By Njoroge Achebe, YeyeNews.com, October 7, 2021
Nigerian social media will be on fire once again when Nigerian music star Tems reveals that American signer and fashion billionaire, Rihanna, whispered to her that she is of Igbo heritage. It happened when the two musicians met at the Savage X Fenty Showcase in Los Angels. A source close to Tems told YeyeNews.com that the singer of hit songs like Damages is taking her time before she comes out to reveal the full details of her conversation with Rihanna.
In a small Instagram clip that has since gone viral, the two music stars were seen hugging, after which Rihanna screamed, “Oh my God.” This encounter is similar to the scream Tems let out on Instagram the day Rihanna followed her. A news report of that encounter said that Rihanna also told Tems to “stop that humble shit” as she went on to gush and advice the starstruck Tems.
The issue of where Rihanna’s linage is in Africa has been a source of social media war in Nigeria. A few weeks ago, a report came out that she was of Igbo heritage soon after Forbes magazine declared her a billionaire. Non-Igbos in Nigeria immediately started fact-checking the report and raised doubts about whether Rihanna actually said she was of Igbo heritage.
When Tems, whose real name is Temilade Openiyi, reveals the truth, it is bound to set the Nigerian social media on fire once again.
“It is not as if Rihanna being Igbo will give free loans to Igbo businessmen,” a Lagos-based music journalist, Gertrude Mgbeke told YeyeNews.com. “Maybe it is just bragging rights. Nigerians just love to fight over nothing. Dangote being from Kano, has not done anything for the almajiris there.”
In the past few years, African Americans have been doing DNA tests to discover their ancestry. While a group of successful African Americans like Bishop TD Jakes, Footballer Jim Brown, and Actor Forest Whitaker declared they were Igbo, others like actress Judge Hatchett have declared that they were Yoruba. Meanwhile, the competition by different ethnic groups in Nigeria to claim successful African-Americans has only increased.
“Nobody is fighting to claim the homeless guys sleeping in the subways in New York,” Gertrude Mgbeke told YeyeNews.com. “Though I heard someone say that R. Kelly must be from Ogun State, Nigeria, just because he is facing trial for sexually abusing young women. So, this noise by our people trying to claim the rich and the famous is just another extension of stereotyping that is very common in Nigeria.”
In a different take, a Nigeria social observer who did not want Yeyenews.com to reveal his name weighed in this way, “Maybe all that Rihanna asked Tems was if she came with Nigerian Igbo and Tems misunderstood her.”
