Nollywood actress Iyabo Ojo has apologised to the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) over her outburst on social media
It was earlier reported that the association had suspended Blessing and another actor, Kehinde Adams, aka Lege, for fighting dirty on social media over the arrest of their embattled colleague, Olanrewaju Omiyinka, popularly known as Baba Ijesha.
Ojo on her part had berated some actors for keeping mute about the case.
The two actresses have been vocal and clashed with some members of the association who kicked against them for condemning Baba Ijesha on social media.
TAMPAN’s action has since elicited a wave of reactions from entertainers and the general public, after it promised to “work against” their colleagues.
The Nation reports Baba Ijesha was arrested and detained by the Lagos state police after he was alleged to have sexually molested a minor.
He has however been released on bail.
Ojo, who shared a 10-minute virtual interview between an American-based blogger, Esther Aboderin and TAMPAN president Bolaji Amusan on her Instagram page, apologised to the movie industry ‘elders’ for upsetting them.
She wrote: “First and foremost I want to appreciate God almighty, all merciful, I love you Lord and I thank you for your constant protection, provision and guidance over me and my family. I’m forever grateful.
“I will also want to use this opportunity to say a very BIG thank you to all my darling fans and loved ones for your constant love and support. Honestly, I’m so overwhelmed and humbled; I will never take it for granted
“To an able and ever humble president of Tampan, thank you very much sir.
“Our big daddies @adebayo.salami @princejidekosoko @realyinkaquadri on behalf of @nkechiblessingsunday my darling aburo and my humble self, we apologise to you all.
“We are sorry for getting you upset, you’re our elders and leaders, we respect you, we’re humbled before you, we will forever appreciate you and honour you. It’s all Peace and Love.”
Jide Kosoko had clarified his statement where he vowed to deal with Ojo and Blessing by ‘working against’ them.
He said: “On my outburst about frustrating Nkechi out of the industry, it depends on the way you are thinking. Like many of you said, I am not God. I have no power whatsoever to frustrate anybody out of anywhere. What I said was an attempt to soften Iyabo Ojo and Nkechi Blessing because I consider them as children.
“If for any reason you offend your father and he says ‘I will slap you and you will not use that eyes to see anything again’, are you saying that your father is willing to make you go blind? That is not correct.
“I also went ahead to say that they are our children. I believe we contributed to their success and it would be stupid of us to bring them down. What we are saying is just to soften them from continuously using derogatory statements against TAMPPAN and the Yoruba film industry.
“First and foremost, I want you to know and go and check all the presentations; the meeting was not about supporting Baba Ijesha. I personally condemn any act of rape and I also pleaded that the law should be allowed to take its course. That is all I have said.
“The Yorubas say that a guilty person will never go unpunished. Also, an innocent person should not be treated as a guilty one. That is my belief. We mentioned at the conference that we frown at any act of rape.
“Having said that, the conference is not about Baba Ijesha. The conference was not against Iyabo Ojo’s stance fighting for the minor. There was no time we said what Iyabo Ojo is doing about fighting for the girl is wrong; we never said so. Please, do not get us wrong. What we are saying is this; that Iyabo Ojo should desist from mentioning TAMPAN and Yoruba film industry in a derogatory way.
“Baba Ijesha is a colleague in the Yoruba movie industry, but you cannot because of one person condemn the entire association or condemn the entire industry. That is what we want to correct and that is why we gave the warning that enough is enough.”
-Thenation
