One of the daughters of veteran Yoruba actor, Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, has accused some individuals of attempting to profit from the family’s efforts to secure treatment for the actor, who is battling stage-four cancer.
Kira Taiwo made the allegation during an emotional TikTok live session on Saturday, where she spoke about her father’s health condition and the financial pressure allegedly placed on the family by some people offering assistance.
According to her, some individuals had approached the family with demands involving large sums of money.
“Some people are even trying to make money with us in this whole situation. Fear God. This one will come and bring solution, N800,000, N5m, $11,000, $18,000. Do you want to make us broke? We are not billionaires.”
Kira said the family’s immediate concern was finding appropriate treatment for the actor rather than meeting financial demands they could not afford.
She also revealed that the situation had affected her emotionally and physically, saying, “I want to check my BP, I am not okay too.”
The actor’s daughter further spoke about the effect of her father’s illness on his brother, whom she affectionately described as her “big daddy.”
She said she learnt how deeply affected her uncle was through the family’s group chat, where relatives regularly discuss Ogogo’s condition.
“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.”
Kira said her uncle had become distressed by his brother’s condition and expressed concern about his emotional state.
“I am sure my big daddy is not okay. He is not fine. He is not fine. I don’t know.”
She also described how her father’s illness had changed her own life, saying she had withdrawn from social media because seeing pictures of him had become emotionally difficult.
Kira said she remained deeply attached to her father and struggled to imagine life without him.
“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.”
Her comments followed separate appeals by her and her sister, Lima Taiwo, for medical assistance for their father.
Lima had said the family was not seeking financial donations but needed help from medical professionals or organisations capable of treating the actor.
“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.”
Kira had also appealed to medical professionals and others with access to cancer treatment to assist her father, saying hospitals had reportedly told the family they could no longer continue his chemotherapy.
She acknowledged the financial support provided by Senator Yayi, whom she said had been helping the family to settle the actor’s medical bills.
Kira urged anyone capable of providing treatment to contact her or her sister.
“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 also disclosed that her father had expressed fear of dying and said she had never seen him experience such pain before.
“He’s saying that he doesn’t want to die. Please, I’ve never seen my daddy in that kind of pain before.”
Ogogo, 66, is a veteran actor in the Nigerian film industry whose career spans more than four decades. He has featured in hundreds of films and remains one of the notable figures in Yoruba-language cinema.
