Nollywood veteran Olu Jacobs is alive, his family said Sunday amid raging social media death rumours and speculations.
The first son of the acting legend, Soji, told Channels Television that his octogenarian father is not dead as trumpeted online.
Soji shared a video with one of our correspondents wherein the iconic thespian was seen calmly seated while he had his greyed beards shaved.
During the activity, the older and frail-looking Jacobs was heard having a terse dialogue with his barber and those around him.
The “death” of Jacobs, 81, has been rumoured a number of times since November 2021 when his actress wife, Joke Silva, opened up on the health struggles of her husband. But the family has debunked such incident at several times, posting videos and photos of their patriarch to discredit rumour-mongers.
Back in 2021, Silva, the 62-year-old respected actress and longtime wife of Jacobs, revealed that her husband has been battling with Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) for a couple of years, hence, his absence from movie screens.
“He is dealing with issues and it has been going on for a couple of years. It is known as dementia with Lewy Body. It is a degenerative disease that affects the brain and it is almost like a Parkinson’s type of disease, it affects the brain so you don’t see the shaking. It affects the person,” she had said in a Channels Television interview.
“It’s been hard on him because he doesn’t understand what is going on and also on family members as well. We have gone through it over the past couple of years and we thank God.
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“We have gone through some times and situations recently that I wish I had the old you here so I don’t battle these times on my own but we are grateful for the moment of clarity. I miss the times we worked together,” she added.
The veteran actor, who won a lifetime achievement award at the Africa International Film Festival Awards in Lagos the same year, would later share a pale-looking picture of himself on his Instagram handle, attracting a cocktail of sympathy, best wishes and prayers from friends and fans.
The legendary actor has also been seen at selected social functions, aided by his loving and dogged wife, while fans continue to hope for his recovery.