Controversial social media activist Martin Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, has revealed that Nigeria’s entertainment industry thrives on controversy.
VeryDarkMan made this revelation while admitting that he fabricated the story of missing N180million from the account of his NGO.
In a posted onnInstagram on Tuesday, he claimed that controversy has become a necessary ingredient for success in the entertainment industry.
“Now, for musicians to blow, they will have to look for controversy, for movies to blow, they will look for controversy,” he stated. He also pointed to comedian AY using Yul Edochie’s wife for meet-and-greet promotions as an example, calling it “how bad the media is.”
VeryDarkMan addressed tweets and comments criticising his actions, reading one from a user who claimed he presented a taxi driver as a police officer. Refuting this, he said, “I never said that guy was a police officer. Go back to my video. I said I’m traveling with Officer Sam. An officer can be Airforce, Navy, Civil Defense, or even Taskforce.”
He went on to criticise another narrative about France establishing a military base in Nigeria. “Tell me or give me proof where France is establishing a military base in Nigeria. Nobody will be able to prove it. You people don’t verify; you just spread falsehood.”
VeryDarkMan admitted he deliberately used the fake ₦180 million story to “teach people a lesson.” He said, “All I did was tell my website guys to shut it down first. Make we use these people take catch cruise, make we teach these people sense because they are dumb. It is very clear that most of you are stupid, very, very stupid.”
Mocking musician Dammy Krane, who claimed the story was a prank, he said, “This same mumu Dammy Krane, una know the story, una know how e end. Na this same person post video where I hold him shoulder, na him get mind dey tell una say ehn, it is a prank, and all of una believe am. Una no fit cool down analyze say ahh, his video na old video o.”
The activist also accused TikTok influencer Lil Smart of fabricating a kidnapping story, which he initially supported. VeryDarkMan claimed he tried to assist Smart by suggesting alternative narratives when no evidence was found. “I told him, let’s lie that you’re going through mental pressure, mental stress from what happened to Mohbad. That way, the court process will be easier for you.”
However, he accused Lil Smart of being ungrateful, stating, “I wasted my money, wasted my time, you came here and insulted me. You will play that full voice note. Who you think say I be? Because say VeryDarkMan dey talk, you think say na normal person dey come do all these things wey I dey do online?”
VeryDarkMan reiterated his criticism of social media users, urging them to demand evidence before spreading narratives. “That is why they use you people to flog ground. Different narratives will fly because you people don’t use your brain to think. They can easily manipulate you through the media,” he charged.
