John Ikechukwu Okafor, born on 17th October 1961 popularly known as Mr. Ibu, is a Nigerian actor and comedian. He is known as one of the funniest and most highly-paid comic actors and comedians. He hails from Nkanu west LGA, Enugu State.
After attending elementary school. In 1974, he moved to Sapele to stay with his brother, after the demise of his father. In Sapele, he engaged in menial jobs to enable him to sponsor himself in school and support his family. He tried his hands at many things, including hairstyling, photographing, and also in crate producing company. After secondary school, he was admitted into the College of Education, Yola but couldn’t further his studies due to financial issues. As fate may have it, he later enrolled in the Institute of Management and Technology ( IMT), Enugu as soon as he was financially capable.
He did allow his family’s financial constraints to deter him from achieving his dreams. He played a great role in the growth of the movie industry in Nigeria. He featured in over 300 movies.
Due to his persistence and competence, John Okafor is regarded as one of the highest-paid comic actors in Nigeria. He is one of the funniest actors in Nollywood, having been in the industry for over 21 years.
However, John Okafor came to the limelight in 2004 after featuring in the Nollywood blockbuster comic movie “Mr. Ibu” which gave him the popular name Mr. Ibu. In 2005 and 2007 roles he played earned him the awards for Best Comic Actor in Nigeria at the Africa Movie Academy twice. Also, he won Best Actor in a comedy at the AMVCA.
In addition, he has a lot of endorsement deals including a deal with MerryBet worth millions of naira (2014), and a deal with GOTV worth millions of naira. In 2011, he was awarded a member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) which is the highest honor and award given to a celebrity for his/her enormous contributions to the economic growth of the country.
He has been ranked as one of the richest actors in media rankings twice.
John Okafor has been married twice. The first marriage was in 1998 but turned sour and ended. In 2010, the second marriage took place as he married Stella Chinyere Okafor. He had a total of 13 children, some he had before his union with Stella.
Recently, there’s being some scandals associated with their marriage during John Okafor’s sick period. His wife Stella had issues with her adopted daughter Jasmine. But news has it that it’s been settled and they’re all back together.