Actress and filmmaker, Foluke Daramola-Salako, says it’s sad that people like hearing negative stories about celebrities.
Speaking with Sunday Scoop against the backdrop of death rumours trailing her, Daramola-Salako said, “Some Nigerians don’t like anything good but negativity and scandal is what we have degraded ourselves to celebrate. When someone called me to check on my well-being, I just brushed it asides but when my husband called me and told me that some people had called him to ask him if I was fine, I became scared. I wondered why demonic people would peddle such news about a fellow human being. It’s so sad that someone would ‘joke’ with sensitive things like death.
“Even when I had to visit a mortuary in a movie, I had to undergo deliverance because I was so scared. I’m wondering why a blog would write something as weighty as death about me instead of celebrating me. Society needs cleansing and purging of the mind because our value system is dead. We are numb to love, affection and communism. Everybody wants to make money off anything just to get attention and traffic on their news sites.
“It’s just what society has turned to. A lot of people are filled with hatred and negativity. The society is one that is not driven by love anymore but hatred and that’s why there are so many hate speeches where people celebrate negative things than positive things. They want an opportunity to bring you down in their sadness. Anybody they see happy, they want to bring that person down.”
The anti-rape activist also stated that though social media had become a useful instrument, people sometimes abused it. She said, “Nigeria is a place where people tend to abuse everything. Unfortunately, the anti-social media bill might affect people who are working hard to make a difference, but honestly, social media needs restriction.”
The actress also stated that she would not go in search of the people that spread rumours of her death. She added, “I was shocked initially and I wondered where the death rumours were coming from. All I wanted to do was curse the people behind the false reports and I did just that. I’m not at loggerheads with anyone so I don’t even know why such things should be said about me. My daughter who is on social media was uncomfortable and alarmed at the news but I had to pacify her. My daughter and husband are very emotional, so I had to reassure them that all is well.”