By Ghazali Ibrahim
Nigerian singer Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr P of the defunct music duo P-Square, has apologised for his controversial remarks about Nigerian languages while accusing his twin brother, Paul Okoye (Rudeboy), of using the backlash as another opportunity to attack him.
Mr P made the statement in a post shared on his social media pages after facing criticism over his recent statement “Who Naija language help?”
In the post, the singer admitted that his words may have offended some people and offered an apology, insisting he never intended to disrespect any Nigerian language or culture.
“If my response to ‘Who Naija language help?’ upset some people, I apologize and take full responsibility for my words. That doesn’t mean I hate Nigerian languages or our culture,” he wrote.
Explaining the context of the controversy, Mr P said it began after he made what he described as an innocent post revealing that his children speak French, joking that it made him consider buying a house in Paris.
According to him, the conversation was later twisted into claims that he had insulted the Igbo language.
He maintained that he never mentioned the Igbo language, saying his reference was to Nigerian languages generally.
“At no point did I say I hate the Igbo language or Igbo culture. I said ‘Naija language,’ referring to the different languages in Nigeria, but some individuals twisted it and made it seem like I specifically mentioned Igbo. I didn’t,” he stated.
Despite his clarification, Mr P said he accepted responsibility for how his comments were received.
The singer then turned his attention to Rudeboy, accusing his twin brother of repeatedly taking advantage of every controversy involving him.
Without mentioning Rudeboy by name, Mr P alleged that the singer had consistently tried to turn public opinion against him, recalling an open letter he wrote two years ago in which he raised similar concerns.
“But again, bro, you’re at it again, using this moment as another opportunity to pull me down. Just like I wrote in my open letter two years ago, doing everything possible to make people hate me will never work,” he wrote.
Mr P also accused his brother of previously mocking him for dancing at his age and said he was no longer willing to ignore what he described as repeated attacks.
“No more Mr. Nice Guy. It’s aura for aura, Egusi for Egusi, Oha for Oha,” he concluded.
The exchange is the latest public disagreement between the famous twin brothers, whose relationship has remained strained since the breakup of P-Square, with both artistes repeatedly taking subtle and direct jabs at each other on social media.
