Junior Pope: How Fanta, money I sprayed into river saved me — Survivor reveals

Voice Air Media, VAM News Update

More reports have emergedconerning the boat mishap that claimed the life of a famed Nollywood star, John Paul Odonwodo, aka, Junior Pope.

One of the survivors of the tragicboat mishap, Actor T.C Okafor has recounted how he escaped death by the whiskers, saying “pouring Fanta and money into the Anam River saved his life.”

In a viral video yesterday, the actor revealed that the accident was due to the inexperience of the person steering the boat.

According to him, while they were all on board, only a few passengers wore life jackets.

During the journey, Okafor said he poured Fanta into the river and tossed naira notes and some crumbs from his snack into the river to appease the gods of the river.

He also dashed some money to children who were playing around the river before they commenced the journey.

Okafor also recalled how Jnr Pope queried his actions, and he explained to him that he was rendering obeisance to the river gods, beseeching for safe passage, hence his unconventional rituals.

He narrated: “Before I entered the boat, I did the ritual. The first thing Junior Pope asked me was, ‘What am I I doing?’ And I said I was observing the water people. I can’t pass without sharing something. I have given them Fanta, so I don’t want anything bad to happen to me. Jnr. Pope agreed.

“While we were going, the guy steering the boat was wearing an earpiece, and Junior Pope was doing a video. I saw a small canoe with fishermen in front and due to his lack of experience, the guy steering the boat drove right into the last point of the canoe and we somersaulted.”

Okafor said that while the boat capsized, he held onto the anchor with a female colleague until another boat came to their rescue.

Unfortunately, the embattled actor said the producer agreed to pay him only N100,000 to star in the movie. And while they were getting ready to embark on the journey, Jnr Pope said he was uncomfortable but couldn’t help it.

The boat, which was conveying them back to Asaba, was said to have collided with fishermen’s boat, which recorded no casualties.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Nollywood stars and sympathisers yesterday thronged the waterside of River Niger Cable Point, Asaba, Delta State in search of the bodies of the three missing people who were involved in the mishap.