Nollywood actor John Okafor, has revealed what he went through due to ha a popular role as ‘Mr Ibu’ which included slaps and beatings.
The 58-year-old spoke about always putting God first in anything he did and how he’d not expected to be this successful.
He had also not anticipated the treatment he’d get from overexcited fans who he said had beaten him for playing the role of ‘Mr Ibu’.
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H made this known in an interview where he spoke about how he celebrated his birthday lavishly every year.
Read his excerpts from the interview below:
Speaking on whether he envisaged his success;
“I never thought that I would be this big. I was even surprised at the level of my success. But like I said, I thank God for his goodness. Today, I can comfortably buy a car for myself and buy for someone else. While I was growing up, my parents were Christians and they never did anything without bringing God into it. So, that is the kind of lifestyle that I am emulating. That is why right now, anything I want to do, I bring in God first” he replied.
On what is responsible for his activeness and vitality despite his age, Mr Ibu said,
“There is nothing you can do on this world that God is not aware of. I put God first in anything I do. Despite the fact that I went through some challenges but as at this moment, I have many reasons to come closer to God and say thank you for my present situation.”
He said:
“Mr Ibu has received countless slaps and manhandling from people. Some people even go to the extent of tearing my clothes or buttons. So, when I am out and I feel that the situation is about to go out of hand, I just run away because some people may take advantage of the situation and start punching my face.”
Giving a hint about his plans for the movie industry, he said,
“Everything is in God’s hands because I know that I am creative. I will keep doing creative things and bringing creative ideas into the system.”
However, the actor said that he would never get tired of playing the Mr Ibu character. He said,
“I will never get tired of playing my character as Mr Ibu because it is the character that brought me fame.”
On the kind of man he is at home, Okafor said,
“I play like a kid. When I am home with my kids we play a lot which is why they always miss me when I am not with them. I am not strict with them except when it is necessary.”
Gushing about his wife and mother of his children, he said,
“I am a very romantic husband. If my wife offends me and I shout at her, she cries because of the way I have trained her. I don’t hit women and I have never hit any woman before.”
As a parting shot, the actor said that his birthday is celebrated in four of five places in the country. He said,
“I celebrate my birthday in different states such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu or anywhere I like. Also, I always help people because I got a lot of assistance from people when I was growing in the industry.”
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