Social Media has been buzzing about the (now infamous interview) granted by Nigerian entertainer, D'banj to Sahara Reporters. If for some reason you have been under a rock and are not aware, D'banj granted an interview to the notoriously hard-nosed website and as expected, he was shredded to pieces by  the interviewer who put him on the spot by asking laser-beam questions like; 'Did you collect money from President Jonathan Goodluck?, 'What was your take on 'Occupy Nigeria & the Fuel Subsidy? etc. Questions that given D'banj's actions at that time, put him in a very uncomfortable position.

When I heard D'banj was on Sahara Reporters, my first thought was 'What in the world is he doing there?' Then my next thought was 'Gosh! He's very brave!'   Why? Because Sahara Reporters is not for the fainthearted! It's a hard-nosed, news website that covers serious political issues and aims at exposing corruption and corrupt leaders. They go where angels fear to tread and in my opinion an entertainer like D'banj has no business being on that site if he doesnt have anything interesting to say. My fears were confirmed when he was made to look like a blubbering fool...Very inarticulate and it seemed, without a grasp of  major issues taking place in Nigeria.

My take is that an artist of D'banj's calibre can not  afford to take such chances or make such mistakes. D'banj is a brand with a very large following, made more so by his signing and endorsement by Grammy award winning rapper/producer, Kanye West. He needs to be very careful to who he talks to and what message he sends across and how his image is presented in the Media. His PR people should have briefed him on Sahara Reporters and how he should have handled them. It is not every question the press ask you that you should answer. There is such an answer as 'No Comment'.  Even the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala when she recieved a call from them (Sahara Reporters) in the heat of the 'Occupy Nigeria' protests, immediately feigned bad telephone connection! Not that its a good thing but she knew she was not ready for their hard-hitting questions and so stylishly 'escaped' from having to answer!

Mind you, I am not saying D'banj should not be interviewed or be called out for his actions in the light of the 'Occupy Nigeria' protests but one thing we need to remember is that he is first and foremost an entertainer; a musician. He never said he was a politician, political office holder or a human rights activist so they really should not hold him accountable to problems going on in Nigeria!  In my opinion his PR handlers are due for an over-hauling. They should have known better than to send him to be slaughtered by that  agency.  A wise leader surrounds himself with people that are smarter than him so he can get good counsel at all times.  

D'banj is one of the few success stories that rose from the trenches in Nigeria and is well on his way to being an international star. It would be a shame to let bad PR be an impediment on his way.

The infamous interview below;

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