Kira Taiwo, daughter of veteran Yoruba actor Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, has accused some Nigerians of attempting to profit from her father’s battle with stage-four cancer.
She made the allegation during an emotional TikTok live session on Saturday, where she broke down while discussing the actor’s deteriorating health and the financial pressure the family was facing from some people offering to help.
According to her, some individuals had approached the family with proposed solutions to the actor’s condition while demanding huge sums of money.
“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.
Kira stressed that the family’s immediate concern was finding effective treatment for the 66-year-old actor, rather than raising money to meet what she described as excessive demands.
She also revealed that the situation had affected her emotionally and physically.
“I want to check my BP, I am not okay too,” she said.
The actor’s daughter further spoke about the impact of her father’s illness on his brother, whom she affectionately referred to as her “big daddy”.
She said she learnt about her uncle’s emotional reaction to Ogogo’s condition through a family group chat where relatives regularly discuss the actor’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.
According to Kira, the two brothers share an exceptionally close bond, making the actor’s illness particularly difficult for the entire 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 added that she was concerned about her uncle’s wellbeing, saying she believed he was struggling to cope with the situation.
Kira also disclosed that she had withdrawn from social media because she found it difficult to see images of her father while dealing with his illness.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.
The emotional appeal came after Kira and her sister, Lima Taiwo, recently sought assistance from Nigerians, well-wishers and medical professionals following the disclosure that their father was battling stage-four cancer.
In a separate appeal, Lima said Ogogo’s condition had deteriorated to the point where hospitals were no longer willing to continue his treatment.
She explained that the family only became aware of the seriousness of his condition about three weeks earlier because his physical appearance had not initially suggested that he was severely 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 clarified that the family was not seeking financial donations but medical intervention that could potentially save the actor’s life.
“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.
Kira similarly appealed to medical professionals and anyone with access to cancer treatment to assist her father.
She disclosed that hospitals had informed the family that they could no longer continue chemotherapy and acknowledged Senator Yayi for helping to settle the actor’s medical bills.
“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,” Kira said.
She urged anyone capable of providing cancer treatment, whether through conventional medicine or other approaches, 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,” she said.
Kira also described the emotional toll of watching her father suffer, saying she had never seen him experience such pain.
She said the actor had expressed fear of dying, adding, “He’s saying that he doesn’t want to die. Please, I’ve never seen my daddy in that kind of pain before.”
Lima, meanwhile, acknowledged the assistance 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,” she said.
Kira said she went online initially to “cool off” but became emotional because of her strong bond with 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.
Ogogo, 66, is one of the veterans of the Nigerian film industry, with a career spanning more than four decades.
He has featured in more than 300 films and remains one of the prominent figures in Yoruba-language cinema.
