Nollywood star, John Okafor better known as Mr Ibu has said that he no longer eat the food prepared by his wife.
He disclosed this in an interview with Saturday Beats. He called his current marriage as the “worst ever”.
He also spoke on other issues that have come up in his current, which is his fifth marriage, declaring that he is done marrying.
Excerpts:
On his current 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.
After my fourth marriage, I adopted Jasmine. She was still a girl of about 12/13 years old when I adopted her.
It was 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.”
When asked about the friction between him and 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 asked about his wife’s reaction when he introduced Jasmine to her, he said:
“Everything about me and Jasmine was known to everyone; and my wife kept on asking when she would meet her. I introduced her to Jasmine, and they became very good friends. Jasmine started sponsoring the family, buying foodstuff, and giving my wife money. Sometimes, my wife would leave the house to go and stay with Jasmine. Everything was going fine.
“There was one lady from my town that was close to the family. This lady wanted more than what God had given her; and when she was not getting it, she started causing trouble in my home by poisoning my wife’s mind.
“When we were at the police station recently, the Divisional Police Officer asked her if I was guilty of all she said I did? She said ‘no’; that I should know that nobody would like to put a case in the public domain and lose. She said that she was only trying to win the case. So, my wife’s younger brother, her friends, and the lady from my town knelt down and were begging me in the presence of the DPO. Before then, my wife’s younger brother was ready to fight me in my own house. This was the same boy that said he wanted to play football outside Nigeria, and I singlehandedly took him to different clubs, where he was tried but was not selected in any of the trials. I actually lost money in that process.
To a question as to when the social media hostilities began, he said:
“It was that same lady from my town that did all that. We called her and she apologised. When she had an issue with her business, I took her out of Abuja to Enugu; and gave her a house and money. I told her that whatever business she was interested in, she should let me know, and I would support her. But, after 11 months in Enugu, she said she wanted to return to Abuja. All she has been doing is to create chaos here and there.”
In reaction to the allegation that he gave all attention to Jasmine at the expense of his wife, he said:
“That is not true. When I married her, she did not have a car; and her family could not buy her a car. I bought her three cars at once. I told her to use one for church, one for domestic errands; and the third one going out with her friends. However, the day I gave her those cars was when my problem started. I allowed her to do her things her own way. But, she started moving with different women; and sometimes, I hear them ask her why she is still in the marriage.”
Speaking on his food poisoning episode, he said:
“I have landed properties, and about 10 cars. I see the women my wife is moving with as being greedy. They have eyes on my properties. They feel like if anything happens to me, my wife would be the one to get everything.
I was poisoned but I don’t know where it came from. I survived the first attempt; then, the second one came. I investigated the second attempt, and discovered that someone from my town was actually contracted to poison me. I suspected my wife, and I confronted her, but she denied it. I followed up until I got the man that brought the poison to the compound, and gave it to somebody to use it on me. I went to the man and told him that I got his message. I asked him if I had done anything bad to him. But, he acted oblivious of the incident. I went through hell because of that poison. I could not breathe well, and I cried every day. I later vomited things and went to the hospital where I was given a supplement that restored me back.
I went back to living my life; but I was poisoned again. My cousin came out to say that I was showing him that I was rich. He went ahead to threaten me. I had to go and hire a gun, with the intention of going to the village to kill him. But, when I got home, he was not there. I sat in my car because I did not want it to look like someone directed me. I was waiting for him, when my late father appeared to me, and told me that if I did what I intended to do, my world would be in shambles and I would regret it. I then drove off. While on my way, I saw my cousin, and he was calling out to me to stop, but I did not. If not that my late father appeared to warn me, I would have killed him.
On the state of affairs with his wife now:
“Since the recent incident, she has been so loving. But, I know it is all a pretence just to get my attention. I still show her love, providing money for domestic needs and making sure the family is fine. But, I am very skeptical. I cannot eat her food anymore. For now, I only eat from Jasmine’s kitchen. She cooks a lot, and I like eating.
On why he is closer to Jasmine than his other children, he said:
“That is because Jasmine is so mature. She is also in the media. I have 12 sons, and four daughters. My first son is married with four children; some of my children are graduates, while some are still in school.
On his dementia.
“Sometimes, my mind would just trip off. I could be sitting, and just forget that I was holding something. I could even be counting money, and throw it in the dustbin. It is after I must have thrown it away that I would remember it was money. I would then have to retrieve it from the trash. Sense is very costly. Once I remember anything about my wife, my mood would change instantly.”
