Veteran actress Rita Edochie recently shared her displeasure on Instagram about the rise of false death rumours concerning Nigerian celebrities.
Reflecting on her own experiences, the Nollywood veteran recalled similar falsehoods involving herself and Pete Edochie.
She mentioned a rumour that originated from her role in the film ‘Calabash,’ where her character’s death was wrongly interpreted as a real-life tragedy. Another rumor falsely suggested that Sir Pete had died while traveling abroad.
Edochie spoke out against these actions, calling them harmful and disrespectful. She urged those involved in this evil fake news to stop spreading false rumours. Nonetheless ,she acknowledged the good side of social media, but also mentioned its wrong use for unethical behaviour and emphasized the importance of being accountable in reportage.
In her words:
“IF ONE BLOGGER AND ONE HUNGRY SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATOR HASN’T BEEN MERCILESSLY DEALT WITH , THE REST WON’T LEARN .
THIS RUMOUR HAS COME UP BEFORE , A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO , IT CAME UP THE SECOND TIME ,
PICTURES OF MY GREAT SON AND VETERAN COLLEAGUE OSITA IHEME POPULARLY KNOWN AS PAW_ PAW TRENDED EVERYWHERE ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH CAPTIONS THAT THEY ARE DEAD NOT HIM , CRAZY NETIZENS BELIEVED THE FAKE GIST AND BEGAN COMMENTING RIP ON THEMSELVES .
I AS A PERSON , THINK THIS IS GRADUALLY GOING BEYOND CONTROL .
THIS IS NOT THE FIRST , NEITHER THE SECOND NOR THE THIRD , IT HAS BECOME A RECURRING MEDIA PRACTICE BY SO CALLED BLOGGERS AND CONTENT CREATORS , MY QUESTION IS THIS ,
WHY IN THE NAME OF GOD WOULD YOU WISH UNTIMELY DEATH ON SOMEONE ESPECIALLY THE NIGERIAN CELEBRITIES SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU FEEL WE ARE FAMOUS AND CAN FETCH YOU THE TRAFFIC , ENGAGEMENTS
AND FUNDS THAT YOU DON’T DESERVE?
I HAVE SAID IT BEFORE , AND I’M SAYING IT AGAIN , SOCIAL MEDIA HAS LITERALLY DONE MORE HARM THAN GOOD TO THE SOCIETY , YES IT HAS ALSO BEEN A CONSTANT SOURCE OF ENRICHING MOST NIGERIAN YOUTHS IN THE COUNTRY BUT THE ABUSE IS GETTING OUT OF HANDS .
OVER THE YEARS , IT’S BEEN ABOUT CHARACTER DEFAMATION JUST TO GENERATE TRAFFIC , NOW IT’S AS IF THE DEFAMATION THING IS BECOMING COMMON , YOU HAVE NOW SWITCHED TO SPREADING DEATH RUMOURS ON CELEBRITIES AND MAKING THE WORLD BELIEVE WHAT ISN’T TRUE .
MY GREAT HUSBAND AND I , SIR PETE EDOCHIE WERE ALSO VICTIMS OF THE HEART BREAKING RUMOR .
I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I SHOT THE MOVIE CALABASH , WHERE I PLAYED THE MOTHER OF INI EDO , MY CHARACTER DIED IN THAT MOVIE AND THE FLESH WAS MEANT TO BE DECOMPOSED , THESE BLOGGERS STARTED POSTING THAT THEY HAD AN ACCIDENT WITH THEIR ENTIRE FAMILY MEMBERS AND DIED , NOT ME .
THESE SET OF BLOGGERS ALSO SAID THAT SIR PETE TRAVELLED TO THE UNITED STATES THEN THEY , SLUMPED AND DIED NOT HIM .
THIS IS MADNESS , AND IT MUST HAVE TO STOP .
YOU DON’T HAVE TO GROW YOUR PAGES THROUGH DEATH WISHES ON INNOCENT HEADS , IF WE ALL DIE TODAY , AS CELEBRITIES , NA WHO UNA GO COME DEY WATCH?