“At no point did I say I hate Igbo language” — Peter Okoye apologises over native language saga

Peter Okoye, one half of the defunct music duo PSquare, has apologised following the backlash that trailed his recent comments about Nigerian languages.

The singer admitted that his response to the question, “Who Naija language help?” offended some people and said he accepts full responsibility for how his words were received.

However, he maintained that he never insulted the Igbo language or Nigerian culture.

Peter Okoye explains how the controversy started
In a statement shared on social media, Peter said the controversy began after he made what he described as an innocent post about his children speaking French.

According to him, the post made him joke that he should consider buying a house in Paris. He said the conversation later took a different direction from what he originally intended.

“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.

“It all started from an innocent tweet where I said my kids speak French, and it made me think maybe I should buy a house in Paris. Somehow, that turned into something completely different.”

Says he never mentioned the Igbo language

Peter insisted that he never criticised the Igbo language or culture, adding that his reference was to the many languages spoken across Nigeria.

“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 nevertheless acknowledged that he could have expressed himself better.

“That said, I still take responsibility for how my words were received.”

Peter accuses critic of trying to damage his reputation

Beyond addressing the language controversy, Peter also accused an unnamed individual of repeatedly taking advantage of situations to tarnish his image.

According to him, the person had been trying for years to turn public opinion against him.

“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 added that while he accepts criticism over his statement, he believes deliberately twisting his words to damage his reputation is unfair.

“Yes, people are dragging me over my statement, and that’s okay. We all have moments where our words can be misunderstood or where we could have expressed ourselves better. I accept that. But deliberately twisting my words and using petty tactics to damage my reputation says a lot.”

‘No more Mr. Nice Guy’

Peter further alleged that the same individual had previously mocked him, including making comments about his age and dancing.

“I don’t know why you look for every opportunity to make derisive comments or jump on the bandwagon whenever I’m being attacked. The other time, you threw shades at me and even age-shamed me for still dancing at my age. Now it’s this again.”

He concluded by saying he would no longer ignore such attacks.

“At this point, I think it’s only fair I start giving the same energy I receive. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

“It’s aura for aura, Egusi for Egusi, Oha for Oha.”

 

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