Psquare’s trouble: Why Peter Okoye may be hell-bent on sacking their brother

With TOFARATI IGE

A social media storm was kicked up when one-half of one of Africa’s finest pop duo, P-Square, Peter Okoye, recently took to his Twitter page to announce that their elder brother, Jude, has been sacked as the group’s manager.

Genesis

One of Peter’s tweets read,‘Pls whoso ever makes any transaction with Northside Entertainment or Jude Okoye on Psquare’s behalf does so at his or her own risk. #warning.’ He went on to rant that he had wanted Jude out of the picture as far back as 2013, but Paul insisted on having him continue as their manager.

For discerning observers, they would know that the trouble in the P-Square family didn’t start today. Tongues had started wagging some years ago when Peter began to make moves which indicated that he wanted to stand on his own. First, he got a solo brand ambassador deal with Olympic Milk. This was followed by his own reality show, ‘Glo Dance With Peter.’

However, the story didn’t start there. Insiders allege that Peter’s grouse stemmed from the fact that Jude insulted his wife, Lola Omotayo, and was against their marriage from the start.

This was said not to go down well with Peter who has since been looking for a way to get his own pound of flesh. It should be recalled that he didn’t attend Jude’s wedding, though Jude didn’t also attend the nuptials between him and Lola.

While the wedding was going on, Peter was busy uploading pictures on social media. He had said at the time that his immediate family consisting of his wife and kids was more important to him than his siblings. He tweeted, ‘People talking s**t about blood” which blood is thicker than the 1 of my children?  #mufus… #mufus  talking about family! My number 1 family for now is the 1 I built. And nobody can change dat.  #amout.’

This was months after the group was alleged to have broken up.

The Cynthia Morgan Connection

Jude Okoye’s Northside Entertainment artiste,  Cynthia Morgan has also been unwittingly dragged into the drama. Among his series of tweets during the week, Peter had alleged that Jude snatched Cynthia from his grasp before he could sign her to Square Records. Peter’s tweets read,‘Was in the studio with @cynthiamorgan1 working with her and u told her to excuse us… You then said you heard I wanted to sign her. And then ask what will pple be looking at Jude as if I sign an artiste… 3day later @cynthiamorgan1returned my contract and said jude said me trying to sign her on a different label is becoming a problem… But after 2 weeks she signed with Jude…. My brother think am…But let’s not go deep…. I still stand my ground. He is fired.’ In the heat of the recent fall-out among the brothers, there was a sneak of a rumour that Cynthia Morgan had got pregnant for Jude. It was indeed whispered that it was Jude’s getting the dancehall queen pregnant that got Peter incensed with anger, prompting him to want him out as their manager.

But Cynthia in a tweet hours ago has put paid to the rumour, stating that what has ever existed between her and Jude is purely professional

Paul’s Stand

Paul Okoye has however chosen to stand with Jude. He uploaded a picture of himself with Jude on his Instgram page, deleting Peter from it, and replacing him with a studio. He added the caption, ‘This is where I belong and this is where I stand…you do music in the studio, not on social media, you have family issues, you discuss that in close doors, not on social media…Family is family, blood is blood…If you don’t do family business, then who am I to you?’

Paul has also been making moves outside P-Square. He was recently unveiled as a brand ambassador for the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative  (NURHI)   alongside Tiwa Savage, Mike Ezuruonye, among others. This is even as he has launched his own Rude Boy Records, and signed an artiste, Muno.

Imminent break-up?

With the ongoing drama in the Okoye family, it is all too apparent that the story isn’t over yet. More credence has also been lent to the feelings in some quarters that the group may still ultimately break up.

Even though Peter has apologized for his latest rant, it is believed that he only did it to calm frayed nerves, and not because he has really forgiven Jude. He wrote, ‘I am not perfect, I make mistakes, and it hurts people. But when I say sorry I mean it. I am so SORRY for my actions. I sincerely apologize.’

While time may provide the ultimate answer, the actions of the people in the eye of the storm point to the fact that the centre is uneasy and may no longer hold.