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| Innocent Idibia |
When Benue native, Innocent Idibia self-styled 2face declared a nationwide protest on the 26th of January, 2017 in reaction to the ailing economic of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari, the move gained tremendous support on social media.
Davido, Olamide, Burna Boy, Comedian I Go Dye, Daddy Showkey, Charly Boy Oputa and other prominent entertainers supported 2face and their followers on social media were in high spirits about protesting against the administration of 'change' of the All Progressives Congress which has lost its popularity majorly as a result of the consequences of a recessive economy.
As other entertainers maintain silence about the activism planned by the 'African Queen' crooner, two Nigerian lecturers namely Professor Akindele Adetoye and one Dr. Bunmi Awoyemi Divinewealth respectively whitewashed 2face and attributed his problem to lack of proper formal education.
The former described 2face as a randy man who has failed to govern his personal life after indiscriminately sleeping with women unprotected and impregnating several others. The latter orientated 2face about the efforts of Buhari in offering bail out funds to the state governors as well as advocate for the clearance of the backlog of salaries through the Paris Club refund money to ease the sufferings of state civil servants.
2face, 41, officially has 7 children from three different women all except the last female child outside wedlock before he settled with his long-time girlfriend, Annie Macauley Idibia. Some fundamentalists and puritans on social media are of the opinion that the singer lacks the moral stand and reputation to lead a protest against a leader 'working' assiduously to fix the rot purportedly left behind by the 16 years of misrule by the People's Democratic Party, PDP.
As Dr Bunmi Awoyemi Divine also alleged with some supporters of Buhari, 2face benefited from some chieftains of the PDP who have their hands tainted with corruption cases.
When 2face got married to Annie in 2013, he enjoyed some controversial and ostentatious gifts from the former Governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio as well as a former Senate President David Mark which the latter denied in the face of hard evidence.
Mr. Akpabio announced a gift of two brand new Toyota Prado SUVs to 2face and his wife. He also reportedly promised to bankroll an all-expense paid trip for 29 delegates from the state to attend the white wedding of the couple fixed for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates on March 23, 2016.
The Idibia family, Godswill Akpabio and the car gifts
Besides, he also hosted a lavish state dinner in honour of the couple and promised to rehabilitate the Eket-Ibeno Road ahead of the child dedication of 2face and Annie.
Akpabio is currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over an alleged mind-boggling fraud of N108 billion which was reportedly committed during his two terms - 2007 to 2015 as the First Man of the South South State.
2face was also purportedly gifted an outrageous and questionable gift of a N47million car on his wedding day with other unnamed perks that led to an outrage which forced the Benue politician to deny gifting him the brand new 2013 Chevy Corvette sports car despite his name being crested on it.
The exotic Ferrari alleged to be from Senator David Mark
Meanwhile, David Mark's profile just like many public officer holders in Nigeria has come under questioning. According to New York-based news platform - Sahara Reporters, David Mark was a core member of the “Babangida Boys” club within the Nigerian military hierarchy under military dictatorship directed by the evil genius, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida between 1985-1993 during which he allegedly made a fortune stealing public funds.
According to Premium Times, he also has links to at least eight offshore shell companies while holding public office. This act is in violation of a federal code of conduct law, a massive leak of files belonging to Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in Panama exposed in April, 2016.
Since government is a continuum, political analysts have questioned why Tuface who benefited from Nigeria's days in the 'wilderness' will have the impetus and audacity to organize a national protest bearing in mind that the economic quagmire of Nigeria was orchestrated by the previous administration.
Economists even predicted the current economic recession since the year 2014 as oil prices at the international market suffered a free fall under former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. This according to them betrays the golden saying that "he who comes into equity must come with clean hands"
As a final nail to the coffin of 2face, a member of his defunct music group, Plantashun Boiz in the person of Blackface questioned the sincerity of 2face whom he accused of stealing the hit song of the group, African Queen which was released illegally under Kennis Music record label from where he raked massive cash.
He accused 2face of failing to identify with the people of Benue State in the face of their travails in the hands of Fulani herdsmen with limited and unsatisfactory government intervention. He supported the view that Tuface is an illiterate who lacks representation in his Local Government Area in Benue thereby betraying the principle that charity begins at home.
In a stinking interview with LIB, Blackface said:
"Let me tell you something. Does 2face Idibia have a fruitful foundation? No, Does 2face Idibia have anything that has to do with Benue State? No! Let me tell you something now. Emma Ugolee (a sick celebrity) is in the hospital. If somebody is a front runner what is he supposed to do? 2face is supposed to be able to mobilize people to figure out a way to raise money for Ugolee 's hospital's bill. If I want to do that, the radio and TV are not going to listen to me. You guys have to come out straight. I don't know what will happen after it but we don't have to do no protest. Let us get our mind straight, they should stop that and stop manipulating people's mind."
The drama seems unending as Nigerians remain divided over the national protest scheduled for 6th of February, 2017 at the national stadium, Lagos State. Tuface remains unfazed about the challenges and criticisms as he plans to actualize his plan as announced in today's public announcement on social media.
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