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#Post#: 878--------------------------------------------------
John Okafor (Mr Ibu ) speaks on His Life as a comedian
By: mr nad Date: November 6, 2013, 6:14 am
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John Okafor has become something of a hardened comedian who
interprets scripts in his own way¡ªmost times to a level that
critics have described as ¡®hilarious imbecility¡¯.
In fact the Enugu state born actor who is popular as Mr. Ibu
interprets his role so well that his teeming fans often find it
difficult to draw the line between Okafor and the role he plays
in movies. Today the former refrigerator technician,
hairdresser, factory worker and itinerant photographer has
become very successful as an actor.
A devoted disciple of the genre and a gifted humour creator, Mr.
Ibu who wandered into acting by chance, has grown immensely
popular that his biggest problem now is privacy and relaxation.
¡®I can hardly go anywhere without being mobbed. I have become a
public property¡¯ he says
The bulky actor also found time to reflect on the passing away
of Samuede Efeimwonkiyeke a.k.a Sam Loco Efe.
Can you still recall the journey here?
Well the journey here has been okay. I thank God for bringing me
this far. I started all this as a joke and in fact, got into it
by chance. But it started for me even though I didn¡¯t do it as
something I wanted to take as a profession from primary school,
all through the secondary school and even when I entered higher
institution. So, it is a long time that I started being a fool.
I recall my teachers asking me often if I was alright, but I
always told them that it is a gift that God gave me to make
people happy and forget their sorrows and pain. And that gift
has not only opened so many doors for me but has put food on my
table. I may not be a millionaire, but am very comfortable.
But even though God gave you the talent as you claimed, there
must be someone who inspired your incursion?
Yes my grandfather. He is one man who inspired me. Back then in
Eziokwe in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State where
I come from, my granddad used to entertain the villagers with
jokes. He was like a local champion. So I took after him somehow
and to make a difference, I became an idiot who made people
laugh from the way I talked, walked, appear and so on. People
just start laughing once they see me. Now, people don¡¯t take me
serious even when I am serious. It is a problem in a way, but I
have devised how to manage that problem. I just begin to cry and
when they know that I am not joking, they rush to me.
Once, you mentioned that the late Sam Loco was a heavy influence
on you?
Yes he was. I mean, apart from my grandfather, there were other
people I encountered on screen that influenced my incursion and
the late, oh, I hate to describe him as the late, Sam Loco was
one of them. I consider him one of our greatest and
irreplaceable actors. I still did not believe he is gone. He is
one man that played my father consistently in movies. If I have
done 20 jobs, he played my father in 19 and that made us very
close. I keep on talking with him even on phone because we have
a project together. We were supposed to be at the American
Embassy for our visa interview and I called him to give him this
information, but no one picked the call. When I called again,
someone picked and told me that he had fever the previous night
and was still sleeping and will talk to me later. Then not long
after, I started receiving calls from people about his death. He
will be sorely missed. He was a jolly good fellow¡ª-a master of
the craft. I am still trying to walk out of the shock of losing
him.
Okay, let us leave that now and talk about your staying power
and why you are devoted to just playing comic roles?
If I tell you that I know something else apart from God, then I
am a liar. I attribute it to God and God alone. He provides
strength. As for comic roles, I am a very flexible and versatile
actor but funny enough I have been stereotyped into playing
comic roles. I always want to take up other roles but it is not
something that I can dictate. I take on roles that I am given.
But I still believe in my ability to take up any role.
And the name Mr. Ibu has replaced your given names?
It has and it is not funny even though I am enjoying it. Once
someone came around where I live and was asking about John
Okafor and people were just wondering who he was looking for;
but as soon as he mentioned Mr. Ibu, they pointed to where I
lived. And funny enough, I have been answering that name Mr. Ibu
before Andy Chukwu wrote that script. He only added a Mister to
the normal name they have been calling me and that film turned
out to be something else because I was completely an idiot in
that film¡ªa very stupid animal. In fact, the character was an
idiot, not me. But Ibu came about because of my size. Ibu means
load, something with some weight and I have considerable weight
as you can see.
So, has acting been very rewarding?
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