Veteran Nigerian musician, Innocent Onyebuchi, better known as Daddy Fresh, has made a heartbreaking public appeal over his deteriorating health and financial condition after being bedridden for more than two years.
The revelation came after Nollywood actor and filmmaker, Kunle Afod, visited the ailing musician in the hospital and shared an emotional video of their encounter on Facebook on Wednesday.
Afod, visibly moved by Daddy Fresh’s condition, wrote, “Daddy Fresh must not die – one of Nigeria’s finest artists is in a terrible condition.”
In the video, the once vibrant singer appeared frail and weak, dressed in a blue sleeveless top as he struggled to recognise Afod.
“Oba,” Daddy Fresh said faintly when he first saw the actor. “It’s Afod, Kunle Afod,” came the response.
Surprised, the musician asked, “Na lie, how you take know say I dey here? You’re the last person I could think of. I was wondering if I was hallucinating again… Afod, abi na you God send come?”
“I’ve been bedridden for over two years”
Speaking on his health condition, Daddy Fresh revealed that he has been battling multiple ailments, including kidney and liver problems, neuropathy, and vision loss, which have rendered him almost completely immobile.
“I started hallucinating, seeing people, those I know and those I don’t. I talk directly to them, but other people no dey see them. This one don too much o,” he said painfully.
“My kidney, my liver, neuropathy. Eyes, two of them get issues, I don operate on this one, e no dey see again. I no dey see you.”
The musician disclosed that he currently requires urgent blood transfusions.
“Now, I need blood transfusion. I need to buy some pints of blood. They said they need that one immediately, like two or three packs of blood because my blood dey very low, 25%,” he explained.
He added that standing or walking without support had become impossible, “If I stand up here now, I go fall, except somebody hold me. See my face, my knees, wounds because of falling, like a child that is learning how to walk.”
Beyond his medical crisis, Daddy Fresh revealed abandonment and that he faced imminent eviction from his apartment.
“Madam? Madam ke? Them don waka their waka o. I have a few days in my house because of the rent. I have to move on to where I don’t know. Them don give me quit notice. Shebi na who dey okay go know where he go sell one or two things to use pay but I no sabi do am but I wan close eye sell, even if na my television,” he lamented.
The singer, once a household name in Nigeria’s reggae and hip-hop scene, suggested that his illness may have spiritual undertones.
“They just want to kill themselves, not me. The enemies are waiting to hear how far. All the while that I haven’t cried out to the public, they are confused, thinking if what they did has not worked,” he said, insisting that his survival so far had confounded his detractors.
Despite his suffering, Daddy Fresh expressed renewed hope at Afod’s unexpected visit.
“For me to see people wey I no expect to see like you, e don happen,” he said, suggesting the meeting might be a divine sign of turnaround.
After offering Daddy Fresh some financial support, Kunle Afod pledged to return and called for urgent intervention from the public and the entertainment community.
“This is Daddy Fresh. If you know him, you will know what I am talking about. Very handsome. Lovely voice. This man was a fantastic music artist,” Afod said in the video.
“He has been down with sickness for over three years. I just heard about it and decided to go see him in the hospital. I am here to solicit and beg the world, beg Nigeria as a whole, and beg the entertainment industry as a whole.
“Daddy Fresh is not a name that we can say we cannot remember in the entertainment industry in Nigeria. We need your support. Nigerians, we need your support. Entertainers, the music industry, I am calling you people out. Please, let’s keep him alive.”
This is not the first time the singer has spoken about his health battles. In February 2024, Daddy Fresh disclosed he had been suffering from a partial stroke for nearly 30 months at the time.
“Each time an unexpected call or message comes through my phone, there’s this relief I get knowing that someone out there remembers me and wishes me well.
“Just ‘hello, how are you doing?’ goes a long way to cushion the effect of deep and severe pain. I pray and trust God that this phase will come and go, and I will bounce back better,” the actor said.
