By Dimeji Ogedengbe
Nigerians love D’banj. Young, old, educated, illiterate, exposed or conservative. They love his music. They fall for his charm. And he’s such an amazing performer that when he hits the stage, he has everyone eating from his palms. D’banj is a ladies’ man; a men’s man; a kids’ man; an entertainer’s entertainer – the kind of performer every performer would want to be like.
Since returning home in 2004, the Mo’Hits Vice President has consistently nurtured his brand; building a persona and image that continues to feed fat on the benefits of pop culture, celebrity worship and brand extensions.
There’s Kokomobile (which was finally launched last week, after years in waiting). There’s the upcoming Koko foam, Koko Water, Koko Garri and the rumoured Koko condoms. There’s Koko Mansion and Koko Lounge (run in conjunction with Flytime’s Cecil Hammond). And there’s the master brand himself – D’banj, in demand from Lagos to Kafanchan; and raking in over a dozen million Naira on a good weekend. Working with Mo’Hits President Don Jazzy, to create a bag of hits, D’banj has grown, in less than seven years, to become one of the biggest acts on the continent, occupying the top slots with P Square and pop icon 2face Idibia.
And 2011 has been a great year – with the Snoop Dogg collabo, open love from Kanye West, and all the talks of the international window opening up to him and his Mo’Hits crew. Well, until last week, when things took a turn for the worse. D’banj, an unrepentant Goodluck Jonathan disciple, was on air on Thursday March 17, 2011 engaging President Goodluck Jonathan (who is also the presidential candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP)) in a pre-recorded interview that did nothing to enhance D’banj’s image, or the president’s. If there was anything to go by, the brief interview (D’banj asked only three questions) infuriated many Nigerians, especially the young people the musician claimed to be representing. In a country where young people are more aware than ever before, where social media has provided real-time platform for conversations, it wasn’t long before fans, followers, haters, critics and pundits started tearing D’banj and his guest apart. The interview apparently, was a wrong move. A very wrong one. For D’banj and for the clueless Mr. Jonathan.
With D’banj nodding all through the session, seemingly eager to please his subject, and Jonathan more than unable to make any sense with his responses, the move – which obviously was a campaign strategy by the team of a man who has shied away from all talks of a public debate, proved to be a disaster. And, while the President may be temporarily insulated from most of the possible effects, D’banj, the once beloved superstar, and his friends at Mo’Hits are already paying the price – having to contend with a barrage of hate messages from almost everyone that has a Twitter handle, a Facebook account, or a Blackberry phone. Spoofs are showing up; statements are being issued; forwarded messages disparaging D’banj are becoming viral on BBM… and only a few are not asking for the young man’s head….
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11 comments
4 me dbanj is a 9ice dude nd i dunt realy know wat has gotten into him#Lmfao
D’banj is one entertainer love by many Nigerians. Whatever one does whether good or bad there must be criticism. Mr Endowed you re Africa number one right now.
Dat was a wrong move by both parties
let haters back up , what did you want him to do during the interview .cry or what . dbanj you are endowed
whatz the biggie with D’banj’s interview with the President and him asking just only three questions and smiling all thru the rest of the interview….first of all, D’banj is not a journalist, he’s an entertainer. secondly, D’banj never said he’s gat a problem with Jonathan..so why is he being criticised? Aside shying away from the presidential debate (based on some cooked-up reasons) whatelse has the president done wrong? can’t he have somebody like D’banj campaign for him? guyz don’t get me wrong oo! i’m not siding or campaigning for anybody here, i’m only just saying that D’banj should be axed cos of his relationship with jonathan…afterall, what he did is not strange, anybody could hav done same if given the the opportunity……..so no more HIPOCRISY!
pls” let the sleeping dog ly”the guy is endowed & there is nothing any dude can do abt it.
he’s a cool dude and no one is complaining bout d interview. he’s in no touble. y’all haters go hua transformer.
How has Dbanj caused any trouble for himself, by just having an interview with the president? The writer should go and scout for more interesting and captivating topics, instead of trying to run ones personality down. Haters and critics should be more constructive.
tell me who would not love to interview a president in his life time………….forget all them haters jo
……its don jazzy again
It is really saddening 2 hear Nigerian youths supportin wat Dbanj has done.A Nigerian entertainer hu ir worth millions,hu has neva xperience several strikes in sch,hu does nt kno wat it means 2 finish one’s educatin & nt gt a job 4 years,nw sits wit d presidnt & claim 2 represent d Nigerian,how wil he ask d right questions?wat does he kno abt d struggle of d average Nigerian youths,he must av knwn dt d interview was just a politikl gimmick by some who are seekin electn yet bcos of d gains,he went ahead nt mindin d havoc he was wreckin on d chances of d average Nigerian youth.If d presidnt was rili serious abt answerin serious questns,y d d he avoid all d politikl deb8s.I pity ds nation,if @ ds stage,our youths r stl tu blinded by inability 2 c in between d lines.
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