John Okafor: Biography And Net Worth

John Okafor is a Nigerian actor and a comedian who is widely known and addressed as Mr. Ibu. Is a name he got after a brilliant role he played, though he inherited or adopted it from his grandfather whom he, Ibu described as his mentor and inspiration for venturing into comedy.
He was born into a very poor family on 17th of October, 1961 in Umunekwu village in Eziokwe, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State. Ibu revealed that he was born into a poor family and had a humble beginning when the father died, ranging from selling fire wood, hair dressing, wait take pictures and doing all sorts of menial jobs just to meet up life.
Educational Background
Ibu had his elementary and secondary education in Sapele, Delta State and later proceeded to the Institute of Management and Technology in Enugu where he enrolled as a part time student. But owing to his way of cracking jokes and the way he portrayed himself as a village man, people do not believe he is educated.
His Acting Career
Ibu kick-started his acting career in December 3rd 1978 when he joined the Nigerian Movie Industry (Nollywood) and started as continuity and was not popular at the time to be recognized by movie directors and producers. Few years later, the talents in Ibu galvanized him to fame in the movie industry appearing in movies and television soap Opera.
2004 was the year Ibu came to limelight after starring in blockbuster movie “Mr. Ibu”. It was this movie that earned him the popular stage name “Mr. Ibu” which featured alongside Osita Iheme (Pawpaw) and other Nollywood stars. This same movie also won him Best Comic Actor in Nigeria at the Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Ibu has been known for his movie hits as Mr. Ibu, in London, Police Recruit, 9 Wives, Ibu in Prison and Keziah. He is believed to have featured in over 200 movies since his acting career with Nollywood, most of which are known to be hilarious and sometimes portrayed in a funny imbecility which is a clear departure from reality.
In one of the interviews granted recently, Ibu revealed that acting is natural to him and he is quick at taking and fitting into any movie roles assigned him by movie directors and producers.
On his take on homosexual, Ibu said he strongly abhors homosexual. He revealed that he was once approached by a homosexual, of which he shouted and rebuked the man publicly.
Ibu is an adventurist and versatile, venturing into many things in life. He ventured into boxing, a game that almost blinded his eyes. He quitted without delay.
Challenges
Like any other successful man on earth, Ibu had a number of challenges worth mentioning. He revealed that he had a robbery incident in his Festac residence where they made away with about N14 million. The robbers he said, were latter apprehended.
Again, he revealed that he has been kidnapped twice by those who think that he is wealthy. He narrated that one of the kidnap attempt was engineered by his ex-wife, when he was adopted along with his wife and child and were later released after 10 days of paying a ransom.
Ibu equally blamed it on social media and for this reason, he has decided to shy away to prevent a re-occurrence.
Endorsements
Ibu has entered endorsement deals with MerryBet and GoTv and both deals are worth millions of Naira.
Awards
Ibu is a recipient of many prestigious awards including the very few below:
• Best Comic Actor in Nigeria at the African Movie Academy Awards.
• Most Prominent actor in Nigeria at the African Magic Viewers Choice Awards and several other awards.
Personal Life
Ibu is said to have married twice. The second and current wife is an actress. The marriage is blessed with children and grand children. He revealed that his son indicate interest in acting but has received no encouragement from him. He also said that the son is married with two kids.
His Net Worth
Ibu is rated one of the wealthiest Nollywood actors in Nigeria, highly talented, gifted and most influential with a net worth of about $4.2 million dollars.