Photograph — elitism6.com

Over the weekend, both Nigeria’s social and traditional media were abuzz with the news of a leaked sex tape involving now dethroned 20-year-old pageant queen, Miss Chidinma Okeke. The video contained “sordid” scenes of Miss Okeke and her lover, a girl yet to be identified, engaging in oral sex, and stroking each other’s genitalia with a cucumber. As expected, it resulted in a backlash for several obvious reasons:

  • It is a sex tape
  • It is a sex tape involving two females
  • We live in a deeply hypocritical and judgemental society

It is true that sex is a taboo subject the world over, however, while certain cultures and societies are evolving with the sort of conversation they are having around this “taboo”, others like Nigeria lag behind. We are constantly shying away from meaningful conversations around issues that are considered unorthodox so that when a sex tape emerges under questionable circumstances, everyone dons a sanctimonious robe, swiftly proceeding to lambaste the affected subject(s) without asking key questions.

Surely, all of Miss Okeke’s critics and bashers have always only led saintly lives. No?

Miss Okeke’s now infamous sex tape was released shortly after she was stripped of her title as Miss Anambra 2015. The young lady braved calling for a press conference to address the underlying issue(s) behind her dethronement, but it never happened as her life was threatened in the event that she tries to expose the mastermind behind her ordeal.

“The moment I made public this intention to speak with journalists, I was under siege of threats by my blackmailers and traducers. They are seriously threatening to shoot me at the press conference if I ever open my mouth to say the real truth about the ugly episode,” she said in a Facebook post. Adding that she has no security and that if she dies, she dies with the truth.

The poor girl must be oblivious of the kind of society she lives in, talking about death threats and security, when Nigerians are already asking for her head on a stake, calling for her to be arrested and prosecuted for engaging in lesbianism. As a matter of fact, if the comments made by Nigerians in reaction to the sex tape are anything to go by, Miss Okeke is more likely to be lynched on the street by a righteous mob should she dare step out in the open and be recognized.

The former beauty queen has been called an animal and labeled crazy, greedy, possessed (my favorite), and a disgrace by a society that ought to help and protect her. You ask why? I say why not? The deed is done, what’s the way forward? Several media agencies have reported that the emergence of the tape is as a result of a deal gone sour. Allegedly, she made a deal with the devil, aka “Chief”, and when she could no longer uphold her side of the bargain, Chief unleashed his wrath on her.

Who is “Chief”? Clearly, he is some wealthy and influential figure since he is powerful enough to frighten the organizers of the pageant, Anambra Broadcasting Service, a state-owned media so that they quickly denounce and dissociate themselves from Miss Okeke just before the sex tape is leaked. According to the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), questions that should agitate Nigerians are; “Who recorded and leaked the video? What was the motive for recording? Who commissioned the recording? Was it a precondition to Miss Okeke’s victory in the pageant?

The CLO has also asked the pageant organizers to reveal what they know about the scandal and to say why they dethroned Miss Okeke in a haste, withdrew her prized car, and issued a statement absolving them from the circulation of the video when she threatened to come out with the truth. It’s quite upsetting and disheartening that very few people are asking the right questions, and or paying mind to the powerful force(s) at play in this case.

The controversy surrounding Miss Okeke recalls a similar scenario of shallow social media conversations and widespread criticism when Lotanna Igwe Odunze, aka Sugabelly, came forward with allegations of rape almost the same time last year. Why is no one concerned or curious about what Miss Okeke has to say? Instead, the public has bitten the bait, crucifying the victim while the principal culprit roams free looking for his next “target investment” in young teenage girls to exploit.

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