Entertainment
‘Why P-Square Was Disbanded’
P-Square, made up of identical twin brothers, Peter and Paul Okoye which later became a musical group to be reckoned with not only in Nigeria but internationally won the Benson & Hedges sponsored Golden Tunes Music Championship in 2001 which was subsequently followed by their debut album titled ‘senorifa’ in 2003 has been disbanded.
Their first major hit album ‘Get Squared’ was released in 2005 and the rest became history as P-square became a big brand in the continent. This was followed by other successful albums like Game Over, Danger Evation and Double Trouble.
Since Paul began to sing, the rivalry between him and his twin brother, Peter started, thereby raising a guestion as, who is more relevant? The battle for supremacy started heating up on many occasions. It was their late mother, Mrs Josephine Okoye who had been using her influence to ensure that there is always peace. Her death was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, as she was the only one the boys could listen to, not even their father who was not close to them until a few months to his death.
Little wonder many influential Nigerians including the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote tried to settle their current rift but all to no avail.
Meanwhile, Peter and Jude had always not been close because the later will always support Paul against his twin brother whenever any problem regarding their career and project was on the table. This has over the years made Peter’s opinion irrelevant and he had been nursing grudges over the years. By extension Lola is not also on Jude’s good record, but this has nothing to do with the P-Square rift.
“This is how the whole problem started,” our source said. “Peter through the assistance of El haji Diouf (former Senegal and Liverpool attacker) secured a royalty deal with a company in France. When he was processing it, Jude and Paul never believed in it, but within a few weeks, three of them received the royalty payment in their different bank accounts, it was paid in dollars”.
“The terms of the royalty states that they would be getting the payment every quarter. That was the beginning of the face off,” the source revealed. It was however gathered that when Paul realised how lucrative the royalty was, he suggested that being the writer and singer of all P-Square’s songs, he deserves to be getting the lion share of the largesse.
But Peter disagreed, insisting that Jude’s share should rather be slashed. Jude said over his dead body. That was how the first fight broke out three years ago.
However, there were many efforts to reconcile them, but Peter who started the outburst in the social media insisted that the only condition for peace is that henceforth, every P-Square song and album will be recorded by him and Paul on 50-50 basis. Paul and Jude reluctantly agreed after much persuasion “That was why they both have equal songs on the ‘Double Trouble’ album unlike before when it was only Paul that records all their songs,” our source said.
Paul and Jude attributed the little success recorded by the Double Trouble album to the wack songs done by Peter. They therefore reiterated that henceforth, the status quo should remain. Paul is expected to continue writing and singing all the songs, while Peter leads the choreography. That was the beginning of a fresh trouble.
There are also reports that Peter Okoye’s wife, Lola contributed to the breakup of P-Square. According to an inside source, Lola Okoye wanted P-Square to be more business oriented. She has been in the eye of the storm ever since the P-Square drama started in 2014. There had been a lot of rumours about her role in the three year drama that took down P-Square.
A source close to P-Square who disclosed this recently revealed the role Lola played in the whole drama. Lola has always wanted to push the P-Square brand forward to make it even bigger with her experience in corporate Nigeria. She wanted to bring a more professional way of doing business to the group.
Peter Okoye was keen on moving P-Square forward and took his wife’s ideas. Peter felt that Jude Okoye’s managerial style was not professional enough and the business lacked structure. P-Square which happens to be one of the biggest groups in Africa never had a business office in all its years of doing business.
“Four years ago, I told Jude that he needs to step down as our manager because I didn’t want to disrespect him as a brother, but this is business, we have to structure it,” Peter Okoye told NET in an exclusive interview in 2016. “The name P-Square is very big outside but inside we have no structure”, he further said.
He said he brought his ideas to Paul and Jude, but they shut it down. Paul and Jude Okoye preferred the old style of handling things. It has always worked for them and they were not ready to change the formular. This led to a tussle between both camps (Peter/Lola on one side and Paul and Jude on the other).
Another insider close to the brothers revealed that Lola Okoye helped Peter Okoye snag several endorsement ideas. This is what she wanted to bring to the group a more celeb-focused way of doing business but Paul and Jude said no.
The fiction led to the eventual split of P-square, Peter Okoye wanted to progress, but Paul and Jude decided to keep on using the old formular. Throughout the whole drama, Lola Okoye has never reacted publicly or responded and she has not said anything about the rumours either.
According to our source, Paul and Jude Okoye has sworn to never go back to Peter Okoye to settle as a group.
Entertainment
“French Up Your Career” PH, 2025 :Consul General Of France Harps On Proficiency In French
The Consul, General of France in Nigeria, Laurent Favier has encouraged French Learners to improve their skills on the language, as there are lots of opportunities up for grabs on the job market with fluency in French Language, saying that there are many other career paths which are often less well known to learners of French.
Participants at the “French Up Your Career” event held in Port Harcourt.
Favier who disclosed this during the just concluded third edition of the seminar tagged “French Up Your Career” organized by Alliance
Française, Port Harcourt explained that learning French doesn’t mean adding a language to your resume. It rather provides learners with new opportunities. Irrespective of their area of interest, be it diplomatic and International relations, international development, translation and Interpretation or journalism.
According to the Consul General, it was important to create awareness for young Nigerians in Port Harcourt who desire to have better understanding of how been fluent in French can create diverse career opportunities for users of the languages in Nigeria and the world at large, emphasizing that proficiency in French could possibly make learner a bridge between Nigeria and fast-developing regions.
“You previously heard this morning about how you can improve your French skills. This afternoon you will discover how being fluent in French can provide a significant edge on the job market and lead to professional careers that you may not have even considered before,”
“This event comes at the right time, as it launches the celebration of the richness and diversity of French-speaking cultures, which will mobilize us for more than a month throughout Nigeria and alongside other French-speaking countries,” Favier added.
He further highlighted that French is spoken by over 300 million people across the world, saying that, it’s one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union, and the African Union.
“There are many neighbouring African countries to Nigeria ,who have French as one of their primary languages of communication including Cameroon, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So, what does this mean for you as students here in Nigeria?” He asked
“These sectors in which the French Embassy is often mobilized are the business and marketing field for example, as French is often the preferred language in many multinational companies, particularly those in the energy, oil and telecommunications sectors. I’m thinking as well in technology and IT,” he said
He noted that French-speaking countries in Africa are investing heavily in tech, innovation, and infrastructure, revealing that companies in Tech are looking for bilingual professionals to assist with software localization, customer support, and managing projects in French-speaking regions.
“The French embassy is not only mobilized to help learners discover promising sectors. We are also providing our support and expertise in
training teachers and optimizing university programs,” he summed up
Also, the linguistics cooperation attaché, French Embassy in Nigeria, Magaly Losange, who also gave a lecture at the seminar, in an interview with Newsmen said that the main purpose of the seminar was to be more informative and supportive to those who want to make a skill out of French Language,saying that as the linguistics cooperation attaché of the French Embassy it is her duty to promote French language through culture.
She cited traditional stereotypes as a major challenge affecting the growth and development of French in Nigeria, as school, teachers at the primary and secondary level in most cases teach French using the traditional way, where students learn French, but could not put words and grammar together as a skill for communicate.
“French is important. I don’t see French as colonization, l see French as a key to embrace globalization, l hope that learners will be inspired and ready to embrace the global village,” Losange said.
She however said that the French Embassy is working to ensure that equipments to facilitate the learning of French is put in place to enable learners improve their skills fast, which in two to three years learners should be able to communicate with French, advising learners to be intentional with learning the language, through social media and other workable devices to advance their skills for certification and better opportunities.
Highlight of the event which had about 250 participants in attendance was the eloquence award ceremony where students were awarded for their eloquence in French language by the Director, Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs.Marina Lacal alongside the Linguistics cooperation attaché of the French Embassy in Nigeria, Magaly Losange.
After two edition of the seminar it was the turn of the Alliance Française, Port Harcourt to host the Third edition.
It would be recalled that the first edition of ” “French Up Your Career” event was organized at the Alliance Française Lagos on October 23, the second one at UNILAG on November 24, 2024 respectfully.
Popular Nigerian comedienne, Tomama has revealed how she waited for Afrobeats superstar, Wizkid outside the bathroom.
She shared this while recounting her encounter with the singer at a recent event with heavy security.
In a video posted on her Instagram page, Tomama explained that she waited by the bathroom in an attempt to have a one-on-one conversation with Wizkid.
She stated that she positioned herself near the restroom, hoping Wizkid would eventually use it, giving her the perfect opportunity to speak with him.
“Wizkid, I saw you, and I waited for you to pee, but you didn’t even stand up from where you were sitting. You just stayed there. All your crew members standing around got up to go pee. I was standing by the bathroom, waiting for you to come pee so that you would notice me,” she said.
Content creator and actor, Mr Macaroni has opened up about his financial struggles, saying he was both a victim of a scam and a failed investment in 2021.
He revealed that after losing all his savings, he resorted to borrowing to settle pending commitments and slipped into N500 million in debt.
He admitted that he is financially reckless and generous, impacting his financial stability negatively.
In lengthy post shared via his X handle yesterday, Mr Macaroni wrote, “Sometime around 2020/2022, I was a victim of a scam and simultaneously a failed investment that cost me all I had saved at the time. It shook me deeply but I told no one about it. If you know me well enough, you would know I do not like to share my problems. I could be going through the worst and at the same time helping others solve their own problems but I just would never share mine.”
“After I lost all the money I had then, Trouble started when I had to borrow money from different sources to settle all pending commitments and also fulfill certain responsibilities I have always believed were mine to fulfill. I make money in millions so I never thought borrowing money to pay back with interest could ever be a problem. But I got too comfortable and it took me a long time to realise that I was using the money I was earning to pay back interests. Also, my financial recklessness did not help. Please don’t borrow money! But if you must, please be responsible.”
The actor stated that 2024 marked a pivotal moment in his acting career but it was also the most challenging year for him as he faced over half a billion naira in debt.
Mr Macaroni revealed that his frustration grew worse after he was betrayed by someone he considered “a friend and sister.”
He added that with the support of family and friends who stood by him during his trying times, he now “feels better than I have felt in the last three years!”
The comedian stated that he decided to finally share his story to encourage others who are going through challenges.