Nigerians have continued to react to the back and forth between the famous Nigerian singer and internet personality, Peter Okoye and his colleague in the industry, Seun Kuti, over support for presidential candidates in the 2023 elections.
Recall that Seun Kuti who is the youngest son of the Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo Kuti had in his recent interview on TheMicOnPodcast described the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, as an opportunist. He had insisted that no politician can save the country except for Nigerians themselves.
Highlighting how Peter Obi is an opportunist who moved to a “socialist party, after losing the primaries at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP”, Seun stated that Obi is just an internet president whose election starts and ends on social media.
Reacting to this, Peter Okoye, who is a strong supporter of Obi, in a series of tweets on his Twitter handle tackled Seun, rubbishing his comment against the LP candidate.
He said, “Dude, just keep quiet. So so disappointed. Dude just erased his father’s history. You said only Nigerians can save Nigeria, is PO and the rest candidates not Nigerians? Shame shame shame (sic).”
Bragging about his achievement, Peter said, ”My late Father was a nobody, but today everyone knows the Okoyes. Dude, try removing “KUTI” from your name, let me see if you are relevant. Remain in that your Local SHRINE while people like us and others continue excelling Globally. YOU CAN’T SHAME THE SHAMELESS. You had no music career in the first place. All you do is brag about your family background.”
Dragging his nephew, Made Kuti into the drama, Peter told Seun to learn from him (Made) because he is well guided and clean.
However, this didn’t go well with Made Kuti, as he replied to Peter Okoye to keep his name out of his mouth.
Throwing a shade at Peter on Twitter, Made said: “Good afternoon, Please do not use me as a tool to slight, badmouth or insult my Uncle. I’m not sure how we are perceived so I should clarify we stay united as a family and we intend on keeping it that way. Thank you.”
Some concerned Nigerians, particularly entertainers who waded into the matter, said there was no need for the fight.
Reacting to this, popular Nigerian comedian, Basketmouth in a trending tweet on social media, said: “If our fathers never existed, we won’t be here. Nobody is self made.”
Singer Brymo in a post on his Twitter handle berated Peter Okoye for asking their colleague, Seun Kuti, to remove ‘Kuti’ from his name just to test his relevance. He opined that Peter should have deleted the post.
Controversial singer, Portable in a video shared on his Instagram page, said that Peter Okoye’s family is still alive but is out of the limelight.
“I heard that you were insulting Fela Kuti’s family.You wey be say you and your family still dey alive, una no blow again,” he wrote.
David Hundeyin tweeted: “Peter Obi has already crossed the rubicon, so all this ‘they’re all the same’ and ‘none of them is a saint’ talk is a waste of Seun Kuti’s time. It has zero impact at this point except to piss people off. The time for all this chat was like a year ago. Far too late now.” (sic)
Popular social media commentator, Daniel Regha berated Peter Okoye over his claims that Seun Kuti would be insignificant without his legendary Afrobeat father’s name.
“Peter Okoye is silly for trying to berate a fellow artiste, he’s nowhere near Kuti’s level. It’s OK to disagree, but do it respectfully & lead by example,” he tweeted.
Taking to the comment section, one Lazarus Chiegene said: “Without Fela Kuti the only Seun we know works with Channels. But name Psquare Father, do you know him? Psquare are self made in the music industry.”
Also reacting to the ongoing drama, Kemi Olunloyo said being a Grammy nominee living in the trenches beats living in mansions with no Grammy nominations, as she urged Peter Okoye to apologise to the Kutis for the disrespectful comment to Fela’s shrine and his legacy.
Undoubtedly, the forthcoming presidential election has since divided Nigeria’s entertainment industry into different camps as they project their preferred candidates