On Sunday afternoon, Nigerian star Omah Lay shared pictures that celebrated the successful event he had just had in Kampala, Uganda.
The photos of the show quickly went viral on several social media platforms as Ugandans wondered how this concert had been allowed to take place. Uganda is currently observing novel Coronavirus restrictions, among which prohibit the gathering of people at public events like concerts to limit the spread of the disease.
Among the public personalities that questioned the Omah Lay concert was musician Cindy Sanyu. Sanyu recorded a video in her car while driving that wondered how a foreign musician could be allowed to helm a concert in Uganda. Angry that while Ugandan musicians starve due to the restrictions, Lay had been allowed to entertain his audience, she called him an outright idiot.
https://twitter.com/The_Kampala_Sun/status/1338148313963479041?s=20
A section of Ugandan fans ganged up against her for calling Omah Lay, a 23-year-old who in their opinion is musically far better than her. I watched this drama and I couldn’t believe that these are the same fans we anticipate to uplift our industry.
Hell no, what happened to being patriotic and supporting our own?
If Omah Lay is a big brand like they claimed, how did his ‘professional’ management team fail to make enough research to learn that the country their artiste is heading to has COVID-19 restrictions that bar such events?
C’mon.
I would hazard to even say Omah Lay and his team knew they were going to flout COVID-19 restrictions in Uganda but did not care. They expected to get away with it. Fortunately, they have not and ended up in the middle of what seems like it will be a diplomatic standoff.
The event's fallout has exposed the double standards that determine life for Ugandans. But they have also exposed the immaturity of Omah Lay's management that decided to risk his brand for a quick buck. And for me, that’s enough to brand them ‘idiots’.
So stop bashing our own, in-fact release Omah Lay and arrest yourself.
