By Tofarati Ige
Popular producer and singer, Martins Okechukwu Joshua Kalu Okun, popularly known as J Martins, tells qed.ng why he is rarely seen in public and his reason for supporting former Diamond Bank CEO, Dr. Alex Otti, in his quest to become the next governor of Abia State
What is your connection with Dr Alex Otti’s campaign in the Abia governorship race?
It’s not about politics, but about fixing the state. If I say because I am an artiste and stay away, and just keep throwing stones that the state is not in good shape, it means I’m not doing well. Even if God blesses me because of what I do and I have all the money with my family abroad, that won’t help the general society because at the end of the day I’m also a part of the society. It’s all about everybody playing their parts. Let’s remove politics from it. For me, I’ll say that the sitting governor (Theodore Orji) has tried; he has done well, but people have different ideologies. Your ideology may be about how to make money through inter-personal relationships. Some other person’s might be how to make money online. So it’s all about how to move the state forward. What we are saying is that we should not bring violence into this. Let’s allow the people to decide.
Will you be offering yourself for election in the future?
I can’t say for now. At least I studied political science in school. Nobody is born a politician, and that’s the truth because leaders are made. I have been successful in my own field as an artiste. I don’t have to be as big as Michael Jackson, but in my own little way, I’ve been very successful and I appreciate Nigerians and my fans all over Africa for that. We all want to see better things happen for our people, not just ourselves. Let me give you an example. If you are a governor or president and I know that I have access to you because of what I do and I always come to you to give me something anytime I visit, I’m only one person out of millions. How many of us have that access? The masses are suffering, and it doesn’t make any sense. What we’re saying is that we must have a government for the people. A government that is all-inclusive and not few-inclusive. It shouldn’t be a family business.
You’re more popular in other African countries, especially the francophone-speaking ones, than in Nigeria. Are we going to see more of you in Nigeria now?
I have always been based in Nigeria. The thing is that I’m a reserved person, and you rarely get to see me in clubs and at red carpet events. Are those events good? Yes! Every person in my chosen career should do that often because you have to keep yourself in the face of the people. However, I have two personalities. My personal life is different from my career life. When I’m doing my music, you don’t see me but you dance to my songs and you enjoy it because it brings happiness to you. That’s the thing and that’s how I want it. Because I’m a bit reserved, most people tend to believe I’m not in the country. Of course, I travel a lot around the continent of Africa and I’m an African ambassador
