NewStats: 3,259,554 , 8,170,491 topics. Date: Sunday, 25 May 2025 at 02:55 PM 555t41

By Temidayo Akinsuyi

It was my wife @ashabiidazzle who first forwarded the viral video of veteran Nollywood actress Margaret Olatunde, popularly known as Jumoke George, to me about a fortnight ago about the interview she granted to fellow actress Abiola Adebayo. As someone who greatly detests seeing women, especially mothers, cry, I couldn’t summon the emotional muscle to watch the video. Luckily for me, many media houses made news from the video, which I then read. Her plight was heart-rending – homeless for six years, battling severe illness and confronted with the ordeal of a missing child.

As reported by TheCable, George said, “Everyone, please pray for me. I have never done evil to anyone. I need your prayers. I can no longer bear it. I do not have a home or anything. I even lost a whole child. I do not have good health. I am tired and exhausted. I have tried as a Christian. My first child, Adéolá, has been missing for the past four years. She clocked 41 years. Her children are with me.”

“I have been ill since January 2. I have tried my best as a human. I have done several tests. The only one remaining is for the brain and heart, which will cost ₦400,000. I do not know where to get it. I cannot sleep. I feel pain anytime I try to sleep. I have been indebted. I have borrowed money up to ₦2 million. I do not have a home. I have been living in a church for the last five to six years, and the church priestess has been feeding me.”

Without wasting time, I visited @biolabayo1 ‘s Instagram page, where I got hold of Madam Jumoke’s number. I sent her my widow’s mite, and many good people who were equally shocked by her plight financially ed while those who couldn’t assist in monetary offered her their heartfelt prayers. How much she realised is immaterial to me, but my greatest joy is that she has been reunited with her long-lost daughter, Adeola, whom she had lost hope of ever setting eyes on again.

There are many vital points to learn from Madam Jumoke George’s story, and I will highlight three major ones.

The first is that people should learn to speak out while going through hard times rather than remain mute and die a needless death. Like the young man, Honour Oriretan is wont to say, it is unwise to be ashamed and die in silence when help is around the corner. I’ve read stories of people who decided to end it all by drinking sniper and jumping into the Third Mainland Bridge over issues that could have been solved if they had spoken out.

Yes, learn to soro soke when life happens to you. Nobody will know you are going through any pain if you keep masking or faking it. It’s akin to someone desperately searching for a job in order to pay his bills, yet he refuses to apply for jobs or tell anyone about it. Will recruiters bring the job to him in his bedroom? Nigerians are very good people, and no matter the economic hardship being experienced in the country, they are willing to assist people, irrespective of whether they are celebrities or not, when they cry out for help. Social media has made the world a global village. Take judicious advantage of it.

Many people going through hardship have this feeling that ‘I’m so scared that if I did open up, people would think less of me and I would lose respect.’ In reality, that is the natural human instinct, especially for introverts, people who are reticent and those who were once wealthy but fell on hard times. I ed the interview granted by veteran actor Kola Oyewo in February 2024, where he recounted his battle with prostate enlargement, which made him impotent. Oyewo said another Nollywood actress visited him after the surgery, but he instructed her not to solicit money on his behalf, as his children could him. The truth, however, is that not everybody can be lucky like Oyewo, with loved ones able to financially shoulder medical expenses or carry other financial burdens.

In the case of Madam Jumoke, she needed just N400,000 (less than £200) for her brain and heart tests. Her condition could have worsened if she had remained silent, and I doubt if she would have had the opportunity to set eyes on her daughter again. Her reaching out to Abiola has changed her story for the better. A vital lesson.

Another vital lesson one can pick from the story is Madam Jumoke’s scandal-free lifestyle. Having practised her profession in an industry that is plagued with all manner of sordid tales, ranging from drug peddling, money laundering, amorous relationships, political brickbats and all manner of vices, Madam Jumoke’s good name was not in any way smirched. I read most comments from people, and nobody said anything negative about her. Only a few fault-finding, ill-mannered individuals, with their boorish attitude, accused her of lying about her missing daughter, but they have been silenced.

In an interview she granted in 2022, when asked why she took a break from acting, Madam Jumoke, who has spent 51 years in the entertainment industry, said she wasn’t given a role in Nollywood for 14 years because she refused to sleep around. Her words, “I did not leave (the industry) of my own volition. Some people in the industry wanted to sleep with me, and I stood my ground that I would not do that with anyone in that sector. Because of that, I was not used or called for acting jobs for 14 years.” What a woman of virtue!

Whatever your hands find doing, do it well. That is another lesson one can learn from Madam Jumoke. Her professionalism in interpreting her roles as an actress is top-notch. She doesn’t just memorise her lines and deliver them; she truly embodies the character, creating a lived-in reality that feels authentic and believable. I watched one of her movies when she acted as a judge, and I thought I was seeing and listening to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. As a public official, artisan or private business owner, how well are you handling that role?

The last lesson one can pick from Madam Jumoke is that you shouldn’t judge people’s lifestyles by what you see on social media. That people post pictures looking posh doesn’t imply they don’t have personal issues they are dealing with. While Madam Jumoke was going through serious health and financial challenges, her social media pages were being managed with nice pictures of herself. I’m sure some online miscreants would have even privately messaged her to do a ‘giveaway’. Given her refined looks, a friend of mine, Ayo Ashubiojo, said he was shocked when he saw her video seeking assistance because he had always thought she was a wealthy woman. So, don’t judge people by what you see on social media.

Lastly, I must commend Abiola Adebayo for the great job she’s doing with her Talk To B show. She first caught my attention with the role she played in securing the release of Segun Olowookere, a young man who was arrested at the age of 17 in 2010 for allegedly stealing a fowl and eggs in Osun State and sentenced to death. Well done, Biola, you have elongated Madam Jumoke’s life with your show. Kudos also to Kunle Afod and Foluke Daramola-Salako, and others too numerous to mention, for the roles they have played in getting for their senior colleagues in the movie industry. Yakubu Oyiza Hope, Folake Flakkyfaj and NidCOM under the leadership of Abike Dabiri-Erewa also deserve commendation for facilitating Madam Jumoke’s daughter’s return from Mali.

However, there are complaints that there are still other trafficked girls in Mali who wanted to return home, but NidCOM only singled out Madam Jumoke’s daughter in order to shine and take the glory, because it is a trending matter. That should be looked into and urgently addressed. Together, let’s put smiles on people’s faces. That is the essence of humanity.

Akinsuyi, a former group politics editor of Daily Independent, writes from the United Kingdom.

https://www.thecable.ng/vital-lessons-from-jumoke-georges-ordeal/

However, there are complaints that there are still other trafficked girls in Mali who wanted to return home, but NidCOM only singled out Madam Jumoke’s daughter in order to shine and take the glory, because it is a trending matter. That should be looked into and urgently addressed.


Is this for real? lol

I'm not interested in anyone's life now, especially the lifestyle of any celebrity. I'm indifferent.

Let them do whatever they like with their lives as long as it doesn't directly cause harm to any other person

Cant wait for the movie "Michael" to be released. Michael Jackson will always be the G.O.A.T. No worries, that film go break records wella...
Back to the topic, I don't care.

Life is unpredictable, when the average person cries out no one listens in most cases

Oyiza Hope really tried for the trafficked lady

Long epistle


Who get time to read weytin nor concern am

Okay

This is trash.
Everyone goes through ordeals in life. If some people state what they are going through, I'm sure the OP would write books

Thank she's attended to and her girl brought back from Mali, God will help others too

Noted.

It's well. Her crying out also helped:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnIPrg9OBVg

Given birth to make child
Give less stress
In old ages

What a country. Especially the trafficking part!!? Wao!

Everyone should pray because when demons come , money and fame won't bribe them

WiszyFraud:
However, there are complaints that there are still other trafficked girls in Mali who wanted to return home, but NidCOM only singled out Madam Jumoke’s daughter in order to shine and take the glory, because it is a trending matter. That should be looked into and urgently addressed.


Is this for real? lol

Many of these girls were not trafficked as they all went in their own volition but on getting there to see life isn't as it was pictured, they'll then start claiming been trafficked. Lots of them on social media right now.

Men try as much as possible not to kpai.......Most women simply cannot guide these children ALONE no matter their financial status. Men, also try to invest in life insurance, so that if you do kpai, your loved ones can be well taken care of, don't leave things to chance...Imagine your daughter or son at age 40 chasing risky jobs in order to eat

Poster: Don't judge people by what they post on social media.

Me: Don't post your fake life on social media if you don't want to be judged by it!

[You know what? You will be judged by your posts. No buts. No ifs].

excellentj4teal:


Many of these girls were not trafficked as they all went in their own volition but on getting there to see life isn't as it was pictured, they'll then start claiming been trafficked. Lots of them on social media right now.

Brother pls don't loud the volume
Let us just leave it at trafficked
They should bring them home abeg na hustle dem go hustle
If not how bad our govt is. I don't think I've come across a Malian or Baurkinabe roaming the streets in Nigeria but you see Nigerians in almost every country in West Africa leaving in squalor . Our leaders are a major disappointment to our youths
And some people are still defending them

Japa Japa japada! Make anyone no gaslight NIDCOM! Na una use ya money Japa! Water come garri u dey blame NIDCOM!

What does this nonsense even mean?

Antichristian2:
Japa Japa japada! Make anyone no gaslight NIDCOM! Na una use ya money Japa! Water come garri u dey blame NIDCOM!

Antichristian2:
Japa Japa japada! Make anyone no gaslight NIDCOM! Na una use ya money Japa! Water come garri u dey blame NIDCOM!

Where did you see anyone gaslighting nidcom
Must you lose your commonsense because you want to defend govt?

WiszyFraud:
However, there are complaints that there are still other trafficked girls in Mali who wanted to return home, but NidCOM only singled out Madam Jumoke’s daughter in order to shine and take the glory, because it is a trending matter. That should be looked into and urgently addressed.


Is this for real? lol

Not true
Is it not the same flight that brought her would have brought others

They promised you Dubai, but you will find yourself in Somalia or Mali

boxypane:
What a country. Especially the trafficking part!!? Wao!

Na you charter private jet for her bah?

femi4:
Not true
Is it not the same flight that brought her would have brought others

Forget it bro. You cant judge people by social media. All na packaging. The woman's real name is not even Jumoke George.

ManOfSon:
Poster: Don't judge people by what they post on social media.

Me: Don't post your fake life on social media if you don't want to be judged by it!

[You know what? You will be judged by your posts. No buts. No ifs].

WiszyFraud:
However, there are complaints that there are still other trafficked girls in Mali who wanted to return home, but NidCOM only singled out Madam Jumoke’s daughter in order to shine and take the glory, because it is a trending matter. That should be looked into and urgently addressed.


Is this for real? lol

Madam Jumoke voiced out right.

Where are there parents to do what madam jumoke did or who will be responsible for them when they return home?

Life is really not balance and you know it.

The girls made a mistake but if truly they want to return, NidCOM should assist them

KOE1:


Madam Jumoke voiced out right.

Where are there parents to do what madam jumoke did or who will be responsible for them when they return home?

Life is really not balance and you know it.