A social
media storm was kicked up when one-half of one of Africa’s finest pop duo,
Psquare, Peter Okoye, recently took to his Twitter page to announce that their
elder brother, Jude, has been sacked as the group’s manager.
‘‘Pls whosoever makes any transaction with Northside Entertainment or Jude Okoye on behalf of Psquare does so at his or her own risk. Warning,’’ Peter wrote on his twitter handle.
‘‘Pls whosoever makes any transaction with Northside Entertainment or Jude Okoye on behalf of Psquare does so at his or her own risk. Warning,’’ Peter wrote on his twitter handle.
He went on to rant that he had wanted Jude out
of the picture as far back as 2013, but Paul insisted on having him continue as
their manager.
The Genesis
For discerning observers, they would know that the trouble in the P-Square family didn’t start today. Tongues had started wagging some years ago when Peter began to make moves which indicated that he wanted to stand on his own. First, he got a solo brand ambassador deal with Olympic Milk. This was followed by his own reality show, ‘Glo Dance With Peter.’
However, the story didn’t start there. Insiders allege that Peter’s grouse stemmed from the fact that Jude insulted his wife, Lola Omotayo, and was against their marriage from the start.
This was said not
to go down well with Peter who has since been looking for a way to get his own
pound of flesh. It should be recalled that he didn’t attend Jude’s wedding,
though Jude didn’t also attend the nuptials between him and Lola.
While the wedding
was going on, Peter was busy uploading pictures on social media. He had said at
the time that his immediate family consisting of his wife and kids was more
important to him than his siblings.
The
Cynthia Morgan Connection
Jude Okoye’s
Northside Entertainment artiste, Cynthia Morgan has also been unwittingly
dragged into the drama. Among his series of tweets during the week, Peter had
alleged that Jude snatched Cynthia from his grasp before he could sign her to
Square Records.
In the heat of the
recent fall-out among the brothers, there was a sneak of a rumour that Cynthia
Morgan had got pregnant for Jude. It was indeed whispered that it was Jude’s
getting the dancehall queen pregnant that got Peter incensed with anger,
prompting him to want him out as their manager.
But Cynthia in a
tweet hours ago has put paid to the rumour, stating that what has ever existed
between her and Jude is purely professional.
Paul Okoye has
however chosen to stand with Jude. He uploaded a picture of himself with Jude
on his Instgram page, deleting Peter from it, and replacing him with a studio.
He added the caption:
‘’This is where I belong and this is where I
stand…you do music in the studio, not on social media. you have family issues,
you discuss that in close doors, not on social media…Family is family, blood is
blood…If you don’t do family business, then who am I to you?’’
Paul has also been making moves outside
P-Square. He was recently unveiled as a brand ambassador for the Nigerian Urban
Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) alongside Tiwa Savage, Mike
Ezuruonye, among others.
This is even as he
has launched his own Rude Boy Records, and signed an artiste, Muno.
With the ongoing
drama in the Okoye family, it is all too apparent that the story isn’t over
yet. More credence has also been lent to the feelings in some quarters that the
group may still ultimately break up.
Even though Peter has apologized for his
latest rant, it is believed that he only did it to calm frayed nerves, and not
because he has really forgiven Jude.
‘‘I am not
perfect, I make mistakes, and it hurts people. But when I say sorry I mean it.
I am so SORRY for my actions. I sincerely apologize,’’ he wrote.
While time may
provide the ultimate answer, the actions of the people in the eye of the storm point
to the fact that the centre is uneasy and may no longer hold.