Singer and activist, Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, has finally reacted to accusations by some of his former partners of compromising and collecting bribes from politicians.
In a chat with Sunday Scoop, the Area Fada, as he is popularly called, denied the allegations and spoke about some of the lessons he learnt during that saga. He said,
“It’s not anything beyond the lessons I have learnt about life. It is ripe fruits that people throw stones at and try to get off the tree. When you are fighting people’s wars, the people you are fighting for can sometimes turn against you.
As an activist, you pick up all kinds of people, including those who you don’t know their pedigree because certain things have to be done and you need numbers.
You may have to work with strange bedfellows who may not necessarily share your ideas and vision. And in Nigeria, there are a lot of fake people. I have been called several names including a homosexual and cultist; but those things don’t move me.
My middle name is ‘controversy’ and when people do certain things thinking it would hurt me, I use those things as stepping stones to rise higher. If I didn’t collect money from any politician in years past, is it now in my old age that I would start doing that?
Anybody who offers me a bribe must be a fool because I don’t trust my mouth to keep quiet. It is only idiots that would believe and spread such stories. I have nine children and my first son (who is 49) is an associate professor. I also have 16 grandchildren.
“I have learnt that Nigerians are not really ready for a change. We have a government that is insensitive to the needs of the people, and that is why a lot of young people are committing suicide these days because they cannot see hope anymore. And that is a tragedy
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
