Comic actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu has shed more light on his recent family crisis.
The veteran actor when asked the state of his present marriage, he said, “This is my final marriage. If this one falls apart, I won’t marry again. This is my fifth and the worst marriage, because my wife adopted what is not obtainable. This feels like punishment; not marriage. I doubt if I am still in the marriage, because it seems she has already prepared her mind to leave, and I’m not going to stop her. I support her leaving. Each time I see her, I begin to breathe erratically, and it is not good for me, because I am not ready to die. There are opportunities God exposed me to that are of interest to me.”
Asked if he was still married when he adopted Jasmine Chioma, the Enugu State born actor said, “After my fourth marriage, I adopted Jasmine. She was still a girl of about 12/13 years old when I adopted her. I adopted her because nobody cared for her. She was abandoned. I usually go to places and listen to people. She came to me and told me she was interested in acting. She does not know who her biological father was, and her mother didn’t use to discuss anything about him with her. She told me she used to watch my movies, and she loved me so much and would like to be in my care. I asked her what level of education she had, and she told me to help her complete her education; which I did. She bears my name, but it wasn’t until later that the adoption was legalised. Her mother consented to me adopting her.”
Mr. Ibu also claimed that after he recovered from the poison attack, he started having issues with his wife.
He said: “Right from time, she had never allowed me to rest. When I was hospitalised and she came to the hospital, it was like war. She kept complaining that I did not care for her and the children. I made arrangements to give her some money, but she said it was not enough; that I should add something to it. I did, and after she left, she did not come to see me again throughout my stay in the hospital. When you were to marry your wife, you said you introduced her to Jasmine.”