• Source: John Okafor

John Ikechukwu Okafor (17 October 1961 – 2 March 2024), popularly known as Mr. Ibu, was a Nigerian legendary actor and comedian. He appeared in over 200 Nollywood films including those from the Mr. Ibu series.




Early life and education


Okafor was born on 17 October 1961. He was from Umunekwu in Nigeria's former Eastern Region (now in Nkanu West L.G.A., Enugu State). After elementary school and the death of his father in 1974, Okafor moved to Sapele to stay with his brother. In Sapele, he did menial jobs so he could send himself to school and support his family. Okafor then worked as a hairstylist, ventured into photography and also worked in a company that produced crates. After secondary school, he was admitted into the College of Education, Yola, but pulled out due to financial difficulties. He later enrolled in the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu.




Career


Okafor acted in more than 200 Nollywood films including

Mr. Ibu (2004)
Mr. Ibu 2 (2005)
Mr. Ibu and His Son
Coffin Producers
Husband Suppliers
International Players
Four Forty (2006) as Okukuseku
Store Keeper (2006) as Innocent
Issakaba (1999)
Mr. Ibu in London (2005) as Ibu
Police Recruit (2003)
Bafana Bafana (2007) as Mazie
9 Wives (2005) as Onuwa
Ibu in Prison (2006)
Keziah (2007) as Cletus.
Desperate Search (2007) as Job
Most Wanted Kidnappers (2010) as Akawo
Sherikoko (2010) as Highjack
Open and Close (2011) as Okwuti
Ibu in Sierra Leone (2013) as Ibu
Chinbundu (2014) as Okoro
Love Wahala (2014) as Thomas
Plantain Girl (2015) as Amadi
London Fever (2017)
Prince of Deceit (2017) as Emeka
The Eve (2018) as Uncle Festus
The Album (2020) as Steve Eboh
Okafor was known as "Nigeria's Borat" and in 2012, described homosexuality in Nollywood as akin to a virus, saying "If there is any way in this world that people can make them stop it or kill it, please do it."
Okafor also ventured into music for a short period of time. On 15 October 2020, he released his songs titled "This girl" and "Do you know".




Personal life


Before his acting career, Okafor was a boxer, football coach, and karate practitioner. He was married twice in his lifetime. He has more than 10 children. His second wife, Stella Maris Okafor had three children with him, one of whom is deceased.
His son Daniel and adopted daughter Jasmine were accused of hacking Okafor's phone and stealing $60,700 from him. They were arrested in January 2024.




= Illness and death

=
In October 2023, Okafor revealed that he was suffering from an ailment that threatened to make it necessary to amputate one of his legs. He said he was struck by the problem while on a movie set with other Nollywood actors. He appealed to his fans and the public for prayers and financial assistance to cover his medical bills. He also shared a video of himself lying in a hospital bed, expressing his fear of losing his leg.
The Abubakar Bukola Saraki Foundation, which was established by the former Senate President of Nigeria, paid off Okafor's entire medical expenses as of 18 October 2023. The foundation also stated that Okafor still required a lot of financial assistance to sustain him in the hospital and for his travel abroad for further treatment.
In November 2023, Okafor underwent a leg amputation after suffering from an illness that required seven surgeries. His family said the amputation was done to keep him alive and increase his chances of recovery.
Okafor died at Evercare Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria on 2 March 2024 at the age of 62 as a result of cardiac arrest. The burial took place in his home town on the on Friday 28th of June 2024.[1] Following his death, his adopted daughter Jasmine renamed his million-follower TikTok account to her own name and deleted all of the videos that did not feature her.




See also


List of Nigerian actors




References






External links


John Okafor at IMDb

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Daftar pemeran Nigeria
• Mesir Kuno
• Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan
• Tyler Ulis
• Daftar tokoh Nigeria
• Pertemuan Pangkalan Udara Ramstein 2022
• Babak gugur Piala Dunia FIFA 2022
• Skuad Piala Dunia FIFA 1998
• Piala Negara-Negara Afrika 1988
• Babak grup Liga Eropa UEFA 2019–2020
• John Okafor
• Amaka Okafor
• Jahlil Okafor
• Okafor
• Emeka Okafor
• Osita Iheme
• Uzee Usman
• List of Nigerian musicians
• List of Nigerian actors
• Uche Montana