Nigerian skit maker, Kevin Chinedu, popularly known as Kevinblak or Governor Amuneke, has revealed that members of a political party offered him dollars to alter the content of his satirical skits criticising politicians and governance.
Naija News reports that Kevinblak disclosed this in an interview on ARISE Television’s programme, while speaking about the pressures facing content creators holding public officials accountable through humour.
Governor Amuneke said he was invited to Abuja at a particularly vulnerable moment, when he was under financial strain, shortly after his wife had a Caesarean section and offered dollars.
According to the comedian, despite the financial pressure, he turned down the offer and ultimately held firm to his personal principles.
He said, “I was approached with cash by members of a political party to alter my content. They said they were going to change my life, that I’m earning crumbs, you know, give me dollars. They mentioned that my colleagues are in the game and all of that.
“I had a lot of bills on my head and I just heard come, come to Abuja, let’s change your life. Dollars upon dollars.
“I looked at it, I said, no, I am who I am. I’ve been here for a long time, and I’ve never been in any illegal thing, and I’ve never been somewhere, you know, I’m doing something because I’m being influenced, because of money.
“If I want to do it, it should be something I’m doing because I want to do it. So, you know, it is what it is.”
Kevinblak further declined to name the party, saying only that it was “Amuneke’s party”, a reference to the fictional political figure in his skits, and cautioned against any attempt to identify it publicly.
He stated, “Don’t mention names, trust me, don’t mention names.”
When asked whether friends had urged him to accept the money, Chinedu said his inner circle was equally principled and had themselves been approached and refused.
He added, “I don’t have friends that are easily overwhelmed with money. I have people who have principles because they have, you know, approached them, they themselves. So, we always have that conversation.”
