Many of dad’s colleagues in Nollywood abandoned him – Suara’s daughter

I believe my siblings will miss him a lot because he was a very great man. When we grew older, my father never for once bothered us with anything. He never told us that he lacked money or told us that he needed one thing or the other. My father used to say to us, “Ise logun ise,” (which means hard work is the solution to poverty). He preached hard work and independence to us while he was alive. In short, I’ll say my father was a self-made man and I’m always grateful that he was my dad and for his advice when he was alive and for his kindness.

He’s a liberal man; he wasn’t hard. He was not the kind of father who came back home from work and met the children fidgeting. He was a very liberal man, loving, funny, and very kind to us. Also, my father never joked with his children. He took everything that concerned his children with a high level of seriousness, and he ensured that we were well taken care of and got all that we needed.

What kind of relationship did he have with his colleagues in the film industry?

To be candid, I can’t say that his colleagues will miss him because all through the period that my dad was ill, I never got to see anyone from the film industry contact him or us to ask why they had not seen him or why they had not heard from him. They did not reach out to know why he didn’t turn up for a location where they were meant to work together or something. Nobody checked on him. So, the issue of being missed is an understatement because since he died, only Yemi Ayebo, the actor in the movies ‘Yemi My Lover,’ and Wunmi Akinwande went to my father’s house to pay a condolence visit. I tried contacting Kunle Afod myself and the response I got was that he was aware my dad was dead and that was it; there was no other thing or maybe any contact with the family to at least say hello or commiserate with us over the death of our dad. I can’t speak for my other siblings but I don’t think they received any calls. I do not have the record that they (his colleagues) cared for him while he was ill or even after his death. I remember that another person contacted him but aside from that, there was no other person who reached out. I have had his phone with me since he died and none of them contacted him or even called to confirm if it was true or not. They only saw it on social media and everyone kept quiet about it. Again, that is one of the problems of the Nigerian film industry; they (actors and actresses) do not check up on elderly veterans. I may be wrong but that is the way I see it and what I understand. Also, my father was someone who was disciplined and selected those he worked with when he was alive.

Do you think his discipline and decision to avoid movie roles he did not like made him less popular among his colleagues in the industry?

Maybe. I wouldn’t know that and I don’t want to conclude but maybe. However, the reason why I concluded was that since he died, no one called him, and no message was sent to him on WhatsApp. He belonged to a lot of WhatsApp groups and when I checked them, I discovered that they either removed him or he left on his own. I can’t say much about his movie industry relationship with colleagues or career. The reason behind not checking up on him, I don’t know and I can’t say but no matter what, when a fellow actor like themselves died, they should have shown concern. They could have even checked on him as a group but they didn’t; it doesn’t make sense and not relating with everyone doesn’t matter at all because this is death.

You said he was ill. Can you explain what led to his death?

My dad had been ill for a while and my siblings and I agreed that we won’t disclose the cause of his death so that it won’t be misinterpreted. However, to us, it was just a natural death. Truthfully, he was ill but when God said it was time for him to leave, he left this sinful world.

With the help of God, my siblings and I tried several ways when he was ill to see how we could turn things around for him, but destiny is written, we can’t prolong his life but we tried our best and everything we could on our part to make him comfortable and at least settled but we are not God who gives and takes life. God knows the best because we tried everything in our power financially, materially, and even our presence to make him comfortable and happy to some extent and also for him to feel that his children really love me and make him want to stay back but when death came knocking, there was nothing we could do; he had to go.

Were you with him the day he died?

I was in his house the day he died. I gave him lunch and I told him that I was going to get the doctor to come and treat a wound he had but by the time I got back to my house, I was called and told that he had given up the ghost which was quite shocking because I never expected it. I could not fathom how it happened but we can’t question God.

What was the last thing he said to you? Did he look uncomfortable when you were with him?

Uncomfortable? Not really. Although he wasn’t as jovial as he always was and I thought it was because I woke him up after. And he never said anything to me. He only opened his eyes when I got there and I fed him and he slept again; he didn’t say a word to me.