Salle, And The Tray Stunt Publicity -By Tife Owolabi

Nigerians are among the most talented people on the surface of the planet and there is something that propels them for greatness. They are born genius who sometimes are limited by their environments or lack of motivations to excel and talents are never in scarcity, it’s everywhere in the streets and off the streets. 

Many have discovered themselves by themselves while others while discovered by others. The nature of hunger and hardship have created the propensity for talent discovery and with the advent of social media, many are breaking the barriers for easy discovery. No doubt the social media has open the windows of opportunities for many unsung heroes and raw talents that would have gone unnoticed.  

To my recollection, the first talent to have blazed the trail on streets discovery was Jumoke, the Bread Hawker. She was discovered by Celebrity Photographer and Musician TY Bello. Her fame swelled so fast that she got contract deals and endorsements from many products and companies. It was a good discovery of a supermodel and ever since that discovery it has served as an eye-opener to many potentials who have been unravelled via the internet. 

Like I said Nigeria is never in shortage of talents, the country prepares one for the good, bad and ugly. Bobrisky is one talent too that has discovered himself by exploiting the female folks and in a recent interview with Chude Jideonwo, the cross-dresser has this to say about himself into the limelight:

“ Being a woman have created a lot of ways for me. Women don’t know how powerful they are, they don’t know how to use their resources as women. A lot use it well but a lot don’t know because, when I was a guy I don’t have anything. I was just there hustling .”  He succinctly puts it  “ I am an exploiter of the women folks via the internet. 

He is not alone in the manipulative tendencies, who have continued in this infamous direction. Every day comedians churn out pictures of newly acquired property by inspiring thousands to unleash their talents while fake ones have been busted. 

There was a lady who claimed to have procured a property that turned out to be fake. Blessing Okoro was arrested by Billionaire Onye Eze, the owner of the house she claimed belongs to her in 2019. She was captured in a video, in handcuffs. Earlier she had made a media stunt where she claimed ownership of the house but was busted by the real owner of the house who called her out on social media.

In a publication titled “ How Instagram influencers can fake their way to online fame,” cnbc.com revealed how posting pictures online has turned the job of being a full-time social media influencer into one of the most aspirational career choices for young people around the world. The article further says Influencers on Instagram who have over a million followers can make more than $250,000 per post from brands, while someone like Kylie Jenner can make around $1 million for a single sponsored Instagram post.

Also recently an angelic voice set the social media on fire, she is Salle with the tray stunt Publicity. Let me say before her story there was the story of an amputee hawker who went by different names and her story invoked a lot of emotions and pronto everyone came into her rescued as she and handlers played with people’s emotions. We all know the end of the story with a staged manage predicament, she made a quick fortune. She now owns a property in the outskirts of Lagos state.

The Lagos state government had to intervene in the proper utilization of the fund even though it was gotten through deceit. 

On Salle, street to the limelight, it all began on 20th of September 2021 as she was seen leaning on a wall with two voices in the background, a lady and a male with a tray on her hand somewhere on the street of Owerri Imo State. They asked her; You are such a talented soul and can you sing for us? Do your parents know you can sing so well? Her reply was negative but she obliged them their request for a rendition. 

Fast forward the social was on fire. She took over the internet with her angelic voice after her video went viral on Instagram and have gone from 986 followers on Instagram to 265,000 in less than two weeks, indeed her voice is priceless. It touched everyone’s heart and her sounds are unique.

Sooner we got to know that her real name is Kosisochukwu Gospel Peters and she has been described as a fast-rising singer and songwriter. She is just a 17yr old. 

Back to Jumoke, the bread seller, she was found hawking bread, the same to the Blessing, the amputee hawking “pure- water”.  What was Salle selling with the tray in her hand when she was discovered and how many family members/peers have corroborated or denied her singing talent?

She sang so well without ever practising instruments but was quick to inflow with beats? This reminds me of a miracle a worker who opened a blind eyes and the blind could immediately recognise colours but he was blind from birth. 

These are the questions in minds of many as this poor innocent street hawker girl suddenly sprouts into the limelight as the transformation within a short period is circumspect and worrisome. No one has questioned her talent but what is under scrutiny is the transformation and how she gained popularity. With transformation, it is clear that once good and innocent girl as good bad. 

Reno Omokiri on his Facebook page posted “May God bless and prosper her. I prefer her former look. Her talent is her voice, and her grass to grace story is her appeal. I hope those managing her don’t strip her of that undefiled innocence we saw barely a month ago. That unspoilt, pure innocence is her ticket to the top! There are so many artistes with sex appeal. That field is crowded. Adele set the record for longest-charting album by a female solo artist without losing her innocence. And I am confident Salle can go far with it.”

Salle fame has no doubt generated mixed reactions. 

Someone said “there was a similar case of the Street Bread Hawker in Lagos turned instant celebrity-model. They turned her upsidedown and she allegedly abandoned her husband when fortune started visiting her account.”

Others  said “Reason she might not get past the hype of that publicity stunt that introduced her. “

“I really would not want to bother on conspiracy theories on the salle subject, however most apt is that her story inspires and resonates hope which is evidently in scarce supply in our clime.“

Whichever divide one holds the truth is, the Nigerian streets abound with talents and social media is doing an incredible work at exposing these raw talents but there are manipulators out there using it to their advantage. Countless influencers with massive followings also employ misleading tricks to create follow-worthy social content, according to Bilton.

Tife OwolabiJournalist Niger Delta@tifeowolabi facebook.com/Tife Owolabi ” if it bleeds it leads”…