Remembering Olu Jacobs: Joke Silva Talks About His Health Struggles

After the death of veteran actor Olu Jacobs at 84 on Wednesday, a 2021 interview with his wife, actress Joke Silva, has come back into focus. In that interview, she opened up about his health issues for the first time.

Silva told media personality Chude Jideonwo in November 2021 that Jacobs had been living with dementia with Lewy bodies for several years. This condition is often referred to as DLB.

Olu Jacobs and his wife, Joke Silva. Photo credit: Web

This was the first time Silva confirmed publicly what the family had been facing. Concerns about Jacobs' health and his absence from the screen had been making headlines. Silva said, "He is dealing with issues, and it has been going on for a couple of years. It is known as dementia with Lewy bodies. It is a degenerative disease that affects the brain, and it is almost like a Parkinson’s type of disease… It’s the brain it affects, so you don’t see the shaking. It affects the person."

Silva found it difficult to share this information. She added, "First time I’m saying this publicly… that is what we have been dealing with, but the thing is, it is hard on him because he doesn’t understand what is going on and it is hard on us family members as well."

This revelation came after years of Jacobs being mostly away from acting and amid growing public concern about his health. Reports also mentioned that he still made occasional public appearances despite his health problems.

In January 2023, Silva spoke about how she coped with her husband's condition while on Mercy Johnson’s YouTube cooking show, Mercy’s Menu. She explained that accepting their new reality helped her manage the situation better.

"I think for me, it was getting to the place of acceptance… When you get to the stage of acceptance that this is your new reality, honestly it is so much easier. You realise this is the new season, you’re walking with your partner, and you meet them where they are," Silva said.

In another touching interview with Nancy Isime in July 2023, Silva discussed how the disease changed their relationship. She talked about how hard it was to accept the changes.

"There was a point of acceptance for me that everything happening is reality and it is like the person I married, 80 per cent of the time, is no longer there," she said.

Silva also remembered the man Jacobs was before he got sick and said her love for him is still strong. "When he was there, he was an incredible father to his children and an amazing husband; he was practically my best friend," she shared.

She added, "So in this journey of dementia now, it’s like I am looking after my father. The husband I knew is no more and there for me, but this man that is here is someone I still love."

Olu Jacobs was born on July 11, 1942. He was one of Nigeria’s most respected actors, with a career that covered theatre, television and film in Nigeria and the UK.

He won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2007. He also received the Industry Merit Award at the 2013 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards and the MAA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. In 2011, he was honored with the national title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic.