Nollywood actor, Charles Okocha, has told Saturday Beats that surviving six gun shots that left him spending several weeks at the hospital has opened his eyes to a lot of things, including who his real friends are.
Okocha, popularly known as Donga or 2pac, was attending a wedding ceremony in Nnewi, Anambra State on December 27, 2015 when a drunken mobile policeman, according to reports, went on a shooting spree after an argument with some people around the place. Six bullets hit the actor on different parts of his body, including his stomach and legs, leaving him battling for his life.
“This tragic incident has really opened my eyes to a lot of things,” he said. “Today I know who my real friends are because even the people I thought would stand by me in this trying period have deserted me.
“A lot of them didn’t even call or come to visit me. Some were even peddling wrong information that I fought with a mobile policeman and I was shot in the process. But that was a big lie. None of them ever called to find out how I was doing.
“I have learnt a lot of lessons during this period. I have learnt that even people you call friends could disappoint you when you least expect,” he said.
Okocha, who ascribed his survival to divine grace, told Saturday Beats that the incident would have been averted if he had heeded his mother’s warning. He said his mother had a premonition of the incident days ahead through a vision revealed to her in church but that he didn’t take it too seriously.
“I would say my being alive today has been by the divine grace of God. It wasn’t just me that the bullet hit; it hit another guy who came all the way from Germany for that particular ceremony. The guy was supposed to have his wedding three days after that time but he did not survive the incident. He was hit by only one bullet but God spared my life even with six bullets.
“Nobody was willing to take me to hospital in their vehicle because they were afraid I was going to die in it. Five cars rejected me. I lost a lot of blood. It was only God that kept me alive. As it is now, I have become allergic to meat. Because of all that happened to me, I held my intestines with my hands, the sight still haunts me.
“My mother, who is a very prayerful Christian, gave me a lot of support. Even before the incident happened, she saw it through a vision that was delivered to her in church. She warned me not to go for that particular occasion but I ignored her. There was a time I had an accident while returning from the club, my mother had also seen the event ahead and warned me but I also refused.
“God loves me and has given me a second chance at life. If there are things I was not doing for Him in the past, I think this is the right time to do them,” he said. – Punch.
