According to Charles Novia Skiibii just killed his career. Photo: Instagram
I had never heard of the fellow called Skiibii
before the news of his ‘death’ trended on Friday 14th August 2015. With
such a horrible moniker for a real name, one could not care really what
his name was, truth be told.
But within a couple of hours, the name
Skiibii became the most popular name on cybersphere in Nigeria, giving
the artiste a desired ‘Five Star’ Fifteen Minutes of Fame. It was first
reported by blogger Linda Ikeji on Friday morning that Skiibii had passed on; news she said she confirmed from the Five Star Music spokesperson, Soso Soberekon.
Since it was supposedly a valid confirmation by Linda Ikeji, Nigeria’s
top blogger, it was only a matter of seconds before a sympathetic buzz
started about the artiste’s ‘death’.
I read about it like everyone else and
since I did not know who the guy was, I mumbled a sympathetic prayer for
his soul and moved on with my business. But the initial picture
released of the dude on the floor had me a bit disturbed then as to why
someone who just died, with the blood barely cold in his body, would
have that kind of bizarre picture immediately posted on social media. It
didn’t make sense to me and I told a friend next to me that whoever
released that picture deserved to be flogged. To me, it was in bad taste
and would also be the last picture anyone would remember of the artiste
in years to come; that is if anyone would bother to.
Perhaps being a slow news day, many
people started putting up profile pics of the dead Skiibii, as is wont
with such trends. But Linda Ikeji came back a a few minutes later to
report that Skiibii was not dead, with barely contained disdain in her
write up. She suggested that it was a publicity stunt and that was when
people began to really look at the case with ‘another eye’.
The press statement from Five Star Music, refuting the death of the lad did not help matters. The damage had been done.
98% of the people believe it was all a
publicity stunt. And that notion will be hard to dispel. I have my
suspicions too that it is a publicity stunt, engineered to shore up the
buzz of a new artiste trying to blow. And why should I not think so?
First, the initial picture of the ‘dead’
lad on the floor, at close inspection, gives away the stupidity of
those who were around the artiste when he was thought to be dead. So, in
their village, when a person slumps and dies, the first thing they do
would be to snap pictures? There was no one smart enough to attempt to
resuscitate the lad, by tearing off his shirt, removing his shoes, even
stripping him to his boxers just to ensure that he had a fighting chance
of resuscitation? The only thing the dense persons near him could do
was to snap a picture and even ‘conveniently’ have the head of the
‘dead’ artiste away from the centre table? The dude was even half-laid
on the rug!
Secondly, the coincidence of the artiste
having a new single released just a couple of days before his ‘death’
and even being on a top radio station in Lagos the day before to promote
his single, was just too close. Haba! Of course, one can safely say
this because he didn’t really die as reported and this leaves room for
such conjecture which points to a gradual summation of a publicity stunt
ill-executed.
Thirdly, the other clue Linda has
already pointed out in her blog, the coincidence of Skiibii wearing the
same gear he had on two weeks before in a picture and still having the
same gear on on the day of his death to the last thread and belt! Haba!
Well, I guess we now know that he likes to re-rock clothes?
The Five Star Music statement did not
say which hospital Skiibii is admitted presently. For the public to
believe that this was not a ruse, we need to know the hospital, the name
of the doctor who is treating him, the nature of his illness and how it
happened. That is how such is done elsewhere. This is a matter of a
huge credibility problem for the artiste and even Five Star Music as a
company and treating this with kids gloves has the potential of
destroying careers on that label.
For now, this smacks of a publicity
stunt gone awry. While I do not wish the artiste any ill luck but the
best of his health, if indeed my doubts and those of millions of people
are dispelled, it is instructive to note that it is not in anyway wrong
to ask these nagging questions. There are lessons to be learned from all
of this.
Celebrities, especially those in the
music sector in Nigeria, have degraded the art of PR to the most asinine
of stunts and stories over the past couple of years. They throw lies
out to those gullible enough to believe them and laugh in glee when such
lies trend. Na una all wey dey believe come be mugu!
It’s time we begin to question these stories and shame such persons behind such when they are found to be fake.
Going back to this Skiibii in question,
it would be safe to say that something really may well die in his world,
with the negative angst this story of his has generated. His career.
It’s Dead On Arrival.
It’s his brief now to get a life.
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