- Patience Ozokwor blamed the deaths of many Nollywood stars on the carelessness and negligence on the part of the actors.
- She also explained why she broke down in tears at the funeral rites of his late colleague actor, John Ibu Okafor.
Veteran actress Patience Ozokwor, popularly known as Mama G, shares her thoughts on the frequent passing of Nollywood stars.
Speaking in Lagos during the week, she attributed the incessant deaths of Nollywood stars to a lack of self-care and neglect among actors.
Patience Ozokwor explained that the passion for their craft often leads actors to prioritize their work over their well-being.
She emphasized the importance of health check-ups, citing how some individuals prefer to seek quick fixes at pharmacies rather than undergoing proper medical examinations.
Her comments comes after she was moved to tears at the funeral of late actor John Okafor, also known as Mr. Ibu, in Enugu State last month.
Patience Ozokwor said:
“When you are doing something you are enjoying, you wouldn’t bother to take care of your health. Once there is life in you, you keep doing what you are doing. And it’s something that pays back on your body.
“Some people are so careless that when they are sick instead of going to the hospital for a proper check-up, they prefer to visit a chemist or a pharmacy to buy a pain reliever. It’s no longer safe with me.
“I don’t know how many people are thinking like myself. That’s why I blamed it on carelessness. We are trying to put smiles on the faces of people while forgetting to take care of our health”.
Explaining why she cried painfully at Mr. Ibu’s burial, Mama G said at the moment she went close to his corpse and called him by the name she used to call him, but he didn’t respond, she realized that the actor was gone forever.
“At that moment, I broke down in tears. It’s not because I was expecting him to respond, but it was when I realized that this man is gone forever,” she said.
She urged her colleagues to learn to go for regular medical check-ups and stop doing things that are detrimental to their health.
She recalled how she had an encounter with God, who change her life and asked her to work in his vineyard.
“It was in 2016 when God called me to work for Him. Then, I used to be a teacher in the church, but I didn’t climb the pulpit. It’s not something I can explain.
“God asked me to separate myself so that He wants to talk with me. I thought somebody was talking to me, but I discovered it was a voice coming from somewhere.
“It took me time to accept to submit myself for 21 days and it was extended to 30 days. My son reminded me that the owner of my life is asking me to separate myself for 21 days and I didn’t want to yield to his call and that He may make it 100 days.
“At that point, I quietly went in, and by the time I came out from those 30 days, I became a changed person. And how I knew He was the one who called me, he created a platform for me to appear on stage to give a testimony of What He did with me for 30 days. While I was giving the testimony, people started falling under the anointing.
“And after the encounter, other pastors and evangelists started inviting me to their programmes. That’s how I became an evangelist,” she narrated.