– Some believe the feud between the three brothers is a mere publicity stunt
What led to the fight?
For weeks, the Nigerian entertainment came to a ‘standstill’ as the Okoye brothers
(Peter, Paul and Jude) toggled back and forth on various issues relating to their personal relationships and sharing the profits of their music business among other things.
The rise of P-Square: awards, fortune and fame
The duo of Peter and Paul were the young men who started out in Jos with a group called Smooth Criminals (made up of M Clef, Michael, Melvin, Peter and Paul) and entertained guests with power dance-steps by mimicking American music legends.
This was as far back as 1997. In 1999 Peter and Paul were convinced enough that their hearts lay in the business of entertainment.
The twins enrolled in a music school in 1999 to broaden their horizons by learning to play musical instruments like drums, guitars and the keyboard.
Later in 1999 the group split, as all five band members had to chase greatness in other forms as they went to different universities.
With the brothers now alone and having just gained admission to the University of Abuja to study business administration, they adopted a new stage name – P-Square.
P-Square when the going was good
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By 2001, the fledgling group was on a path to further greatness after it won the Grab Da Mic competition, a feat that saw them clinch major support from Benson & Hedges for the recording, production and release of their first album ‘Last Nite’.
And in five years of their career, they have won multiple awards and established themselves as a major force to reckon with as far as music is concerned in Nigeria.
They are highly successful; perhaps one of the most successful groups in 21st century Nigerian music.
What exactly happened to their relationship?
They did ‘business’ together for years, decades maybe, and have been known to charge major bucks for performances, which, coupled with their outspoken personalities, is why the entertainment industry in Nigeria almost literally ‘paused in awe’ for a bit at their highly publicized disputes.
Attempts to go solo, social media frenzy and fans’ reactions
Okoye brothers end ‘feud’, and issue public apology
And so this discord lingered on for some time until they finally ‘came back again’ with a public apology.
What are the lessons?
Analyzing everything in retrospect, we will never know the exact cause of the situation between the brothers beyond the fragmented remarks we got from them and a few interviews here and there.
Also, we might never be able to ascertain how true the allegations between them were, but one thing is certain: the brothers were going through a lot which led to the fracas and the social media tussles.
That said, whether or not the brothers like it, the damage was done when they took their private matters out of the confines of privacy. But the Nigerian entertainment industry is such that a lot can be ignored and so before long many are sure to forget the messy details of the drama between Peter, Paul and Jude Okoye.
The Okoye brothers with Davido
In the heat of everything, the brothers went ahead with putting out solo records with Paul Okoye singing so emotionally and reaching out to their late parents in Call Heaven and Peter Okoye’s Look Into My Eyes – a song largely based on his resolve to do things his own way, to break from the norm.
As new details came to light on all their moves, the public separated into different camps as well, with each group pitching tent with Peter, Paul or Jude in the ensuing drama.
Peter was adamant and completely vocal about wanting Jude out of their business as manager for many perceived ill-treatments and unfairness in songs’ selection, among other things.
Paul stuck to his guns and insisted Jude was going nowhere
L-R: Paul Okoye and wife, Anita, Peter Okoye and wife, Lola
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On the flip side, critics can also argue in favour of them and say they created one ‘helluva’ PR stunt with their actions as they worked the media into a whirlwind for weeks.
It is fine. But seeing as there have been several fallouts between them, and given how much they ‘milked’ this last episode, anything else from them in form of a ‘beef’, be it real or not, will be deemed distasteful, because people are tired already.
Secondly, the brothers might have come back to working together, or so as it seems, but whatever they were involved in will never be forgotten because they were not shrewd enough to leave private matters off the internet. You see, the problem with the internet is that it is a bottomless pit where data will forever be sourced; details that none of the brothers will be proud of in a few years from now.
Finally, next time they have issues (which is inevitable among humans) it will be best for them to handle everything in a mature way as no one really cares about anyone’s profit-sharing formula and whatnot.
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