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Why it is wrong to blame celebrities for actor’s death

Blaming celebrities for the death of their colleague is quite normal. But let’s look at the specifics of Muna's death. Pulse Editor, Joey Akan believes that celebrities are blameless for the death of their colleague.

With the death of actor Muna Obiekwe, the spotlight has shifted to other actors and celebrities. They are being accused of leaving their colleague in the lurch, and abandoning him in his time of need. Muna was undergoing intense treatment for kidney failure, and was in need of a lot of money.

Blaming celebrities for the death of their colleague is quite normal. But let’s look at the specifics of this case to get a fair standing. A man has died from a medical condition that maybe could have been averted by funds. That’s the story that has been peddled around by some people, who feel hurt by the death of a nice guy.

It is wrong to blame the Nollywood stars for the death of one of their colleagues. First, they are colleagues. Colleagues are people who work together in a strict sense to achieve a professional aim, often enriching themselves in the process. A colleague is only concerned about the aim of the game, not the players. They need to make money from acting, anything that is not in line with that is secondary.

As species that are given to affection and care, we expect friendship and love to bloom from business relationships, but that’s not the case for the most part. If Muna has a problem, and his colleagues have to shoot a movie, (emphasis on the word ‘colleague’), they will ignore the man and shoot their movie. An exception can come in only if he has been cast in that movie and his absence will prevent the work from reaching a profitable conclusion.

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It is the hard fact but true. We live in a capitalist society, where profit and personal gratification trumps the collective good, and ultimately erodes our love for each other.

Another interesting assumption of his death is the thinking that extra money could have saved his life. His colleagues have been berated on social media, with their lack of donation to save his life. But this is also wrong. Reports have emerged that Muna kept his problem private. Enlisting his colleagues was not an option. He was totally against it, and relied heavily on friends such as Vera Kanu and Ejiro Okurame, who brought in Patience Ozokwor and Kanayo O. Kanayo. In the weeks leading to his demise, he contacted Ibinabo Fiberesima (the AGN President), but could not disclose his condition.

A huge number of his colleagues had no knowledge of his condition. How can you help if you have no information about a situation? That’s the case here. Nobody knew.

Another flaw in this assumption is in the thinking that money could have solved his problem. I'm not a doctor. In fact, medical stuff tends to creep me out. Not the graphic side of it like rashes, fractures, blood or insides -- I can handle all that.

What I've always found unsettling is the uncertainty of so much of what doctors do. They observe ... and that observation may be incorrect. They judge, based on that observation, as well as their own experience and what they know from the textbooks ... and that, too, may be incorrect. And, finally, they diagnose ... but that too, may turn out incorrect because they're asked to play percentages and likelihoods.

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In this case, that percentage and likelihood could not save the life of Muna. The actor was told to undergo 20 sessions of dialysis (a kidney purification technique), he was assured by professional authority that dialysis would make him live. But it didn’t. Muna died after 10 sessions of it.

Money was not the problem, he could afford his treatment, but he couldn’t survive it. That’s the true story.

A case can also be made for emotional support. If Muna had gotten a lot of sympathy and fine words, (you could throw in the tears from some leaky-eyed folks too), would he have survived? No. Kidney failure is pure science. Emotions aren’t. They are sentiments. A world of emotional support would never have made him live. A case can be made  that the support could have made his days brighter and his moments cheerful, but it would never have saved his life.

The dynamics of Muna’s death cannot be comprehended and simplified, but with a keen eye and reasoning, one can begin to understand that it is a not directly linked to his colleagues in the Nollywood industry.

A person who is currently suffering for wrongful reasoning is Ibinabo Fiberesima. She is not to be blamed. She had no idea of his condition and couldn’t swing in to help. Her record can show up a couple of good deeds that help her case. She doesn’t deserve the backlash.

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Let’s all grieve for the loss of a good man. The blame game has no place in mourning.

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