Why Are Nollywood Actors Dying?

 I wrote on this subject about 20 years ago in the wake of the death of Gbenga Adeboye, Toba Opaleye, and Kolawole Olawuyi...

I have seen reels and short videos and read articles where some link the deaths of actors to EVIL DARK forces in the industry.... NO! NO!! NO!!! The dark forces that are killing Nollywood actors are not different from the ones that are killing nameless Nigerians every day... It is the evil of successive failed governments that have not prioritized access to healthcare for all... Have you visited UCH in the last couple of years? The state of the hospital is pathetic - they were operating on my mom in 2020, and they took electricity in the middle of the surgery for almost 5 min - my heart was in my mouth... Despite paying millions for what was supposed to be VIP treatment, we had to purchase everything, including the surgical gloves and the gown used by the surgeons... The staircase leading to the ward was horribly smelling because of a leaking sewage line. Some of the doctors and nurses were unprofessional and condescending - this type of treatment makes access to care difficult for patients. The whole experience was hellish...

The death of these actors is known to everyone because they are household names. Many no-name Nigerians about the age of these actors die of all kinds of ailments daily because primary and secondary healthcare is out of their reach. Also, because of the stigma we attach to orthodox medical treatments. Because of ignorance and the choice of ineffective alternative medicine. Some because of the epidemic poison being sold on our streets as food and fake drugs. The first reason trumps all others...

Successive governments in Nigeria have failed the people... President Tinubu, like President Buhari before him, would travel abroad for medical treatment. WHY? They preside over a failed healthcare sector in Nigeria where there are few hospitals per capita, the ones available are understaffed, the doctors, nurses, technologists, etc. are all underpaid, and they have limited access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to do their jobs...

Nollywood actors are humans that are known to all... When they die, everybody knows. When they fall sick and cannot access excellent medical care because of money or lack of access, they will die... Does anyone know the average life expectancy for middle- to lower-class Nigerians...? Less than <54 years against a global average of 73 years. The reason for the low number is because of lack of access to qualitative care at primary and secondary levels...

In the last month, I have been talking to three family members in Nigeria who are above the age of 40 about their blood pressure, BP.. All three have BP readings that indicate they are hypertensive, and they are not getting treatment; some who got treatment stopped for reasons such as stigma around taking medicine forever; and some who are seeking medical treatment are not properly advised.

Nollywood actors are not being killed by a dark evil force we don't know, oh... They are dying for reasons that ordinary Nigerians die for every day, and no one talks about those people...

We need a change that will last... 2027 is the time to vote for that change. Vote your conscience.