“Okafor’s Law” Theft Allegations: 3 Things Omoni Oboli Needs To Do Right Now

The cancellation of the premiere of Omoni Oboli‘s Okafor’s Law is the hottest Nollywood gist at the moment. It is unprecedented and, whatever the outcome of the ensuing legal tussle, this moment may change Nollywood forever as allegations of intellectual property theft are rife in the industry.

So, what should the person in the middle of this storm do right now?

Here are our suggestions:

1. FIGHT! FIGHT!! FIGHT!!! – If the allegations made by Jude Idada and Raconteur Productions are false, Omoni Oboli should fight them all with everything she’s got. Unconfirmed but persistent rumours say Omoni had some influence with the Goodluck Jonathan government. This is the time to use influence. Buhari may be in power right now but Okafor’s Law can have a government translation: Once you know someone in government, you always know someone in government. Omoni should fight and fight dirty, make sure that Jude and the person/people behind these bastardly allegations never work again in Nollywood. In fact, if she can, she should go as far as banishing them from any film related matter, in this life and the next.
2. BEG! BEG!! BEG!!! – If by any chance these allegations are actually true, Omoni should bake a large size humble pie, sit by herself and eat it all. It won’t be sumptuous but it will taste way better than the humiliation that will certainly follow a conviction at the courts. There’s pride at stake here, obviously, and Omoni has done a yeowoman’s job over the past 5 years to get to where she is today. Sadly, all that is inconsequential at this moment. If it is true that she owns not part of Okafor’s Law story beyond the title, she grovel at the feet of the true owners and beg unashamedly. She shouldn’t stop there: She should gather the family members of all concerned and implore them to beg Jude and everyone else. Pride should have its place but it should be nowhere near a court of law.
3. TALK! – Silence may be golden but truth is worth its weight in diamonds. To keep quiet about an allegation as weighty as intellectual property theft is a PR move up to a point. It becomes problematic if allegations do not fizzle out. This whole mess has come about because a PR move went on for too long without someone reaching out to aggrieved parties, rightly or otherwise. Whatever the final outcome of this mess – and it is a big mess, Omoni will have to tell her side of the story. The earlier the better.