Veteran Nollywood actor, Ibrahim Chatta, has opened up about a heartbreaking chapter of his life, the loss of his first child due to his inability to afford hospital bills.
In an emotional interview with Abiola Orisile of Events & Parties TV, the 54-year-old actor revealed that the child, a baby girl, died before he could raise enough money for her treatment.
According to Chatta, in a desperate attempt to save his daughter, he trekked for hours across several areas of Lagos, from Ijora-Badia to Orile, Lawanson, Costain, and finally Makoko, revisiting the same routes he once used to hawk puff-puff.
Despite his efforts, he couldn’t secure the funds in time. He described it as one of the most painful experiences of his life.
“My first child is not Malik. The first child I had died. The hospital requested payment for her care. I trekked from Ijora-Badia… to Itolo in Orile… through Lawanson to Costain and then Makoko. Those were places I used to hawk puff-puff. I didn’t get money until the child died,” he said, fighting back tears.
The Ayinla star added that he was so broke at the time, he couldn’t afford a proper coffin for the child’s burial.
“They buried her with the wooden Coca-Cola tray,” he revealed.
Chatta said he kept the story to himself for years, only sharing it with his partner during a trip to Dubai after buying a diamond anklet for their daughter.
“Her mother felt somehow and said she wasn’t the one who gave birth to the child. I told her I had a female child before and explained how she died. They all cried. They had never heard that story from me,” he stated.
Now a proud father of three, Chatta said he is deeply grateful for the gift of fatherhood and hopes to expand his family even further.
“I love all my children. God gave me three. But I want more children,” he said.
