10 lessons from the Okyeame Kwame divorce hoax

Okyeame Kwame and the wife(Annica) are one of the favorite couples that I have come to know, to see how the two work together in unison is even a lesson for so many young ones considering marriage. However after much contemplation on the subject concerning the ‘rap doctor’ and his wife divorce hoax, I have decided to help all of us draw inspiration from that exercise yesterday.

1. The divorce was a Hoax: Knowing and understanding that the entire story was a fabrication in line with the order of the moment will help the reader, and the couple, take matters softly. The truth is that the couple appear happily married and have no issues that will lead to divorce. To pick a couple with a strong marriage and member of the GhanaWeb blog team should have quickly informed the clever that there is nothing more to the story but to make all enjoy the ‘fool’s day’.

2. The Myth: Some argue especially the couple and some of their fans that marriage as an institution is very sensitive and should not be employed in such prank. We have true stories of celebrated personalities in Ghana recently heading to court for divorce because of infidelity. There is marriage and there is divorce and we have all witnessed sad experiences of people close and dear to us go through this real life experiences. It is better to use marriage than to announce that ‘the couple died’ which is more heartbreaking. Usually you hear that you don’t joke with issues of death and the writer carefully avoided the most sensitive issue. There is no rule anywhere that marriage cannot be used as a hoax. An example is the ‘Runaway bride’ involving Jennifer Wilbanks in 2005.

3. The Video Appeal: In their video report, the Okyeame Kwames felt that GhanaWeb as the leading online media platform should not have allowed this on their platform. They argued that they will report the matter to the Boss of GhanaWeb who is not in town to take appropriate action. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as far back as 1957 released a media hoax on the Swiss spaghetti harvest. A lot of people called in to know how they could benefit from such harvest to learn that it was only a hoax. GhanaWeb has demonstrated with this that there is a sense of humor in their reportage and an acknowledgement of the April Fool moment.

4. The professionalism of the Article: The story first appeared in the morning and started causing the desired effect; the writer remained calm and refused to give in to pressure and demands concerning the authenticity of the news. Immediately it was 12 noon and in accordance with the rule of the April 1st fool activity, he released or modified the article to calm down tension ease the worried mind that the marriage of their cherished couple was intact and that the news was part of the season. Had it been that a clarification was not made and the story retained in its original form as true and binding, then I concur in the crucifixion of the writer.

5. Truth is hard to the wicked: There is this common saying that the innocent ones fear no accusation. Was there any iota of truth in the article? Okay we all know that the couple in question are not heading to court for now, but has Okyeame Kwame ever been unfaithful to the wife? Does this development bring in any sad memory? So why take offense?

6. The Challenge: Ten years from now will this story shift base from a prank to reality, we all chorus “God Forbid”. It is up to the couple to continue to grow stronger in their loving union and avoid making the hoax a fulfilled prophecy.

7. Imbalance in the Entertainment industry: The way and manner the musicians and movie actors insult us online media gurus is annoying. Who is the king of the entertainment industry and who is the least? The fashion models, the YouTube stars, the creative writers seem to be ridiculed and disrespected. The amount of insult that a blogger receives from these so called celebrities and some of their fans is not easy. Let me state here unequivocally that the Internet media rules the world today and that all of us writers creating content online will soon take our rightful place in the industry.

8. Show sense of humor: Do you know that we are agents unto ourselves and that how we react to issues is entirely our sole responsibility? Instead of jumping up and down and crying for hell to swallow a mortal, a smile and laughter would have led the entire development into a positive path. A sense of humor generates positive energy and eliminates negative inspiration.

9. Capitalize on the opportunity: The divorce hoax was a true media opportunity for the couple to sell any product that they want to sell. Their initial reaction created confusion for them, it affected their emotions, causing bitterness and eliminating critical thinking. It was later that they thought, “hey we can actually turn this to our own blessing” and then they released a video but still mixed with bitter feelings despite their contempt smile. If they will come out with the statistics of the video, they will realize that it was an unusual surge for their public relations and at least they trended yesterday.

10. Let’s Move on: What are friends for? In the entertainment industry all we seek is the entertainment of the people, you do yours by singing, others by acting and some of us by writing. Some of the things you guys even sing about are not true, some are, the movie people act and deceive daily, cartoons just amuse.

The entertainment desk is responsible for stories that entertain, some stories could involve entertainers, it could be true about them, it could be an opinion and it could be a hoax as the case is because of the special day. Let’s all take our time before reacting to anything out there because all over the world similar things took place, people were fooled.