Popular actor, Muna Obiekwe, on Sunday, January 18 died in a hospital in Festac Town, Lagos, where he lived. The actor who is survived by his wife and children was said to have died of kidney related disease after struggling in vain to pay his medical expenses.
We gathered that he had been struggling to raise the money for the treatment (dialysis), which we gathered costs N50,000 per day
Confusion over his death
Just when he was pronounced dead, many started getting messages that the actor was actually not dead and that the whole story was a hoax. We tried to reach the actor after the news broke but both his Airtel and Glo numbers were switched off. However, a new Twitter account announced that the actor is still very much alive. But we later confirmed from one of the actor’s close friends that he is indeed dead.
The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) later sent in a message confirming his death.
The message read: “It is with a heavy heart, but Glory to God, that we confirm the demise of our colleague, Muna Obiekwe, who passed away to eternal glory Yesterday (Sunday), RIP.”Box Office then sent a message to the twitter account demanding to know why they were deceiving the public and the account’s owner replied that it was an error on his part, adding that he thought the story of Obiekwe’s death was just a rumour. He said he had finally confirmed that the actor was indeed dead.
He was hiding his ailment
Some of his close associates told Box Office that the actor has been trying to keep his ailment from the public. According to the source, he was trying hard to raise the money for his treatment all by himself because he did not want to end up like some of his colleagues.
In recent years, many actors who fall sick quickly go to the public to solicit funds, and his had usually turned into media circuses. For this reason, our source said, he had kept his condition to only his family and some colleagues.
We gathered that he was planning to put together a stage play, from which he expected to make some money to offset his medical bills. According to the source, his condition soon deteriorated and he was not able to put together the show before his death.
The AGN’s president, Ibinabo Fiberesima, was even said to be unaware of the actor’s illness. She confirmed this much when Box Office called her.
Ibinabo had assisted to raise funds for many sick actors.
Abandoned
Though he had kept his illness from many people, some of his colleagues knew that he was sick but did nothing about it.
An actress, Ify Okeke, said she reached many of their colleagues informing them about Obiekwe’s ailment but they refused to help.
When contacted, Ify said: “Muna Obiekwe is dead and I’m so angry. Yes, not just because we lost another great talent but because in this industry we are not our brother’s keeper. Yes, Muna might have wanted or lived a private life but people knew he was sick, people knew his health condition and, yet, what did they do? Some tried but if they had cried out to the world, Muna might have got help. We are just colleagues, not real friends,” she said.
Prophesy coming true?
Late 2014, many men of God, as usual, made a lot of predictions. An Auchi, Edo State-based man of God and Founder of Omega Fire Ministry, Apostle Johnson Suleman, revealed in his 2015 prophecies that there would be deaths in Nigeria’s entertainment industry. Could Muna’s death, therefore, be a confirmation of that prophecy?
Colleagues bid farewell
Since his death, many of his colleagues have been eulogising him. Many praise his works and his personality. According to Stella Damasus, “The message from twitter that he was still alive was from a fake account. So this is my pain, how do you know what to believe and what not to believe? Where do we draw the line? Over nine thousand people on twitter have believed that he is still alive because of the fake twitter account. Rest in peace bro. I was really hoping that it was a rumour. God rest your soul. “This is too painful. Whoever put that message out, not the fake twitter account, should be careful. Don’t play games with people’s lives like that.”
On her part, Yvonne Jegede said: “Sometimes I wish we don’t take some things for granted. I’ve been calling and his phone is switched off. I wish I could have a short chat with you now. I wish I could just see you one more time. My friend, my colleague, my boss, my senior, my guy. Tears won’t stop; my heart’s beating faster. Bless the day I met you, bless your soul, bless the family you left behind.”
For Uche Jombo, “It’s not the length of life but the depth of life, RIP Muna. It’s sad that someone will try to make this sad day more difficult by tweeting through a fake account.”
Mike Ezuruonye said: “So sad, Muna why, R.I.P bro, Nollywood loses another.”
Emma Ugolee recounts ordeal
Many entertainment personalities including Steve Kadiri, OJB Jezreel and Emma Ugolee have gone through the same ailment that claimed Muna’s life.
When we contacted Emma Ugolee for her comment, she tried to console her colleagues.
She said: “Too many phone calls last night (Monday) with everyone just checking to see how I was doing. It all made sense when news filtered in that Muna Obiekwe had just died from a disease I’ve battled for over three years now, the general concern being the psychological impact of being reminded of the likelihood of one’s demise, owning to the unpredictable and deadly nature of living without a kidney.
“For closer friends, aware that I had lost 10 associates to this struggle, three being in the last three months and that each one lived with issues less complicated than mine, calling me was like checking up on a pal on death row.
“Now it is time to return the calls and assure every single one that the unfortunate event is no reason to lose faith. It’s no proof that I must toe a similar line. That I am not holier than any whose journeys have ended and thus wise enough to understand that logic does not explain the sustaining power of grace.
“The fact that a pattern surrounds you does not mean your future has been moulded by it. Your faith, your vision, aspiration and motivation must tower above your environment all the time. It has always been for all the great men you know. So, if you want to think achieving Hollywood as a Nollywood player, please think it. Believe in you and be you, the world would adjust.”
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