This post by one of my Facebook friends spurred me on to finally write something extensive on the whole Jumoke affair- the bread seller cum super model.
Some have so much criticised the the idea of idolizing Jumoke that it looks as if they envy her or have 'beefs' for her. While some think she is worth the whole hype. The rest are either indifferent or ignorant of the whole affair. I was almost publicly indifferent until someone compared the Unilag Graduate, Ayodele Dade who graduated with a CGPA of 5.0, the highest possible. It made me have interest to give voice to my opinion.
To me, all the issues, arguments and contentions so far is based on our 'value system'. I mean our erroneous and junky value system.
Some believe that companies and government pay too much attention to useless endeavors as beauty pageants and modelling at the expense of education, I mean school education.
From my perspective, personally I don't value school education as much as life education. I value talent and skill more than academic qualifications and achievements. The school qualifications MAY not have real value in real life, in the field. I appreciate an artist who can draw a beautiful image more than a first-class Engineering Graduate. I prefer the shoe-maker who makes nice footwears to the graduate of Sociology anytime, until that graduate can exhibit some skills he acquired in University to affect the society positively. Sir, your certificate won't rise up and make the society better, it is about you and what you have inside of you.
As we are all different as humans, we have different value system, but the thing is that some have a rather atrocious value-system. Personally, I value practical more than theory. Nowadays, our Universities are just mere instruction grounds. He who knows how to carry out instructions more, makes the highest grades not necessarily the most intelligent student. There is ZERO regard for Creativity and Innovation, and unfortunately those are the things that move greater countries ahead, not the mere 'paper qualifications'. In fact, go and check the most innovative (and richest) people in the world today, they are drop-outs. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard , Mark Zuckerberg (Harvard) , Steve Jobs (Reeds College) , Frank Lloyd Wright, America's most successful Architect, James Cameron (Fullerton College) Nikolai Tesla (Austrian Polytechnic, Graz), many more examples abound. Note, most they didn't drop out because they are dullards but because of financial incapabilities and extreme divergence, insurgence. These are the ones I call, 'Too cool for school'.
Some would say are they Nigerians? Yes they are not. We have A few Nigerian examples of drop-out to glory anyway, Wizkid, Tu face, etc. But even if we don't, it is because of our flawed value-system.
My own problem with the whole Jumoke and endorsement issue is the fact that those banks and other companies will only use her nakedness to divert attention to themselves. In fact, to me, she is not exceptionally beautiful. As someone said sarcastically, "She is just there". Anyway beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It is not her seeming beauty that appeals to prospective companies but her willingness to display it in nudity and depravity. She is from a humble background, she would be more than willing to do anything 'noble' to make it big. At least she is not sleeping around with anybody, or at least, not yet.
TY Bello is an opportunist, she just took advantage of the poor lady and her ordinary story to make both of them rich, her richer. We have many bread seller who are more beautiful than Jumoke, we have many bread sellers or pure water-seller who have photo-bombed. She was not lucky to have photo-bombed, we all do. She was not lucky to have photo-bombed TY Bello's photos, many have done that. She was JUST lucky to have done so when the already unpopular photographer needed to rise to fame again, all of these still coming back to an Orchestration of TY Bello. It is a cycle. A facade created by the photographer herself. She is smart. Like Linda and gossips.
Some would say are they Nigerians? Yes they are not. We have A few Nigerian examples of drop-out to glory anyway, Wizkid, Tu face, etc. But even if we don't, it is because of our flawed value-system.
My own problem with the whole Jumoke and endorsement issue is the fact that those banks and other companies will only use her nakedness to divert attention to themselves. In fact, to me, she is not exceptionally beautiful. As someone said sarcastically, "She is just there". Anyway beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It is not her seeming beauty that appeals to prospective companies but her willingness to display it in nudity and depravity. She is from a humble background, she would be more than willing to do anything 'noble' to make it big. At least she is not sleeping around with anybody, or at least, not yet.
TY Bello is an opportunist, she just took advantage of the poor lady and her ordinary story to make both of them rich, her richer. We have many bread seller who are more beautiful than Jumoke, we have many bread sellers or pure water-seller who have photo-bombed. She was not lucky to have photo-bombed, we all do. She was not lucky to have photo-bombed TY Bello's photos, many have done that. She was JUST lucky to have done so when the already unpopular photographer needed to rise to fame again, all of these still coming back to an Orchestration of TY Bello. It is a cycle. A facade created by the photographer herself. She is smart. Like Linda and gossips.
Nothing spectacular about her story naturally, until TY BELLO made it spectacular. She brought it to this point of awe. She was just a smart photographer. And trust me, Social Media should get a medal in this game of the minds.
All na PR.
It is high time we restructured our value system and understand the dynamics of value and development. We should pay more attention to talents, skills and innovation rather than mere paper qualifications and certificate. If your certificate is not backed with skills, intelligence, sense of innovation and creativity, please take the back seat. Your laudable CGPA won't make that car move, the road-side mechanic would....
©2016
Abayomi Ahmed
Abayomi Ahmed
Email: optimysticx91@gmail.com
Twitter: @optimysticdex
