Nigerian singer Timi Dakolo has cautioned people who aspire to fame to prepare themselves for the criticism, rumours and controversies that often accompany life in the public eye.
Dakolo shared the advice on his Instagram page on Monday, stressing that those seeking the spotlight must develop the resilience to deal with negative publicity.
“Grow a thick skin if you desire fame. You will definitely need it. You can go to bed a happy fellow and wake up with news of you in some mess. And because you are famous, the odds are already against you. So people are always looking for who to drown,” he said.
He noted that public figures naturally become targets because of their visibility and urged aspiring celebrities to understand the pressures that come with being famous.
“Being in the spotlight makes you an obvious target. Grow a thick skin because being famous is a whole lot,” he added.
Dakolo’s comments followed an incident at an event involving a young girl whom he said he looked after after she refused to return to her mother.
The singer explained that the innocent gesture was later misinterpreted online, with some social media users suggesting that he and the child were romantically involved.
“I carried a little girl at an event; she just wouldn’t go back to her mum,. So I parented her all evening. Next thing I saw online, Timi and his love child are inseparable,” Dakolo wrote.
