Muna Obiekwe is dead, but not without a story. There are a couple of things we didn’t know about him but have now surfaced as lessons for the living today.
Before his death on Sunday, January 18, he had been described as a cat with nine lives considering the near death situations he escaped in his lifetime. Unknown to many, Muna had survived moments of gunshot and the death of his parents at periods of vulnerabilities.
Munachimso Obiekwe battled the kidney disease for years, yet he kept this and other aspects of his life away from the public. Sources close to him stated that he had some sort of phobia for the press who are reputed for gaggling stars when their personal lives calls for attention.
On his health, iEntertainment revealed, according to a source, ‘Muna never believed the ailment could lead to his death. He believed he would survive it like he did the gunshot and death of his parents. He was not a man given to worrying about things. He believed it was not a coincidence his parents named him Munachimso, a name which means God is walking with me.’
However, after seeking medical advice, he was told by his doctor that he could avoid a kidney transplant if he had up to 20 dialysis. Muna, was not classified by close friends as a drunkard, was known to still drink substantially even though his doctor had raised a red flag about the effect of alcohol on his kidney problem.“I was with him to the last hour. He was to do up to 20 dialyses; the doctor said if the dialysis improved his condition, the worse would certainly be over. He will be okay only if he stays away from alcohol but you know our artiste,” Vera Kanu, a close colleague and mother figure in the movie industry stated.
The ailment took its toll on Munachimso as his purse drained due to the high costs of dialysis in a country where healthcare is largely unsubsidized. A source stated: “The dialysis was expensive for Muna. He was doing two in a week sometimes. And he would need blood injection on each occasion. Each appointment was costing him between N250, 000 to N300, 000; money he did not really have to spend. His health was eating deep into his purse yet Muna refused to go cap in hand begging for alms. He was a private guy who didn’t want the press or his colleagues to feast on his pain, and cast aspersions on Nollywood’s industry of beggars.”
On the 18th of January, 2015, the pain that resulted was so excruciating that he slumped and never recovered.
Detailing how much effort he put into surviving, Vera said: “He was managing it on his own. As a matter of fact, he has been managing it for a while until Ejiro Okurame and I came on board to help. We were combining resources to help him but there was very little we could do to save him. We had to enlist the help of Patience Ozokwor and Kanayo O. Kanayo (KOK) at a point. They rendered the help they could until he died.” He also contacted Nollywood star and former beauty queen, Ibinabo Fiberesima with an appointment to give her details of his deteriorating health at a later time; he died before he could.
Due to his private life away from the press, off movie sets, many do not know that he has two kids from his wife. He also wasn’t enthusiastic to go raise fund through the media to attend to his health, unlike OJB Jezreel who is still alive because he had a kidney transplant with funds he raised via the media and friends.
Mr. Obiekewe was related to Pete Edochie’s family as a first cousin to Yul Edochie, the veteran son.
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