It is only those who must have Obi Madubuogwu play King Musanga in Battle of Musanga, an epic film during Nollywood starting era that would recognize him. He is no longer the huge king who literally breathed fire from his mouth when he spoke because he is a shadow of his old self. Rumour had it that he was suffering from HIV/AIDS due to his extreme weight loss and things quickly fell about for him.
He said about the accusation “With my popularity both in person and name, I knew I was in deep trouble. I couldn’t go for HIV test because I was scared of the result.” However, he tested negative.
He added “It would be very difficult for me to describe what it felt to be stigmatized, rejected and abandoned. I felt it all. Aside from the journalist who published the story that I was HIV positive, what about the several clusters of people who gathered to talk about me only to stop when I come around? What about the close friends who won’t shake my hands or even have any physical closeness with me? They would throw their greetings as if they were being forced to say hello to me. I also recall a pastor who told me point blank that I had HIV. It was about this time that I stopped featuring in films. My image had gone so down.”
His mother didn’t take the shock lightly when she was told he was down with HIV/AIDS “A childhood friend who heard the story had traced me to the village to ask why my mum and family would keep my illness from him to the extent that I had been dumped in one room to die in the village. But I was in Lagos. My mum had fainted on hearing that story. She had been managing Diabetes herself for years. I believe that my health issue must have contributed to her death at 89 years.”
