Veteran Nigerian actor and comedian, Akunyota Akpobome, aka, Alibaba, has lamented the increase in moral decadence among young artistes in the country.
His comments came amid growing public outrage over the allegations of abuse suffered by the late 27-year-old singer Ilerioluwa Olademeji, also known as Mohbad, until his demise on September 12.
While speaking with Channels Television on the topic “young people and peer pressure,” Alibaba said that artistes no longer care about the values and virtues they have been brought up with, saying that their sole focus is on becoming famous at all costs.
According to him, young artistes must first and foremost find their purpose and religiously hold onto it regardless of anything.
Alibaba said: “For me, there are some things that you would not want to do, and you must stick with it. It is the same thing with some of these artists — some of them do rituals now.
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“As an artiste, you must define your purpose, you must hold on to some strong values you’ve been brought up with.
“If you are someone who is in a position with your creative abilities, you don’t need that kind of pressure. You don’t need somebody making you sign or take an oath for you to be creative.”
According to the performer, there is a strong desire to become well-known and successful that is displacing some artistes core principles, and “this is where peer pressure sets in”.
“People just want to blow; they want to be seen, they want to be heard, they want to make money, they want to belong. And because of that, they step back from the values they have been brought up with and do what they shouldn’t do,” he added.