Some people trying to profit from my dad’s illness – Ogogo’s daughter

One of the daughters of veteran Yoruba actor, Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, Kira Taiwo, has accused some Nigerians of trying to make money from her father’s battle with stage-four cancer.

Kira made the allegation during an emotional TikTok live session on Saturday, where she sobbed while speaking about her father’s condition and the financial demands allegedly being made by some people offering to help the family.

“My father is a good father. Some people are even trying to make money with us in this whole situation. Fear God. This one will come and bring solution, N800k, N5m, 11,000 dollars, N18,000 dollars. Do you want to make us broke? We are not billionaires,” she said.

She said the family was not financially capable of meeting such demands, stressing that their priority was to find treatment for the actor.

She also disclosed that the situation was taking a toll on her own wellbeing.

“I want to check my BP, I am not okay too,” she said.

Kira said the actor’s illness had also deeply affected his brother, whom she referred to as her “big daddy”.

She said she learnt about her uncle’s reaction from a family group chat where relatives regularly discuss her father’s health.

“That was the video my big daddy saw and on the group chat, where we always have our discussion about daddy’s health, I saw my cousin wrote something like, my big daddy was asking ‘Is Taiye going to die?’” she said.

Kira said her father and his brother shared a particularly close relationship, making the situation difficult for everyone in the family.

“My big daddy and my daddy, we are the children, we don’t even know who they love more. We don’t even know if it is we who are being or themselves. It is too much. My big daddy loves my daddy too much,” she said.

She said she was also worried about her uncle, adding that she believed he was struggling to cope with the situation.

“I am sure my big daddy is not okay, he is not fine. He is not fine. I don’t know,” Kira said.

The actor’s daughter said she had become withdrawn and avoided social media because she found it difficult to see pictures of her father while dealing with his illness.

“I don’t know how I will feel. I don’t even know how I will see the world again. If anything happens to my daddy… Please don’t think I am here to ask for sympathy or anything,” she said.

Kira said she had gone online to “cool off” but became emotional because of how deeply connected she was to her father.

“I am so connected to my daddy. Nothing can be okay, ever. He just want the best for everybody. He just want everybody to be okay,” she said.

PUNCH Online had reported that Kira and her sister, Lima Taiwo, recently appealed for help for their father, disclosing that he was battling stage-four cancer.

The daughters made separate emotional appeals on Instagram, urging Nigerians, well-wishers and medical professionals with experience in cancer treatment to help save the actor.

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In her video, Lima said Ogogo’s condition had deteriorated and that hospitals had refused to continue treating him.

She said the family only discovered the extent of his illness about three weeks earlier because his physical appearance had not initially suggested that he was seriously ill.

“You see him, you can’t even know that. Something is wrong that bad. It’s just starting to show. We didn’t even know until like three weeks ago,” she said.

Lima stressed that the family was not asking for financial donations but medical assistance.

“Please, I’m begging you. If you know somebody that knows somebody that will be willing to treat him, anything, we’re willing to try anything. We’re not here to ask for money. Nobody’s here to ask for money,” she said.

She also acknowledged the support provided by a relative during the family’s difficult period.

“My big uncle has helped a lot. He has been of great help. Like, nobody even knew that he would show up for us this way,” Lima said.

In a separate video, Kira disclosed that her father’s cancer was at stage four and said hospitals had told the family they could no longer continue chemotherapy.

“And I really, really, really love to appreciate Senator Yayi. He has been the one helping us, he has been the one footing the bills,” she said.

Kira appealed to medical professionals and anyone with access to cancer treatment to assist the actor.

“What I’m here for, what I’m here for is that if you can treat my daddy, if you can start chemo for him, whether it’s medical or herbs, please, I’m begging you, guys, I’m begging you, any help, anything, anybody that you know that can treat cancer, please, please, I’m begging you,” she said.

She urged anyone with information about a medical professional or facility capable of treating cancer to contact her, her sister or the actor.

“Please, please, if you can treat my daddy, please send me a DM. I’ll be checking my phone. Please, I don’t want my daddy to die,” Kira said.

The daughter became emotional while describing her father’s condition, saying she had never seen him in such pain.

“God, give me strength. I’m suffering so bad. There’s no money, but if you know anybody that can treat my daddy, Andrew, please,” she said.

Kira added that her father had expressed fear of dying, saying, “He’s saying that he doesn’t want to die. Please, I’ve never seen my daddy in that kind of pain before.”

66-year-old Ogogo is a veteran of the Nigerian film industry whose career spans more than four decades.

He has featured in more than 300 films and is one of the prominent actors in Yoruba-language cinema.