Banky W, a handsome gentleman-turned-attention-freak appears to be acting as if he has missed the camera, lights and action he enjoyed while Wizkid and Skales were signed to his record label which raked cash windfall in those days.
Nigerian celebrities have overtime been accused of grossly abusing
the utilization of social media which affords unlimited freedom to an
extent based on ill-supervised community rules.
They have often times uploaded contents that buttress their
seemingly perfect lifestyle of opulence for the purpose of subtly
oppressing their ostensibly despondent followers. This accounts for one
of the reasons why the social media space especially Instagram is
flooded with falsehood as people attempt to replicate the subject-matter
of the popular book – ‘Sizwe Banzi Is Dead’, a play by Athol Fugard.
The internet has been riddled with irritating cheap publicity stunts by
people old enough to lead Nigeria to our Nirvana.
The truth is that showboating on social media has been tentatively
linked with lonely people of low-self esteem who want to enforce
themselves and influence the mental processes of others going about
their daily productive duties.
This odious act tantamount to the issue of poverty mentality in the
Global South prompts most Nigerian public figures to constantly make
calculated attempts to take undue advantage of the media to hijack
headlines. They just want to be talked about by the people at all costs.
The inordinate efforts are fuelled by the proliferation of blogs in
Nigeria which feed on any little details about celebrities simply for
traffic no matter how immaterial they might be. Anything for the clicks
suits the blogs regardless of the veracity!
We have heard cases of a prominent Nigerian actress of A-list class
named Oge Okoye stealing a picture of dogs belonging to an American
celebrity Kenya Moore, singer KC Limpopo stealing a dollar photo of a
foreigner, married mother of one, Maheeda notoriously stripping herself
n*de on Instagram to gather followers, Davido clownishly flaunting wads
of cash, frequently staged celebrity bust-ups and Toke Makinwa making a
dry reality show of her life on Instagram amongst others. The list of
frivolities being perpetrated by supposed mentors and idols on social
media is endless and repugnant.
The latest has been the serial movie of a wedding ceremony between
Bankole ‘Banky W’ Wellington and Adesua Etomi tagged '#Baad2017'. Right
from the announcement of their engagement on social media, Banky W has
technically dragged the newspaper headlines with President Muhammadu
Buhari, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Boko
Haram sect which dominate media contents on a daily note. This was
backed by their happy-ending relationship in the blockbuster movie –
‘Wedding Party’ where the duo got married in spite of challenges that
punctured the level of trust in the union.
Celebrities with millions of followers helped in propagating the
engagement gist coupled with the alternative media making news out of
every unnecessary detail that came out of the proposal. The traditional
introductory ceremony which took place shortly after the engagement of
the duo was almost bigger than the dream wedding party of an average
Nigerian person who resides in a ‘blessed country’ where poverty and
unemployment are rife.
Banky W in obedience to the sound of his name showed how bankable
he could be after raking cool cash from the Empire Mates Entertainment,
EME record label and other massive commercial endorsements. He gathered
his celebrity friends for a fashion show with glamorous pictures of
their expensive attires, shoes, wristwatches and other privileged wares
flooding social media pages in batches. From the 19th of November, 2019
till date, the wedding party which initially started in Lagos State has
been the talk of the town with the venue finally moved to South Africa.
The truth is that the trendy and alluring photos of the wedding
party have appealed to the minds of Nigerians who have admired them with
a high percentage of envy and lingering hate. This in turn makes the
couple so vulnerable security-wise (and even spiritually if I am to
think like an African for a second) as they could be placed on
surveillance just like billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike
popularly known as Evans did with his high-profile victims. It must have
been on this note that the leadership of the Lagos State Police Command
once cautioned comedian AY Makun when he flaunted some hard currencies
from his brother’s wedding ceremony on Instagram. According to the
police, that act attracts criminals to them easily. It should be noted
that Lagos has been battling with the menace of muggings, burglary and
kidnappings in recent times despite sterling innovations by security
chiefs.
Most Nigerian ladies wished they could be Adesua Etomi for a minute
while their male counterparts wanted to take the place of Banky W even
if it’s going to be for a second. Others longed for a ‘Tonto Dikeh
marriage’ kind of outcome which is associated with celebrities in
Nigeria. This is the ugly side of life but we have to face it even
though reality bites.
Banky W undue publicity spurred mother of four, Omotola
Jalade-Ekeinde who has been married for 21 years to advise Banky W to
exercise due diligence in the usage of social media to avoid detrimental
effects.
"Dear Banky and Adesua, After Capetown, everyone leaves...it's
just you two. My darlings if possible, stay off social media a bit.
Communicate continuously. Preserve your friendship not just your love.
Even as you two have now become one, don't forget to respect your
individuality. We love you and are rooting for your special Love," she wrote.
Her golden advice which reeks of experience appeared to have fallen
on deaf ears as the trends of showmanship and showboating amid an
austerity period continued, with Banky W dominating entertainment news
in Nigeria like the boss.
Fast-forward to today (28th of November), Banky W while showcasing
the luxury of his hotel room in Johannesburg mistakenly exposed the
nudity of his beloved wife, Adesua whose glory was only veiled by her
panties as she backed the camera while dressing up. Eagle-eyed Nigerians
downloaded the video, did a screengrab of the Adesua scene and shared
on social media for gossips.
The multimedia contents have garnered thousands of views on social
media to the dismay of the newly-weds who are managing the situation
well to the best of information gathered from their Instagram accounts.
This absurdity committed by Banky W underscores the need for the
education of Nigerians on social media usage where we have been
constituting nuisance by reporting our daily lives to people who hardly
care.
It’s inglorious for the body of our beautiful and decent Edo
princess, Adesua to be exposed to public viewership just because of the
seeming youth exuberance of Banky W who has ignored the Yoruba saying
that;
"If a farmer's yam tuber harvest is too big, he would cover it with his hands".
In simple terms, this emphasizes on the need to hide your massive
success from your neighbours to prevent any undue envy that could lead
to spiritual attacks and cold war.
Banky W has succeeded in humiliating Adesua beyond measure as we
Nigerians are very conservative people who scorn n*dity at least in
public to protect our societal values and sanity. The issue can die for
today but the internet never forgets and his singular act will be a
vivid point of reference in discussing the ills of social media. This is
not the United States of America where reality star, Kim Kardashian and
her sisters strip to get moneyed endorsements from adult contents or a
Chrissy Teigen-John Legend union where n*de picture leaks is as normal
as drinking water.
36-year old Banky should learn from Dbanj and his signee, DJ
Xclusive who are presently basking in the joy and peace of marriage
after engaging in it secretly. Sound Sultan is another great artiste and
father who sells his art on social media not his marriage to protect
the sanctity of the institution.
Life in Nigeria is harsh due to the hard economic realities thereby
making it risky to share success stories without being hurt by hateful
comments. Several people are angry online for reasons they can't just
explain. People upload pictures to hide their pains because they want to
catch up with people like Banky W who have consciously and
unconsciously kept them on their toes with the photoshopped parts of
their lives.
The bitter truth is that majority of commenters on social media are
not happy for Banky W and can't wait to voraciously feed on contents
which would point to the crash of the marriage.
We pray Banky W learns from this experience which must have left
Adesua and her family members devastated after their daughter has
enjoyed a scandal-free career thus far.
Source: Tori.ng
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