By Osagie Alonge
Godwin Tom posted this private message on Instagram (We took it upon ourselves to blur out the photo in the text chat)
It’s a lot of work managing one of Nigeria’s biggest musical exports but even at that, there are some lines you shouldn’t cross. One of those lines is acting rudely to a fan of a talent you manage.
Wizkid’s manager Godwin Tom some hours ago posted the screenshot above on his Instagram – it was a text message from a young female fan who wanted him to tell Wizkid that she ‘misses him’.
‘Hey Godwin hope u good ey. Can you please tell Ayo that I miss him, please do that one thing for me ey‘, the girl wrote as a text message and even added a prayer for the whole team. ‘Tell him that I wish God bless him and all u guys 
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As the screenshot shows, Godwin Tom rudely responded ‘Tell him yourself. Cheers‘. He then went on to defend his totally crude response to the Wizkid fan on IG. ‘My new job is to deliver these kinds of messages… At events I’m the photographer… Ain’t nobody gat time for that!!!!’.
Now there are a couple of things Mr Tom got wrong with that IG post- from exposing the young girl’s photo on social media without her consent (shredding her of her privacy) to acting like a descendant of Adolf Hitler with that livid reply. But what baffles me the most is his vehement defense as people tried to explain to him that what he did was wrong.
Annie Idibia’s manager Naomi Adenuga commented on the IG post ‘U really couldn’t zoom In n protect her identity?‘. Godwin Tom replied, ‘unfortunately couldn’t give enough of a damn to think about that… Obviously‘.
Adenuga then asked ‘Hmmm! U should be used to this by now. How many of this r u gon put up? It won’t stop as long as ur artist is growing, getting bigger n better*‘. Godwin responded with an ‘OK‘.
Seeing the post this morning, I also commented ‘I understand you’re stressed with all the fan messages but I feel this is wrong. I can’t blame a fan who wants to tell her fav Pop act that she misses him. Your response and this IG post (which doesn’t protect her identity is wrong). In my opinion‘.
He reply to me was; ‘to each his own‘ and replied another person ‘at the end of the day, everyone will be ok! Cheers‘.
Well Mr Tom, not only was your comment rude and disrespectful, it was also very unprofessional. And the mere fact that you can’t realize you’r wrong, and offer an apology shows the kind of management Wizkid is getting from you.
Let me now ask: Does this artiste you manage (Wizkid) have a website? NO. Or a ‘Fan Mail’ page that young fans can send in their messages? NO. MOBO Award, BET Award winning Wizkid does NOT have a simple website. Shame.
How then do you want them to feel connected to their ‘number 1′ artiste? Did I hear you say through Twitter?
I guess at the end of it all, everyone will be ok. Cheers.
Pop star Wizkid and manager Godwin Tom in Abuja, November 2013. Photo: Instagram/Godwin Tom
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