Veteran actor Olu Jacobs is battling dementia with lewy bodies (DLB).
Jacob’s wife, Joke Silva, said he had been managing the condition for a couple of years.
The actor has been off the movie screens for some time, but was recently seen publicly at the Africa International Film Festival Awards (AFRIFF) in Lagos, looking frail.
Silva, herself an actress, disclosed this on a Channels Television programme, explaining that it was a degenerative disease.
She said: “He is dealing with issues, and it has been going on for a couple of years. It is known as dementia with Lewy Body.
“It is a degenerative disease that affects the brain, and it is almost like a Parkinson’s type of disease, it affects the brain, so you don’t see the shaking. Furthermore, it affects the person.
“It is the first time I said that publicly. I knew the time would come that it has to be known.
“It’s been hard on him because he doesn’t understand what is going on and also on family members as well. We have gone through it over the past couple of years, and we thank God.
“We have gone through some times and situations recently that I wish I had the old you here, so I don’t battle these times on my own, but we are grateful for the moment of clarity. I miss the times we worked together.”