Omokri slams Ex-Nigerian Footballers, Entertainers for blaming government after ending up in poverty

By Adetayo Omotoyosi Adeolu

Former media aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has taken a swipe at footballers, entertainers, and artists who spend their wealth during their prime but later fall into poverty and turn around to blame the government.

He described this attitude as a form of “mental laziness” and urged individuals in such professions to take responsibility for their future.

In a post shared via his X account, Omokri wrote: “Footballers can’t enjoy the proceeds of their success alone and then outsource their failure to society sportsmen, athletes, entertainers, and artists are not the responsibility of the government or society, except where they become civil servants, in which case they are entitled to a pension according to their terms of service.

“An example would be Joe Lasisi, a staff of the Nigerian Customs Service, who was paid salaries, benefits and entitlements, even though he earned his own personal money from professional boxing.

Reno Omokri added; “It is regrettable if some national icons die broken or broken, however, responsibility for their end state should not shift from them to the public. When and if they perform national assignments, they should be paid. If they are not paid, I recall that the public always fights for them until they do. Beyond their due payments, they often get gifts of money or property from an appreciative country after winning Mundials and tournaments. “

“Thereafter, what they do with those monies and property, as well as the largesse they get from their professional lives, is their business. And naturally, they do not share such payments with the government or the public. In fact, many of them do not even pay taxes in Nigeria.

“It would amount to making themselves further objects of ridicule. Such an entitled mentality means that persons who think like this do not understand how life works and are immature. In truth, they ought to have been placed under the care of persons who understood better how to manage their success and finances and prepare them for retirement. You can’t enjoy your success alone and then want to outsource your failure to society”, Reno Omokri concluded.