LAGOS, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold has revealed that he continues to experience painful sickle cell crises, despite years of managing the condition. In a recent interview circulating on social media, the 38-year-old artist described the intense pain associated with the illness, which he said began when he was five years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI still have crises,\u201d Gold said. \u201cIt\u2019s pain in my joints, my legs, and sometimes my stomach. It\u2019s really crazy.\u201d He recalled a frightening episode from his childhood when his mother carried him on her back for miles to reach a hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gold, known for hits such as \u201cOrente\u201d and \u201c5 Star,\u201d said his condition has improved over time due to better self-care and access to quality healthcare. \u201cI still have crises once in a while, but not as bad as I had it when I was a child,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to God for the resources to be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHis wife, fellow singer Simi, responded with a heartfelt message on Instagram, calling him \u201cthe strongest man I know.\u201d She praised his resilience and said his openness would inspire others living with chronic illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\nVeteran actor Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) also commended Gold\u2019s courage. \u201cAdekunle\u2019s story is a reminder that behind the fame, there are real battles,\u201d RMD posted on X, formerly Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\nActor Kate Henshaw added her voice, saying, \u201cThis kind of honesty is powerful. It breaks stigma and builds empathy. Thank you, Adekunle, for speaking up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nActor and comedian Bovi shared his reaction in a video post, stating, \u201cI\u2019ve known Adekunle for years, and this just deepens my respect for him. He\u2019s not just talented\u2014he\u2019s a fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nActress Toyin Abraham also weighed in, writing, \u201cYour story will save lives. Many people don\u2019t know their genotype. You\u2019re using your platform for good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nGold emphasized the importance of genotype testing before marriage, noting that both his parents carried the sickle cell gene. \u201cIt\u2019s sad that many people still don\u2019t understand the risks,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m passionate about creating more awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nHis mother, who played a key role in his early care, said in a statement to local media, \u201cSeeing him now, strong and successful, is God\u2019s miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria praised Gold\u2019s advocacy, saying his voice could help reduce stigma and promote early testing. \u201cWe hope this leads to more education and support for those affected,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAGOS, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold has revealed that he continues to experience painful sickle cell crises, despite years of managing the condition. In a recent interview circulating on social media, the 38-year-old artist described the intense pain associated with the illness, which he said began when he was five years old. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[205,207,204,175,201,202,203,208,206],"class_list":["post-23051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news","tag-actor-kate-henshaw","tag-actress-toyin-abraham","tag-comedian-bovi","tag-lagos","tag-nigerian-singer-adekunle-gold","tag-sickle-cell","tag-simi","tag-the-sickle-cell-foundation-nigeria","tag-veteran-actor-richard-mofe-damijo-rmd"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Adekunle-Gold.webp?fit=1080%2C779&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23054,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23051\/revisions\/23054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
His wife, fellow singer Simi, responded with a heartfelt message on Instagram, calling him \u201cthe strongest man I know.\u201d She praised his resilience and said his openness would inspire others living with chronic illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veteran actor Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) also commended Gold\u2019s courage. \u201cAdekunle\u2019s story is a reminder that behind the fame, there are real battles,\u201d RMD posted on X, formerly Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actor Kate Henshaw added her voice, saying, \u201cThis kind of honesty is powerful. It breaks stigma and builds empathy. Thank you, Adekunle, for speaking up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actor and comedian Bovi shared his reaction in a video post, stating, \u201cI\u2019ve known Adekunle for years, and this just deepens my respect for him. He\u2019s not just talented\u2014he\u2019s a fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actress Toyin Abraham also weighed in, writing, \u201cYour story will save lives. Many people don\u2019t know their genotype. You\u2019re using your platform for good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gold emphasized the importance of genotype testing before marriage, noting that both his parents carried the sickle cell gene. \u201cIt\u2019s sad that many people still don\u2019t understand the risks,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m passionate about creating more awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His mother, who played a key role in his early care, said in a statement to local media, \u201cSeeing him now, strong and successful, is God\u2019s miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria praised Gold\u2019s advocacy, saying his voice could help reduce stigma and promote early testing. \u201cWe hope this leads to more education and support for those affected,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAGOS, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold has revealed that he continues to experience painful sickle cell crises, despite years of managing the condition. In a recent interview circulating on social media, the 38-year-old artist described the intense pain associated with the illness, which he said began when he was five years old. \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[205,207,204,175,201,202,203,208,206],"class_list":["post-23051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news","tag-actor-kate-henshaw","tag-actress-toyin-abraham","tag-comedian-bovi","tag-lagos","tag-nigerian-singer-adekunle-gold","tag-sickle-cell","tag-simi","tag-the-sickle-cell-foundation-nigeria","tag-veteran-actor-richard-mofe-damijo-rmd"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Adekunle-Gold.webp?fit=1080%2C779&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23054,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23051\/revisions\/23054"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}