, as was reported on social media. The first amputation didn’t completely correct his health predicament so doctors had to amputate the same leg further.
The family also noted he wasn’t flown out of the country as initially planned because doctors determined that he wasn’t fit to fly.
March 2, 2024 — Mr Ibu is dead
With no further updates from the family for over two months, news of Mr Ibu’s death on March 2 came as a rude shock for many of his fans.
In the hours following the announcement of his death, one of Nollywood’s most popular comedians has received posthumous plaudits for his onscreen career which spanned 40 years.
