Although some Nigerians and Nollywood buffs are yet to swallow the
pains of the shocking death of talented and energetic actor, Muna
Obiekwe, who passed away at a specialist hospital in Festac Lagos, on
Sunday, January 18, 2015, but more facts are beginning to spring up on
what might be the cause of his death.
According to the information gathered by us,
Muna as an orphan had a godmother, Mrs Vera Kanu, who confessed that the late actor was addicted to alcohol.
"Everybody
in the industry knows Muna drinks a lot; even when he’s shooting in the
North, he has a way of finding alcohol. He fell into it, after he lost
his parents in a ghastly motor accident. As a matter of fact, he was
supposed to be in that car with them but by stroke of luck, he wasn’t
and was spared.
“Afterwards, Muna took solace in liquor but that
never affected his job. He was just like Sam Loco; he could drink the
whole sea but when he hears the director shout ‘action,’ he gets into
character. Muna was a method character despite his flaws," Mrs. Kanu
hinted.
Shedding more lights on
Muna's hidden personality, his godmother said the actor drank heavily despite doctor’s warnings.
“I
was with him to the last hour. He was to do up to 20 dialyses; the
doctor said if the dialysis improved his condition, the worse would
certainly be over. He will be okay only if he stays away from alcohol
but you know our artiste.
“
He was managing it on his own.
As a matter of fact, he has been managing it for a while until Ejiro
Okurame and I came on board to help. We were combining resources to help
him but there was very little we could do to save him. We had to enlist
the help of Patience Ozokwo and Kanayo O. Kanayo (KOK) at a point. They
rendered the help they could until he died," she added.
We
learnt that Muna was celebrity who wanted to keep his life private. He
was said to have tried to keep his illness away from the press or his
colleagues and not tagged as ‘Nollywood beggars’.
It was gathered that the fair-complexioned actor, who often plays the role of a lover boy,
was scared of the press. Muna was not ready to beg or raise money because he was too ashamed of what his colleague or press will say, we gathered.
“
The guy was private.
He kept to himself a lot and most importantly, kept his private life
private; for instance, many people did not even know he was married with
two children. Such was his life. He didn’t want press or his colleagues
to start prying.
“He was particularly afraid of the press; hence,
he shut his colleagues out of his pain. He knew if some Nollywood
people got to know about it, the press would also get to know. He
refused to beg to save Nollywood’s image, he in-turn, lost himself," one
of his colleagues, who pleaded to remain anonymous squealed.
Another
concerned star actor, who as well doesn't want his name mentioned, on
account of Muna's death, begs the Nigerian press to take it easy with
celebrities.
“We are human too and like every other person, we
have our pains. The press needs to be less judgmental. If he wasn’t too
scared of the press, perhaps, he would have reached out for help,” the
added urged.
More facts also revealed that
Muna discovered his kidney problem a long time ago but like most people, he thought he could manage it. He reportedly ignored the pain and continued working without paying much attention.
According
to a close source, he only took his drugs and medication once in a
while as ‘Muna never believed the ailment could lead to his death.
“He
believed he would survive it like he did the gunshot and death of his
parents. He was not a man given to worrying about things. He believed it
was not a coincidence his parents named him Munachimso, a name which
means God is walking with me.
“The guy was private. He kept to himself a lot and most importantly,
kept his private life private; for instance, many people did not even know he was married with two children," the source squealed.
Surprisingly, until his death,
Muna was the first cousin of Yul Edochie
which makes him a member of Pete Edochie’s family but no words have
been hard from the Edochie's camp concerning the burial arrangements of
the great Iroko that fell.
