Victor Olaotan Can now Finally Rest

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

“We fought. You fought… It’s time. There is more to be said… For now; we breathe. Rest Baba… Rest.” These solemn words of Nollywood star, Iretiola Doyle, appear consoling amid the many heartfelt tributes as Nigeria’s movie industry mourns the passing of their colleague, Victor Olaotan. True to her social media post, Olaotan fought for five years, bedridden since 2016 following a ghastly car accident he was involved in around Apple Junction in Amuwo-Odofin area of Lagos, while driving to a movie set. He had faced the possibility of his two legs being amputated thereafter.

The accident had left him incapacitated and he was flown to Turkey for medical treatment. The late actor was recently flown back to Nigeria as his condition deteriorated when the family could no longer shoulder his medical expenses abroad. At some point, several of his colleagues solicited funds to help get the movie veteran back to his feet. In 2018, a Gofundme page was set up necessitated by the actor’s financial request to facilitate his medical treatment abroad, after two years of being incapacitated.

The fund was to enable him undergo neuro-rehabilitation; a medical procedure designed to aid recovery from nervous system injury or disorders of the nervous system. Shortly after the appeal, Nigerian billionaire businessmen, Femi Otedola responded wholeheartedly by taking up the bill, the sum of N39m ($50,000.00). The actor’s wife, Julia Olaotan would later confirm that the money was paid directly into the account of the hospital in Turkey. But that wouldn’t be all.

“The person who facilitated the GoFundMe was Gbenro Ajibade and RMD took it up from there through Otedola,” Mrs. Olaotan had revealed. “I think one of the challenges we had was when we went to town announcing that Otedola has picked up all of his bills. I had a few people that called me to say I am not sure you know what is wrong with your husband; you can never say that you have enough. Even if truthfully the money is okay, what about post-medical when he returns? But I was looking at it like what are these people saying?”

The 69-year-old Victor Olaotan eventually gave up the ghost on Thursday August 26, 2021 after a prolonged battle with his health condition. Best known for his role as Fred Ade-Williams in the long-running television drama series “Tinsel” where he warmed his way into the hearts of television viewers, the actor’s death came barely a month after the sudden demise of another colleague, Rachael Oniga. Olaotan’s widow, Julia, broke the news of his death. “He has tried. It is not easy to be trapped in your own body for five years. He can finally rest now,” she said.

In February 2021, Mrs. Olaotan recounted in an interview that though the actor was getting better, she could no longer pay the hospital bills that were already piled up. “Medically, he is improving, and there has been a lot of improvement. His recent picture was what was used to do his birthday wish on social media so there has been a lot of improvement. The major challenge is financial and that has been a struggle. We have come out occasionally to ask for funds and we are not ignorant to the fact that there are challenges.

“With the COVID pandemic, everybody has been affected, locally and internationally. But I have bills to pay. His hospital bill is $7,500 a month, and the main reason he is there, I actually haven’t done it, is to get his procedure done. We have done the first stage of the medical procedure; it was that first phase that Mr. Otedola paid for.” Born in Lagos in the early 50s, the late Olaotan studied Drama at the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University and Rockets University in the United States of America.

A well-groomed stage and screen actor, Uncle Victor, as younger colleagues fondly call him, began his career at a very young age. An accomplished actor who cut his teeth on stage featuring in Ola Rotimi’s epic play, God’s Are Not to Blame, Olaotan, who learnt under the feet of theatre greats, like Professors Adedeji, Wole Soyinka, Jimi Solanke and Dapo Adelugba, had a stint as a footballer.

But as he was at that, the urge to act crept up. Olaotan lived abroad for over 20 years and returned in 2002. He also had opportunities to take part in a couple of stage productions, including touring with the epic play, Sizwe Bansi is Dead and playing Othello in Shakespeare’s play of same title at the Shakespeare Festival. An actor’s actor of vast credit, Victor Olaotan last screen credits include ‘Love Struck’, ‘Lotanna’ and ‘The Three Wise Men’.