His friend, Bala Ahmed, who was in the UK at the time, was
alerted by people at Orji’s house. This prompted a swift response from
colleagues who hurriedly came to his aid.
The actor said, “Benedict Johnson rushed to the house, and I
was there on the floor, incoherent. I couldn’t even stand because when he
raised me, I slumped again, and he had to call another colleague whom we call
Labista.
“So the two of them lifted me on their shoulders from the
second floor to the ground floor and took me to the National Hospital,” Orji
added.
Upon receiving the news, Orji’s wife, who was in Lagos at
the time, flew to Abuja. On January 1st, the first surgery was performed by a
neurosurgeon, Dr. Biodun Ogungbo.
“He’s an awesome guy,” Orji said.
But, a month later, after scans revealed a residual blood
clot, Orji underwent a second surgery performed by Dr. Ogungbo.
Meanwhile, Orji received support from prominent figures,
including the President of Nigeria, the President’s wife, the Vice President’s
wife, the President’s son, and various ministers.
He said, “But in all of it, I’m grateful to God Almighty and
I’m also grateful to so many people who stepped in. The President of Nigeria,
the First Lady, the wife to the Vice President, the President’s son, the
Minister for Women’s Affairs, the Minister for Arts, Culture, and the Creative
Economy, the Minister for Works, and a whole lot of other people.
“I was receiving calls from South Africa, from the UK, from
the US. Some of them were willing to, they were asking me, how can we help? How
can we be of assistance? So it was overwhelming the way people responded to the
whole thing,” Orji said.
Orji, after his recovery in Nigeria, however, was advised to
seek post-surgery assessment in the UK, where he consulted with Dr. John Yeh.
“I’m grateful to God Almighty and I’m also grateful to so
many people who stepped in,” he said.
