Aftermath of Enebeli Elebuwa’s death, Stella Damasus blasts Nollywood

Stella Damasus said late Enebeli Elebuwa was abandoned by his colleagues.

Nigerian actress and singer, Stella Damasus is angry. The sultry mother of two who was recently appointed an NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) ambassador alongside singer, Lamboginny, is infuriated over what she describes as the nonchalant attitude of some of her colleagues with regards to the welfare and untimely death of veteran actor, Enebeli Elebuwa.

Damasus, who now spots a diamond encrusted engagement ring, disclosed this in a recent interview. She was quoted as describing the ‘chameleonic’ attitude of some of her colleagues as the reason why they capitalized on Elebuwa’s ailment for selfish gains.

She said, “I’m very angry because the people in my industry are hypocrites. That man (Elebuwa) was ill for a long time in Lagos and they (actors) turned it into a fanfare. People would go and visit him and take pictures with him, post it on Twitter, on Facebook, on their blogs; they used it to make people feel that they are philanthropists but nobody lifted a finger to take care of him or help his family.”

Speaking further Damasus added, “They are more interested in politics; who would be President, how they can visit dignitaries who would dash them money. Nobody cares about the elderly people in the industry. We know how to celebrate people when they die, but when they are alive what do we do for them, especially the sick ones? The Delta State Government eventually sponsored him to India. I’m just very pained.”

Although the late Elebuwa’s ailment was well-publicised by the media at the onset, his death was low-key.

Prior to receiving a lifeline from the Delta State Government a few months back, the actor whose first movie role was in Sanya Dosunmu’s 1974 celluloid film, Dinner with the Devil was first treated at St Luke’s Hospital, Yaba, Lagos for Stroke.

He was flown to India and subsequently admitted into The Asian Institute of Medical Sciences, India on October 17, 2012, accompanied by his brother-in-law Azuka Adoh.

Elebuwa, 66, died on December 5, after a sickness that incapacitated him for more than a year. His body was immediately approved to return to Nigeria as soon as the body was embalmed at the Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi, India.

The post mortem results made public upon the arrival of his corpse on Sunday in Lagos lists Multiple Sclerosis and Hypertension as symptoms noticed before death.

The absence of Nollywood stars and members of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria at the airport, to receive the body of one of their own, leaves little or nothing to the imagination.

Other Nollywood actors including Peter Brunor and Victor Eze also recently suffered stroke.