Chiamaka Yusuf, the daughter of late veteran Nollywood actor Diewait Ikpechukwu, has appealed to the public and colleagues in the movie industry for privacy following the demise of her father.
The seasoned screen performer died on Thursday at the age of 71 after battling a prolonged sickness, according to Kemi Filani. Following the news, an online video emerged showing his daughter, who is widely known as Chiamax, visibly distressed and reacting to public posts about his passing.
In the emotional clip, Chiamaka called directly on the Actors Guild of Nigeria to remove an alleged burial poster circulating in his honour. She stated firmly that only she reserved the right to officially break the news of her father's demise to the public.
She also begged people to stop reaching out to her directly during this difficult moment, revealing that she was still dressed in the very shirt her father wore just a day before he passed away.
“Actors Guild, I don’t want you guys to post my daddy. Nobody should post my daddy’s poster. You people should leave me alone. Nobody should call me. I’m still wearing my daddy’s shirt; he wore it yesterday,” she said tearfully in the video.
She further pleaded, “You people should please take it down. If anybody should announce his passing, it would be me. Nobody would do that for me, please.”
The Nigerian film community has continued to reel from multiple tragic losses of screen veterans and practitioners over recent months, leaving practitioners and fans in deep mourning across the country.
