The death of versatile Yoruba actor, Mr. Olumide Bakare, in the early hours of today, jolted many, particularly his fans.
Surprisingly, whilst this veteran actor cried for help since close to two years that he was bedridden with a heart related ailment, no major help came from his colleagues, squealed an insider.
“Mr Olumide was diagnosed with heart and lung related disease and was placed on admission in a hospital but no one offered to help in a major way until he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the University College Hopsital (UCH), Ibadan,” the source said.
Interestingly, when the late actor personally raised N3 million out of the N7 million he needed to survive, sources said ‘some of his colleagues caused the hospital to halt the process by way of asking interested donors to stop sending money to him as he needed just N200,000 for drugs not millions for surgery to live.”
In response, Mr. Bakare reportedly fired back at his colleagues that “I don’t need their money. If I had been here (in hospital) for months living without them, I don’t need them to survive.”
Before his death, Bakare lived on daily dialysis that cost him N30, 000.
Star actor turned politician, Hon. Rotimi Makinde, in a chat with us recently, lamented the level of hatred and disunity among Nollywood players, urging his colleagues to work in harmony for the industry’s progress.
The deceased actor came to the limelight via his role as Chief Koko in the rested TV series, ‘Koko Close’. He was a regular feature in many Nollywood movies.
Mr. Dele Odule, the president of the Theatre Arts and Movie Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) , the association Bakare belonged, said this afternoon. “I officially announce the death of one of us, a veteran actor, Olumide Bakare (Chief Koko). He slept yesterday at the age of 65. You’ll be posted with other arrangements.”
-Akin Sokoya
