These are trying times for one of Nigeria’s finest actors, Joke Silva, as she recently opened up on the reasons behind the absence of her husband, Olu Jacobs, from the public scene as well as the pain of losing her sister to cancer.
Speaking on a recent episode of #WithChude, Joke Silva who recently clocked 60 shared with host Chude Jideonwo some never disclosed reasons for her husband’s absence from the public glare.
Olu Jacobs, much like his wife, is a renowned actor and film executive that stayed relevant after the era referred to as old Nollywood. Around 2019, after releasing and featuring in phenomenal film productions, he virtually disappeared from the public glare.
In June 2021, rumours stating Olu Jacobs was dead burned like wild-fire to explain his sudden disappearance from the public arena.
Then, earlier in November, a pale-looking Olu Jacobs made a public appearance to attend the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) where he received the lifetime achievement awards.
Joke Silva consequently shared with host Chude personal reasons for Olu Jacob absence from the media and what she has been dealing with for some time now.
“Well, he is dealing with issues and It’s been going on for some couple of years. It’s known as Dementia With Lewy Body. It’s a degenerative disease that affects the brain, and it’s almost like a kind of Parkinson’s disease but it is the brain that it affects so you don’t see the shaking”.
Commenting on his well-being, she confessed that “It is hard on him because he doesn’t understand what is going on and it is equally as hard on other members of the family as well”.
The actor also confessed to missing her husband and their intimacy. “There have been some situations and you know I just wish I had the old you here because I wouldn’t have to battle this on my own,” she told Chude.
Despite all of this, Joke says she is thankful for the moments of clarity she gets to have with her husband.
As if that was not enough, Joke Silva also touched on how the death of her sister, Bisi, through cancer affected her.
“When we discovered she had cancer…she called me aside and said, ‘look Joke, this is what I found.’ I said, ‘Okay, we’ve got to find out what it is.’ Then we did the tests and we discovered that she had cancer.”
After this discovery, Joke Silva wanted to care for her sister; however, she could only be present for her sister’s first lumpectomy. Sharing details on why she couldn’t take on her sister’s care, she said, “at the same time, another person I loved very much was ill. And so, I couldn’t look after her.”
Sharing further details on this, the veteran said not being able to care for her sister was very hard for her. She, however, stated that she is grateful that a close family friend was able to give her sister all the care she needed.
She disclosed that she shared a special bond with her sister that translated into everything they did together.“There are discussions that I have with her that I cannot have with anyone else.” This bond she shared with her sister caused her death to hit the veteran actress hard.