Nigeria has bigger problems than Orji, Charly Boy tells minister

Nigerian singer Charly Boy has criticised the Minister of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, for visiting the ailing veteran actor Zack Orji.

The minister visited Mr Orji on 2nd January at a private hospital in Wuse, Abuja, and revealed that he had undergone brain surgery.

Mr Orji was admitted to the ICU at the National Hospital in Abuja on New Year’s Eve after collapsing in a restroom at his home.

Charly Boy, via his X, formerly Twitter, on 3 January, referred to Ms Musawa as a chronic attention seeker due to her visit to the actor.

Chronic attention seekers make we hear word. Nigeria currently has bigger terminal problem wey pass Zack Orji.
Don’t get it twisted, He’s a respected nigerian icon. his contributions are there for all to see.

Everyone including the factory fitted mumu’s for dis country know… pic.twitter.com/mmPxMwDWwC

— Charly Boy Area Fada 1 (@AreaFada1) January 3, 2024

The 73-year-old actor highlighted that Nigeria faces more pressing issues requiring the minister’s attention rather than seeking public attention for visiting the ailing actor.

Charly Boy emphasised that visiting the actor wouldn’t reduce the price of petrol or the escalating cost of living.

The Area Fada criticised the minister for ignoring the bomb victims in Plateau State— casualties that deserve national mourning over actor Orji.

He stated that the All Progressive Congress(APC) dysfunctional agenda is familiar to Nigerians due to its gross incompetence.

Charly Boy argued that the actor, a respected individual, should receive medical treatment abroad instead of being kept at the National Hospital in Abuja, which he likened to a mortuary.

He mentioned that Mr Orji is currently the least of the country’s problems.

Background

In a statement shared by her Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Nneka Anibeze, on Wednesday, the minister expressed sympathy for the actor who underwent neurosurgery on 1 January during the visitation.

Aside from the minister, First Lady Remi Tinubu and the Vice President’s wife, Nana Shettima, visited the actor at the hospital on 1st January.

Ms Musawa urged Nigerians to pray and unite to support the ailing actor, whom she described as a national asset.

Mr Orji was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the National Hospital in Abuja on New Year’s Eve after collapsing in his house toilet.

But in the latest development on 2nd January, the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) announced that the actor’s health has improved.

The National Secretary of the AGN, Abubakar Yakubu, announced that the actor, who was initially unable to walk or talk upon admission, has begun speaking.

Reacting, the actor’s wife, Ngozi Orji, appreciated the minister for her visit, stating that her husband had been moved from the ICU of the National Hospital to save his life.

She called on Nigerians to assist as they prayed for the actor’s swift recovery.

In 2022, during the lead-up to the February 2023 general elections, the actor made headlines when he declared support for President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate.

On 3 September 2023, PREMIUM TIMES reported Charly Boy, an active supporter of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi in the 2023 February election, as saying he prayed for a coup in Nigeria.

Charly Boy, who did not state his reasons for praying for a coup on his X platform, wished for the coup that happened in four African countries (Gabon, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali) to happen in Nigeria.