For Waka Queen, Salawa Abeni, this is indeed the pain that accompanies fame.
As she joined other Lagosians in observing the 14-day stay-at-home directive in order to stop the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, she got a surprise text message.
If she thought it was the popular ‘stay safe’ message, then she must be wrong. Whoever sent the message meant more harm than good.
Here is a screenshoot of their conversation:
“It was a blackmail text message and I was shocked. The sender, took time to get some old photos of mine and sent them to me. He threatened to post it on the Internet if I don’t cooperate,” she told Kemi Ashefon.
She then decided publishing the message and photos sent.Also taking to Instagram, Queen Salawa Abeni, who is now a grandmother, wrote
“Good morning my Family, friends and Fans. I have something very important to tell you and I will really appreciate your audience. I am very disappointed that someone somewhere will try to tarnish my image and threaten to destroy my career of over 45 years. This morning, I received messages from somebody threatening to expose very old pictures of me and in the process, blackmailing me for money. These could’ve been pictures of me in the hospital or even with my partner, but is this what has become of us?? I plead with everybody out there to be very careful as our current situation has made people very desperate. I am almost 60 years old, I have worked very hard and made a name for myself for somebody to believe that they can threaten and trample on my feelings, this is very sad. So I have decided to share the messages and pictures sent by this person with everyone for you all to see! Thank you and God bless you! For you the blackmailer, I refuse to be bullied by you as I’m sure that I’m old enough to be your MOTHER!!
Known as the Waka Queen, Salawa Abeni’s career as a teenage songstress shot her into limelight in 1976. Her name, Salawa Abeni became a household name in the South Western part of Nigeria. Her success grew and the name reverberated in other parts of the country. Then, she got married to Fuji musician, Alhaji Kollington Ayinla and the union produced children.
Her fame spread abroad and she embraced the klieglights from teenage years into adulthood.Still an active artiste who performs on stage and other social functions, she is not one to be pushed aside in the entertainment industry.