Entertainment
Why I no longer eat food cooked by my wife, Mr Ibu speaks on marital crisis
Comic actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu speaks about his family crisis, career, and other issues
What is the state of your marriage right now?
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.
Were you married when you adopted your daughter, Jasmine
After my fourth marriage, I adopted Jasmine. She was still a girl of about 12/13 years old when i adopted her.
Why did you adopt 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.
It was said that it was after you recovered from the poison attack that you started having issues with your wife. Is that true?
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 you were to marry your wife, you said you introduced her to Jasmine. What was her initial reaction seeing your adopted daughter amidst your other children at that time?
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.
What then made her change and cause her to question your relationship with Jasmine?
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.
But it was after the incident with the police that your wife went on social media to post all those negative remarks about you and Jasmine?
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.
Did you warn your wife about her when you saw that they were getting close?
I just told her to be careful, because I could not stop both of them from going out. But, my wife said nothing would happen; but, we can now see the outcome.
Some people are of the opinion that your wife is acting up because you don’t treat her as a wife, while you gave those privileges to Jasmine. What’s your reaction to that?
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.
You have been poisoned on different occasions. How have those incidents affected your relationship with people?
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.
How is the relationship between you and your 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.
You seem to be closer to Jasmine than your other children. Why is that so?
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.
When did you realise you had dementia, and how did it affect you and your family?
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.
Since your recovery from the poison incident, you hinted that you would be returning to set. What are your plans in that regard?
Most of the scripts (I was getting) before now were not worth it, so while I stayed back due to my illness, I took time to go through some of the new scripts they sent to me, I realised that some of the writers were not reasoning well. I then consulted some professional writers to advise some of their members on the issue of debating a particular topic before going ahead to write about it. They listened to my advice and some of them are now re-writing their already written scripts. I will soon be back on the screen.
Why did you leave the Peoples Democratic Party for the Labour Party?
No matter the manipulations from the other political parties, Peter Obi (presidential candidate of LP) is coming. We know that the first result might favour another person, but we will not give up.
As an actor known for only comical roles, have you ever wanted to act different characters?
I am ready for any role but the marketers demand my services specifically for comic roles. The movie I am presently working on has to do with guns, and I told them (filmmakers) that it does not make sense. If I carry a gun, I could kill my boss and say it was a mistake (laughs). But, they said I must do it. I have started rehearsing it, and it is going well.
Aside from acting, what other areas do you have interest in?
Acting exposes me to the world, and I travel a lot. When coming back to Nigeria, I buy things that I can sell here. By the time I sell those things, I would then make profit. I buy everything my wife wears from outside Nigeria. She is usually excited whenever I come back from such trips, because she knows that I won’t disappoint.
Your last born looks so much like you. Have you seen any sign that any of your children will follow in your footsteps, career-wise?
I don’t know what that boy saw. He did not see any other person to resemble but me. However, he should leave my footsteps, and follow another person’s own. If he wants to act, he can go ahead; but not for him to follow in my steps. He is a fine boy.
How do you unwind?
If I am not working, I would be at home. I neither drink nor smoke. I don’t go out often too. I am usually in my house, playing with my wife and children.
By Tony Edike
A life stitched together with music, courage, generosity and the enduring lesson that love is worth more than wealth
Dolly Parton came from a place where there was not much money, but there was music, faith, family and love.
She left that place and became one of the most recognisable women in the world.
Yet, somehow, she never truly left it behind.
Dolly Parton, the country music legend, songwriter, actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, died on 25 August 2026 at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer. Her death brought an outpouring of grief from admirers, fellow artists and generations of people whose lives had been touched by her music and generosity.
But perhaps the best way to understand Dolly was not through the rhinestones, the fame, the awards or the fortune.
Perhaps it was through a coat.
A simple coat made by her mother.
In “Coat of Many Colors,” Dolly transformed a childhood memory into one of the most enduring lessons in popular music. Her mother, unable to afford an expensive coat, stitched together scraps of fabric to make one for her daughter. At school, the little girl was mocked because of what she wore.
Dolly Parton wearing her Coat of Many Colours
But Dolly did not remember that coat as a symbol of shame.
She remembered it as a symbol of love.
Her mother had made it for her.
And that distinction says almost everything about Dolly Parton.
The world saw rags.
Dolly saw love.
The world saw poverty.
Dolly saw the richness of having a mother who cared enough to make something with her own hands.
The world saw something to laugh at.
Dolly found a story worth singing.
That was her extraordinary gift: the ability to take the ordinary, the painful and the humble and turn it into something beautiful.
The lesson in the coat
There is a lesson in that song that reaches far beyond country music.
It tells us not to measure people by what they wear, what they own, where they come from or how much money they have.
It teaches us that humiliation does not have to become defeat.
Dolly Parton
It teaches us that our beginnings do not have to determine our destination.
And, perhaps most importantly, it teaches us to recognise the value of the people who loved us when we had nothing to offer them.
Dolly never appeared ashamed of her humble beginnings. Instead, she carried them with her.
She remembered the mountains of Tennessee. She remembered her family. She remembered poverty. She remembered her mother’s hands.
And she turned those memories into songs that travelled around the world.
That is why her success was never simply about becoming famous.
It was about becoming something bigger than fame.
From the mountains to the world
Born into a large, poor family in rural Tennessee, Dolly Parton rose from circumstances that could easily have limited her ambitions. Instead, she became a prolific songwriter whose catalogue stretched into the thousands, a country music pioneer whose songs crossed genre and national boundaries, an actor whose performances became part of popular culture, and a formidable businesswoman.
Songs such as “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You” became cultural landmarks.
But numbers alone cannot explain Dolly Parton’s impact.
She did something more difficult.
She made people feel understood.
She could sing about heartbreak without bitterness, ambition without arrogance and poverty without shame.
She could make millions laugh while reminding them of the struggles that millions quietly endure.
And beneath the wigs, sequins, humour and larger-than-life personality was a woman who understood the dignity of ordinary people.
She gave her success away
Dolly Parton’s generosity was not an accessory to her fame. It was part of her identity.
Dolly …gave her success away
Through the Dollywood Foundation and its Imagination Library, she helped put books into the hands of children around the world. The programme has distributed more than 300 million books, reflecting her lifelong belief in the transforming power of reading and education.
She also supported healthcare, education, disaster relief and medical research, including a $1 million donation toward COVID-19 vaccine research.
In that sense, the little girl in the coat of many colors never disappeared.
She simply grew up and acquired the means to make sure that other children had opportunities she had once lacked.
Dolly knew what it meant to have little.
And when she had much, she remembered.
That may be one of the greatest measures of a person’s character.
A legacy beyond music
Dolly Parton’s death leaves a remarkable space in American culture and in the wider world.
She was a country star, but she belonged to more than country music.
She was an actor, but her influence reached beyond film.
She was a businesswoman, but her greatest enterprise may have been the lives she changed.
She was a philanthropist, but she never seemed to regard generosity as a performance.
She was Dolly.
Funny. Glamorous. Sharp. Warm. Ambitious. Unapologetically herself.
And, beneath it all, deeply connected to the people and places that made her.
Her passing is therefore not simply the death of a celebrity.
It is the end of a remarkable human story.
A story that began in poverty and travelled through music to the whole world.
A story about a woman who refused to be defined by what she did not have.
A story about someone who understood that success is most meaningful when it becomes an opportunity to lift others.
The coat remains
In the end, perhaps Dolly Parton’s most important message was never complicated.
Love your people.
Remember where you came from.
Do not be ashamed of humble beginnings.
Do not measure human worth by possessions.
And when life gives you the opportunity to help someone else, do it.
The coat her mother made from scraps could easily have been remembered as an emblem of poverty.
Instead, Dolly turned it into an emblem of love.
She took something the world might have considered worthless and made it priceless.
Perhaps that is what she did with her entire life.
She took humble beginnings and made them beautiful.
She took pain and made music.
She took success and turned it into service.
She took her story and gave it to the world.
Dolly Parton has left the stage, but the music remains.
The books remain.
The kindness remains.
The lessons remain.
And somewhere, in the hearts of millions who heard her sing about a little girl wearing a coat her mother made for her, the colours remain bright.
A coat of many colors.
A life stitched together with love.
A legacy that will not wear out.
May God grant the soul of Dolly Parton eternal peace.
• Edike is Publisher/CEO, The Advocate Newspaper Nigeria
Country music legend and Hollywood star, Dolly Parton, has died at the age of 80, her family has announced.
Parton’s nephew, Brian Seaver, announced her death on Tuesday in a video shared on her social media account, describing the moment as one of “absolute pride and great sadness”. The family did not immediately disclose the cause of death.
The Tennessee-born singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist enjoyed a career spanning more than six decades and became one of the most recognisable figures in American popular culture.
Late Dolly Parton
Known as the “Queen of Country”, Parton sold more than 100 million records worldwide and earned numerous honours, including multiple Grammy Awards. Her enduring hits included “Jolene”, “I Will Always Love You”, “9 to 5” and “Coat of Many Colors”.
Her death came after a period of health challenges. In May, Parton announced the cancellation of a Las Vegas performance, revealing that she had been undergoing treatment for kidney stones and was also dealing with problems affecting her immune and digestive systems.
Just days before her death, Parton had indicated that she was still determined to work despite acknowledging that she had slowed down following the death of her husband, Carl Dean, in March 2025.
“Even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’!” she said, insisting that she still had many things she wanted to accomplish.
Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children in a poor family. She grew up in the Appalachian region, where her mother’s love for traditional music helped nurture her passion for singing and songwriting.
She began performing as a child and moved to Nashville shortly after graduating from high school in 1964. Her songwriting talent soon earned her recognition, before she established herself as a major recording artiste.
Parton’s breakthrough included “Jolene”, which became one of her signature songs. Her composition “I Will Always Love You” later became a global hit for Whitney Houston after the singer recorded it for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.
Beyond music, Parton built a successful acting career, starring in films including 9 to 5, Steel Magnolias and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She also became a prominent businesswoman through Dollywood, the theme park she established in Tennessee in 1986.
Her influence extended well beyond entertainment. Parton founded the Dollywood Foundation and its Imagination Library initiative, which provides free books to children, making childhood literacy one of the major causes associated with her name.
She also donated $1 million to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University in 2020, funding that contributed to research that later helped in the development of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Parton’s personal life also attracted public interest. She married Carl Dean in 1966, and the couple remained together for nearly six decades until his death in 2025. They had no children.
Despite her global fame, Parton remained closely connected to her Tennessee roots and used her success to support communities, education, healthcare and other charitable causes.
Her death brings to an end the life of an entertainer whose influence crossed generations, musical genres and national boundaries, leaving behind a vast catalogue of songs and a philanthropic legacy that extended far beyond country music.
Nigerian streamer, Peller has dragged his parents for attending his wedding ceremony with their partners.
Peller had his white wedding, which was attended by many dignitaries over the weekend.
Peller’s parents, who have separated from each other, attended the ceremony with their respective partners.
Expressing his frustration over the development, the TikTok streamer, in a video on Wednesday, revealed that he had confronted his parents for turning his wedding into a party despite his earlier warning.
“I’m tired, I’m tired of all these things. I changed it for them oo, no be small.
“Because I told them to invite just a few people, but my mummy dey carry her own boyfriend come, my daddy carry his own girlfriend come.
“All of them just turned my wedding to party. Polygamy is very hard, I’m from a polygamous family”, he said. (sic)
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