President Muhammadu
Buhari’s Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmed, and Alder Consulting, a
Nigerian business and marketing consulting firm, came under fire on Wednesday
after both announced their withdrawal from a social media conference due to its
inclusion of Idris Okuneye, more popularly known as Bobrisky.
The New Media Citizens
and Governance Conference, organized by
Enough is Enough Nigeria, began on Wednesday in Abuja. According to the
conference website, Bobrisky, who rose to fame in Nigeria from his viral and
unusual use of Snapchat, is slated to speak on a Thursday session titled
Engagement Unusual: Unconventional Uses of New Media.
Upon learning that
Bobrisky, a flamboyant social media personality popularly known as “Africa’s
First Male Barbie” , was invited to speak at the conference, a Twitter user
implored the president’s aide to withdraw from the conference.
“I couldn’t picture you
on the same panel with that idiot Bobrisky. Please don’t attend this
conference,” he tweeted to Mr. Ahmad, to which he replied, “Okay, I will do
that for you, NVM [never mind].” Ahmed shortly thereafter released a statement
on his Twitter page formally announcing his withdrawal from the conference
without giving reason for doing so.
Subomi Plumptre, a
member of Alder Consulting’s Executive Committee, and social media influencer
soon followed suit and refused to attend the conference. The consulting group
released a statement explaining that the company had not been informed that
Bobrisky would be included on the panel and formally withdrew from the
conference.
According to a
statement from Alder Consulting, Bobrisky’s presence would “sensationalize” and
“radicalize” the event, which should “otherwise be a serious discourse on new approaches
to media engagement.”
Why is Bobrisky Causing
Such Uproar?
The sudden withdrawal
of prominent panelists and the outrage expressed by many people on Twitter at
Bobrisky’s presence at the conference is indicative of Nigeria’s sentiment
towards homosexuality.
In 2014, former
President Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill into law that prohibits same-sex
marriage, civil unions and imposes prison sentences of up to 10 years for
anyone who makes homosexuality public. This controversial law has been under
scrutiny by Amnesty International, the United States Government and many other
human rights organizations.
In interviews, Bobrisky
has neither identified as gay or straight and fans continue to speculate at his
sexual orientation. The fact that he is called “Africa’s Male Barbie,” wears
makeup, dresses in women’s clothes and has a ‘bae’ has caused a social uproar
and viral success on Snapchat. Regardless of his sexual orientation, Bobrinsky
certainly lives up to the title of his conference session and has something to say
about using unusual ways to engage fans on social media. Once again, Nigeria
further demonstrates its intolerance towards homosexual behavior of any kind.
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