I believe that in the next 10 years or more, social media addiction or excessive usage could be listed among mental illnesses, just like gambling was. Most antics on social media today are about rage-bait — people want to attract the most attention from their communities and the public at large. The fact that social media platforms now pay users who generate massive traffic has made things worse. Everybody is now a content creator. Even some of our grandparents are picking up cameras to dance and post for views. The gratification involved encourages the madness we see today. If money is coming in, shamelessness feels justified.
Four people need to take a back seat on social media for a while: Seun Kuti, Kemi Olunloyo, Doris Ogala, and Daddy Freeze. These individuals are influential people, but you can tell they are doing too much. Particularly, Nollywood actress Doris Ogala and Kemi Olunloyo seem to need help. When I see their content, I feel for their family members. It may be entertaining to watch a mentally challenged woman dance in a market if she is not your family member.
Seun Kuti has been talking too much on social media in the name of activism. He ruthlessly comes for everybody in a brash manner. His words are like arrows, and they are sometimes justified. But like most constant talkers, he often goes overboard out of desperation to beat his previous post views. People want to set records and dominate the media space. Seun needlessly referenced the General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, and the video went viral. He was applauded as a fearless warrior unafraid of confrontation.
Seun, 43, has also been going after Wizkid FC — a faceless group of fans supporting the popular singer Wizkid. A group that could easily be ignored, but Seun relished the sparring sessions on social media. Indirectly, he was creating content and keeping his name in circulation. That is the aim of most celebrities who leak lewd content to trend online and later deny it. Seun was rubbishing Wizkid, and he knew it. He went too far when he made a video claiming Wizkid didn’t care about Wizkid FC, adding that if Wizkid truly cared, he would have come to their rescue. He even said he would fight dirty if someone who mattered to him was being ridiculed. Meanwhile, Wizkid watched from a distance, probably with long wraps of Indian hemp in both hands.
Then one day, Wizkid decided enough was enough. He came for Seun directly. He hit below the belt by calling him a beggar who wanted a gift from him, like the one he got from Burna Boy. He insulted his wife, calling her ‘uguly’ and ultimately said he was bigger than Seun’s father, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. I believe Wizkid didn’t truly mean that. He tattooed Fela’s face on his forearm and has always idolised the widely acknowledged founder of Afrobeats. But he needed to hurt Seun, and it worked. The usually shirtless Seun screamed across social media.
Social media users immediately missed the point. They focused on who was greater between Fela and Wizkid. It was no longer about the beef. If Seun had shown maturity, his father’s name would not have been dragged into it. Wizkid’s younger fans know little about Fela. They don’t care about history — the present is what matters to them, and that is where Wizkid lives. The argument will never end. Only older audiences defended Fela meaningfully and factually; the rest were just making noise.
Seun is not Fela’s only son. Femi Kuti is also there — an honourable man who conducts himself well and speaks brilliantly on national issues. If Seun had ignored a faceless group online, mutual respect between him and Wizkid would have been preserved. Seun’s social media activism is even more interesting when you consider that he once slapped a policeman in Lagos and escaped punishment. If he had done that abroad, he would have faced serious consequences behind bars. That is non-negotiable.
I hope Seun learns from this and thinks twice before posting on social media. Nowadays, madness is free — but some people cure madness with madness. You don’t always have to learn the hard way.
