By Samuel Onyekwere
The year 2017 has come and gone, but not without its high and low moments. We will take time to look at some of the controversies that made the headlines in the gone year.
Eedris Abdulkareem
Eedris Abdulkareem of the defunct music group, Remedies, is no stranger to controversies. This time he took to social media video to blast some of his colleagues in the industry.
The Nigeria Jaga-jaga crooner took a swipe at singer D’Banj, claiming that the former Mo’ Hits Star has no talent. He also lashed out at Davido, Mr. Eazi and Timaya .
Next on his card was Tuface Idibia whom he accused of abandoning his former group mate Blackface of the defunct Plantazion Boys.
Abdulkareem also claimed to have influenced the growth of Tuface in the industry.
P-Square
Arguable one of the most controversial break- up stories in the music industry in Nigeria today. The duo of Peter and Paul Okoye hugged the headline when a purported video of their squabble in the office of their family lawyer, Festus Keyamo, hit the social media. This was followed by another message on the social media by Peter Okoye where he announced that the twin brothers have parted ways because of irreconcilable differences. Though hands pointed at the wives of the
twin brothers as being behind the breakup, they swiftly denied the involvement of any of their wives in the disagreement. Peter has since gone ahead to release two singles under the name Mr. P.
P-Square is one of the most successful musical duos to have come out of Africa in recent time with a large fan base across the continent.
Davido
Apart from his frequent rant on the social media with another music rival Whizkid, David Odeleke aka Davido, hit the headlines for another wrong reason last year.
First was the death of his friend, 35-year-old Tagbo Umeike, who was said to have died on his birthday though autopsy report revealed that alcohol was the substantial cause of his death. The result also showed that he had alcohol and drugs in his system capable of easing a person into the early stages of hypothermia and eventual death. The death of another friend of Davido, DJ Tolu, came to industry watchers as a surprise as the police claim they had recovered substances found to be hard drugs in his vehicle. Another of his friend Chime Amaechina was said to have died during this period also.
Tonto Dike
How can we forget the razzmatazz that followed the traditional wedding of star actress Tonto Dike, to his acclaimed sweet heart, Olakunle Churchhill?
That was followed by her frequent presence on the social media showing everybody how romantic her hubby was. But just before her fans could settle down to the fact that the controversial actress had indeed become a wife and mother, news filtered in of trouble in the marriage. Tonto accused her hubby of domestic violence.
While people were yet to recover from the shock, Tonto yanked off Churchill from her name before they both finally announced on the social media that they had gone their separate ways.
Mercy Aigbe
Another controversy that hit the industry was the wife battery allegation level against Lanre Gentry, the husband of star actress, Mercy Aigbe. Mercy was said to have abandoned the marriage as a result of domestic violence and this also resulted in the estranged husband allegedly being invited by the police for questioning. There was lot of condemnation after the actress posted pictures of her battered face on the social media as the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs was said to have commenced investigation into the matter, after
the actress reported the matter to the authorities.