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The Bobrisky You Should Emulate
In as much as we are quick to criticize the controversial Internet personality Bobrisky, we should not turn blind eyes to his philanthropic deeds and kind gesture towards humanity worth emulating.
Okuneye Idris Olarenwaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, a controversial internet personality who is known as a transgender woman at the same time a self-professed misogynist.
Bobrisky began his journey to fame when he started Cross-dressing at the University of Lagos Campus where he studied accounting, according to a News report he was arrested by the police for dressing up as a woman to deceive Men
Not that long after the arrest Bobrisky began to sell bleaching cream on Facebook, where he was also documenting his transition from Dark skin to Light Skin. Bobrisky became popular on the internet after several Blogs began to post about his alleged gay activities.
Bobrisky arrested by the police for trying to solicit a man while in drag
His Facebook profile began to get thousands of hits and comments, mostly negative, so he abandoned his Facebook profile and moved to Snapchat where he frequently posted about a mysterious man who he termed Bae, the man who he claimed was responsible for sponsoring his frivolous lifestyle.
The Bobrisky We Know
Bobrisky is known for condemning women with dark skin and also for promoting his chauvinist views that Women should be subordinate to men in exchange for financial benefits. His views have however generated a lot of critics.
Edwin Okolo of Native Mag stated that Bobrisky created a phantasmagoric universe where dark-skinned girls were ugly and bleaching one’s skin to gain the attention of men was acceptable.
“But light skin isn’t the only approximation of femininity that Bobrisky has adopted and monetized. Bobrisky publicly presents with feminine markers, heavy makeup, false nails and lashes, full wigs and hair extensions, feminized clothing. However, he continues to aggressively identify as male, even choosing violence to assert his maleness. He has had several run-ins with law enforcement for his often violent and misogynistic reactions to people, especially women filming him in public without his consent. This falls in the same pocket with rants on his Snapchat profile, slut-shaming the women he was feuding with, promoting misogynistic ideals of women being subservient to men in exchange for financial perks, promoting colorism as ‘good’ and advocating that dark-skinned women be ostracized and denied opportunities because of their skin,” Edwin wrote in his article “BOBRISKY IS THE NIGERIAN MILLENNIAL WE DESERVE”
Bobrisky after his transition from Dark skin to Light Skin
David Hundeyin describes Bobrisky as a selfish individual in his article Who Died and Made Bobrisky a Nigerian Cultural Leader?
Idris Okuneye Olanrewaju is a distinctly selfish individual whose only agenda is self-enrichment while enjoying protection from powerful associates, unlike the vast majority of Nigeria’s LGBT community who remain in constant risk of real physical harm. Bobrisky does not in fact ever speak up on LGBT issues and related human rights topics except he is directly and unambiguously threatened. He rather spends his time boasting about material possessions and brand endorsements, while promoting dangerous, cancer-causing skin bleaching and setting the clock back for LGBT inclusion by muddying important narratives.
However, the Nigerian Barbie has shown his philanthropic side several times despite his serial involvement in several scandals and controversies.
Why should we emulate Bobrisky?
Bobrisky has once been in the news for feeding 1,000 homeless people, during the coronavirus Lockdown. He also attached two hundred notes to each of the meals totaling the entire amount to 200,000 minus the amount used to prepare the food.
The Transgender woman once reportedly spent 300k to pay for a lady’s medical bill, He also pledge to feed her and send her kids to school. A young man identified as Kolawole Solomon Eguntola recently came on social media to narrate how he survived Leukemia (Blood Cancer) due to Bobrisky’s donation of N2.5million for him to undergo treatment and medical services.
Kolawole Solomon Eguntola before and after Bobrisky Donation
He once relocated an elderly woman who asked him for help to his Lagos residence, gifted an amputated fan N500k for drawing a portrait of him, and donated N500K for Mosque building in a particular community.
He donated one million Naira, to Jimoh Isiaq Family, a civilian that was killed during the #endsars protest, and also donated the sum of N500,000 to a Nigerian lady, Uche Hope Uguoga, who was living on a life support machine after being abandoned by her husband.
He gifted disqualified Big Brother Naija, BBNaija housemate, Erica one million Naira, and has done a whole lot of philanthropic deeds that can not be discussed in an entire day.
Although a lot of people may attribute his generosity to clout chasing or a form of generating engagement on the internet. Either way, he is making a positive impact whether we like it or not.
Regardless, I would like to state that in as much as we publicly crucify Bobrisky for his controversial attitude and personality, we should not turn blind eyes to his philanthropic deeds and kind gesture towards humanity. Rather, we should emulate and do better, making the world a better place.