CHUX OHAI is on the trail of some top entertainers currently out of favour with fans over postings on the social media
The year is barely one week old and some celebrities are under attack from their fans on social media. The latest ‘victim’ is Jude Okoye, the older brother of the musical twins, Paul and Peter of the P-Square.
For daring to post a photograph showing a pair of hands fixing what looked like an automatic revolver on his Instagram page, Okoye was at the receiving end of flak from scores of Nigerians online on Tuesday.
Many of those who reacted to the images in the photo were shocked that a celebrity of his stature, with a string of successful music video productions to his credit, would be so bold as to display his personal ‘arsenal’ in the public domain.
Some of them were plainly abusive in their choice of language. Calling him unprintable names, they wondered what he needed a gun for.
Writing on the Linda Ikeji blog, for instance, an unnamed respondent said, “Does he know how many youngsters that are looking up to him? This generation with their wild imagination. And these so-called celebrities are supposed to be role models? I don’t like this.”
Another fan named Chris queried the yardstick for issuing gun licences in the country. “Are pistols now legalised for individuals to carry? I thought that only rifles meant for hunting are officially allowed. Obviously this is about money and celebrity things,” he said.
But, underlying the angry responses to the posting, there is a palpable fear of the unknown. There is the fear that the weapons may end up in the hands of thieves and kidnappers who might be tempted to “shop for supplies”.
Trying to interpret the existing law on private acquisition of firearms in the country, one Halton noted, “No individual is given licence to own handguns. It took me serious work to licence my hunting gun (pump action). This man has to explain where and how he came into possession of these dangerous weapons.”
Also reacting to the post on the same blog, Ice Yetty described it as the “most ridiculous act” of 2014. She wondered if showing off his guns on social media is the celebrity producer’s way of announcing his success as an artiste.
But a comment by Bonita Bislam introduced a sardonic twist to the development. She said, “In the world of show business, I guess everything is worth showing off. Jude, well done. I expect you to show off your snipers’ list as well.”
Highlighting the latest trend among Nigerian celebrities, an anonymous respondent wrote, “Celebrities have gone crazy. They show off cars and accessories on social media. Now they are showing off with guns. The next person is going to post a picture tagged ‘my bombs/explosives collection’.”
Earlier, popular comedian, Bright Okpocha, aka Basketmouth, had the biggest bashing of his life from fellow Nigerians on social media on Monday.
Basketmouth’s crime was that he posted a joke about rape on his Facebook wall, which seemed quite wrong and ill-timed, especially at a time most Nigerians are virtually up in arms against rapists in the country.
Seeing that he had erred, the comedian had quickly pulled down the post and apologised.
“Ok guys, I’m sorry about the rape joke. I won’t crack such jokes again. I’ll just stick to jokes about men being able to marry under-aged girls in Nigeria,” he said.
Unfortunately, even this show of remorse did not go down well with some of his critics, who felt that it was rather ‘cheeky’. So on Tuesday, they continued to rain ‘abuses’ on him.
On Facebook, an angry Micheal Nwagbegbe said, “Ours is a sick society. One gets popular by throwing dirty jokes about.”
But a fan, Okoye Chukwudi, came to the defence of Basketmouth and in turn incurred the ‘wrath’ of a number of people when he wrote, “Basketmouth’s joke is a reality in Nigeria. It is more than a joke. It happens every day. I don’t know why Nigerians don’t like to face the truth. I don’t see why Basketmouth should even tender an apology. If you think what he said is false, then you have not been living in Nigeria.”
Unable to mask his displeasure with Basketmouth’s ‘performance’ online, Abdulkareem Aminu came down hard on other standup comedians. “Even if I won’t mention them, Nigerian comedians are largely un-funny, spewing recycled jokes and desperately trying to make people laugh and in my case, failing,” he said.
Lately Nigerians have begun to see the social media as a sacred territory that must not be profaned by what they consider to be the excesses of some celebrities. They have persistently kicked against actions by the latter, such as the posting of nude photos, as well as provocative comments that tend to offend the public morality, online.
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