A Double Tragedy As Nollywood Loses Two Veteran Actors — Guardian Life — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

The thought of losing a loved one has never been one that is or should be anticipated or wished for anyone. Not even for an enemy. And two people in a space of two days? A mighty tragedy has indeed befallen the Nollywood industry.

Just on Friday, March 1, 2024, the sudden death of one of Nigeria’s comic actors, Sisi Quadri, hit the airwaves, becoming a subject of discourse as his fans and several other Nigerians lamented the actor’s sudden and “untimely demise.”

Sisi Quadri was barely 44 years, 2 months, and 4 days old before his unexpected demise. Of course, no one expects death. But this was too untimely. The wailing is enormous! The late actor, who was born in Iwo, Osun State, on December 26, 1979, and had his primary and secondary education in Ore, Ondo State, was a prominent Yoruba-style actor in the Nigerian film industry, commonly referred to as Nollywood.

He is credited with having featured in over 150 movies and comedy skits all through his career before death struck. He featured in movies such as Seranko Seniyan in 2004, Aje Ni Eegun, Iya Oko Mi, Omo Iya Oko, and Oluwa-Burna, amongst several others, with his comedic timing and unique delivery endearing him to audiences.

Remarkably, Sisi Quadri was not just an actor; he was a fashion designer who devoted four years to learning in a bid to master the craft. He reportedly completed his fashion training in 1999 and immediately began to explore the industry while training several other young people. He also briefly explored makeup artistry while doing short comedy skits before transitioning swiftly to a full-time actor around 2002. Since then, he has won the hearts of several movie lovers with his lovable comic roles that can remedy a bad day.

Sadly, movie lovers would now be left with only his memories following his unfortunate demise, which occurred on Friday, March 1, 2024, at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. His death, however, coincides with the release date of his latest movie, “Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre,” where he played the role of one of the three ghosts in the mystic epic series directed by Kunle Afolayan.

On his part, veteran actor John Okafor, popularly known as Mr. Ibu, has also left movie lovers and the whole of Nigeria in a state of mourning following his demise on March 2, 2024, after a prolonged illness.

Several controversies trailed Mr. Ibu’s days of illness before his death, ranging from a myriad of complications that led him and his family to solicit financial aid from the public to cover his medical bills just a day after his 62nd birthday. According to him, the solicited funds were to enable him to fly out for proper medical treatment that would have hindered his leg from being amputated.

Mr. Ibu’s poor health condition lingered for years until fans woke up to sad news on the day he passed away. He will forever be missed, especially for the comic roles he played in over 200 movies that spanned his over two decades in the industry.