SHE wrote me a stinker, saying it was her way of getting it off her heart. But the hatred for my gut tells it all. I could ‘hear’ it in her ‘voice’. I am more worried because she claimed to be an American. I’d thought sentiment, in its crude form, was a developing world preserve. But as a Nigeria-born that she is, I am worried still that some seasons of winter that may have led to her second citizenship could not freeze such default mawkishness in her head into reset mode.
Her words: “God has given you such a great gift with words but you seem to use it for negativity…or for fear of sounding like you (use it for EVIL)….I didn’t know about your writing until recently then I decided to look for more just to see if you are unbiased and approach your opinions from practical and realistic angles but to my dismay, I noticed you have one tone which is to always break things down from a negative perspective. Amidst all the great news and positivity there is always your voice of opposition, full of spite, resentment and extreme revolt. This leads me to believe that your gift with words is from a highly deviant perspective and not such a gift after all.
Unfortunately, I am not a psychologist to diagnose you with any emotional, personality or mental disorder but I definitely feel you need to be evaluated because your perspective is definitely warped. When the world sees blue, you see red. As an American, I believe we have the right to exercise freedom of speech so you are welcome to your opinions however f…d up. As a Nigerian, it would be great if you don’t single-handedly take down the few good that comes out of the country or that is recognized, all in an effort to maintain the tarnished image the country bears in so many regards or your narcissistic case just to satisfy your mental perversion.”
The above was at the instance of my perceived negative review of ‘Royal Hibiscus Hotel’, produced by Mo Abudu. I got to know this after researching her and finding out she was one of the promoters of Mo Abudu’s works.
When, by accident, I found myself among the A-list guests at the premiere of Mo Abudu’s most recent film, ‘Chief Daddy’, I decided to wait to see how others will perceive the film, without necessarily influencing their thoughts.
Now, I can confirm to myself that I am not a pervert, as described by my assailant in the above Facebook message. And if it takes the owners and promoters of ‘Chief Daddy’, mostly, to score the film high, then the many Nigerians, home and abroad and Africans in Diaspora who have criticised the film for stereotype, weak plot, overcasting and cheap comedy will need to join me in seeing a psychologist to diagnose us with any ’emotional, personality or mental disorder’ as claimed in that Facebook attack.
We live in a sentimental society that leaves little or no room for criticism. But I dare say that if we shy away from telling ourselves the home truth, outsiders will someday say it to us in the most embarrassing manner.
This is exactly the bashing ‘Chief Daddy’ is now receiving, after it was released on Netflix, the battalion of actors which is one of the selling points, notwithstanding.
I have been maligned, insulted, ostracized and recently, escaped an attack for what I suspect is related to expressing my thoughts as a journalist. But it is my hope that someday, criticism will be taken, not only in good faith (usually resign to fate) but also seen as a necessary check and balance measure for business development.
I shy away from making friends in the entertainment industry to enable me do my work without fear or favour, because I understand that treachery is dining with someone the previous night and knocking them hard in the morning.
My claims to what a ‘good’ film is have often been punctured by the commercial success of the films under review, forgetting that there is a word called classic, and this word is in the family of standard, model and everything good and definitive.
Those who think that Nigerians are all for cheap comedy will soon come to the realization that, fad are short-lived. And whereas a houseful of A-list stars may have done the magic before, it will not only become boredom, but dim the gleam of the stars with passing time.
Whereas nothing is wrong with comedy, as the Nigerian audience we choose not to ‘school’ but to ‘spoon-feed’ are crazy about foreign dramas, I like to wrap this up with a quote from a friend who says: “Hollywood comedy is always about the witty lines. Nollywood comedy, we always want act funny.”