LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) –Afrobeats singer Seun Kuti has pushed back against demands from music industry executive Paul Okoye, known as Paulo, to dissociate himself from social media critic, VeryDarkMan.
The conflict erupted after Paulo issued an ultimatum calling for Kuti and others to cut ties with VeryDarkMan, who has been embroiled in an ongoing feud with Paulo’s partner, actress Iyabo Ojo.
VeryDarkMan had made controversial comments suggesting Ojo was not invited to the recent wedding of singer Davido and his wife Chioma, but rather only invited to the after-party.
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In a video shared on his Instagram page, Kuti addressed the situation directly, making it clear he would not be ordered around by Paulo despite their prior good relationship. “I have a good relationship with Paulo but that doesn’t give him the right to order me publicly,” Kuti stated firmly.
Kuti explained that if Paulo had privately reached out to him about the issue with VeryDarkMan, he may have been willing to distance himself.
However, the public nature of the ultimatum has led Kuti to take a defiant stance.
“Even if Paulo has helped me, he can’t order me publicly. If he had called me on the phone, I would probably have cut ties with VDM by now. Because I don’t know how much the beef is worth to him,” Kuti said.
Further defending VeryDarkMan, Kuti described him as a “necessity” who is able to “bring the people against the agents of corrupt politicians” and stand up to “those politicians’ enablers who use their fame to bully the powerless.”