If Funke Akindele, Di’ja, D’Banj and Banky W got ‘hooked’ up without the knowledge of the public, what makes you think Don Jazzy, Rita Dominic, Iyanya, Kate Henshaw, Chika Ike, Ara, Linda Ikeji, Genevieve Nnaji, Fathia Balogun, and more have not followed suit?
Explaining being single at 40 in a society where marriage is cherished is always a task. This is one reality a handful of Nigerian celebrities have come to terms with. And, of course, keeping a successful career and marriage does go hand-in-hand.
Regardless of the many deceits, torture and lies that some celebrities have had to battle in their marriages, they seem to be realising now that they cannot stay single forever.
So, for celebrities who are ripe for marriage and carry the burden of how their marriages will be perceived by the society, they now know that they can get married without the knowledge of the public. And break-up, if indeed they feel so constrained, without their knowledge too.
Until Di’ja had her baby, her marriage story was a rumour. But according to her manager, Ernest Julius Audu, she carried the pregnancy in Nigeria for some time before she travelled out of the country to have the baby.
He said, “The truth is that Di’ja is a very private person and she wants a very private life. She is a northern girl and they are not aloud people. They do not put their family life in the public. You will not find a typical Hausa girl exposing her private life.
“At some point, she travelled out of the country but it did not stop her from working and recording. You know say na Nigeria una dey like things like that, but dey no care for other countries. Di’ja just wants to focus on her music and talent because that is what she wants to give to the world.”
Di’ja’s management knew that the media would make stories out of her marriage and they did all they could to keep it away from the public. Till date, only a few people know her husband and the father of her baby.
The media will do well to let celebrities have little freedom to focus on their act and still live a normal life. I am aware of the need to sell papers and attract traffic to our various blogs, but adopting this will certainly make celebrities to be friendly with the media.
I called Daddy Showkey sometime last year and he told me I dialed a wrong number. Yet, I knew it was him because I know his voice well and I have him on my WhatsApp. I once called Fathia Balogun too and she said it was a wrong number.
Immediately some celebrities identify you as a journalist, they will never pick your calls again or give many reasons to avoid being talked to. Rita Dominic, Genevieve, Kate Henshaw and some top female celebrities panic whenever journalists come close to them. They know the questions we want to ask before even saying a word.
GoldmyneTV
