Stakeholders in Kannywood are currently confused over the best way to handle the Maryam Booth naked picture that was posted on social media on February 8, 2020. This is because the victim has finally admitted that she was actually the one in the picture. She said her former boyfriend was the one that took her the picture, but stopped short of accusing him of releasing the picture to social media.
This is one incident that is hitting the Kano-based Hausa Film Industry like a thunderbolt; the first was during the administration of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau when one bureau the change operator allegedly invited Maryam Iyana Usman to Lagos for some amorous scenes which were later leaked to the press.
On February 8, 2020, Kannywood fans and families of Maryam Booth, whose grandparents are from Britain, woke up to the shocking two-second video trending on social media that shows Maryam Booth standing naked, and she did not waste time in issuing a very strong statement at the meeting that she was the one in the video and that it was taken by her ex-boyfriend, Ibrahim Rufai Balarabe, a hip-hop Hausa musician in Kano, popularly known as Deezell.
Booth’s allegation
Maryam Booth alleged that her ex-boyfriend took the picture when she was trying to dress up.
Hausa actors guild’s statement
The chairman of association of Hausa Actors Guild, Alhassan Kwalle, in a statement alleged that he was aware that for a very long time, two young guys in Kannywood were extorting Maryam Booth, threatening that if she did not comply, they would expose her naked picture on social media. According to him, one of the two guys has been identified as Deezell.
Deezell’s defence
However, alleged culprit has also issued a very strong statement that he is not the one that leaked the video to the social media and that based on an earlier statement issued by Maryam Booth accusing him of being the one that took her naked picture, he had to drag her to court and pressed charges for damages.
He said, “Yes I am Ibrahim Rufai Balarabe; yes, Deezell is also my nickname and I also admit that Maryam was my girlfriend, but I was not the one that leaked her video to social media and as such if she continues to point fingers at me, I will have no choice but to take her to court for remedy.”
However, in what appears like solidarity, nearly all actors and actresses in Kannywood have risen to the defence of Maryam Boothi threatening that very soon, she will voluntarily expose her naked pictures on social media and see who will challenge her. According to them, after all it is her body that she will expose on social media and that she has the right to do so.
Similarly, Ali Nuhu, Sani Danja, Ado Gwanja, Rahama Sadau, Mansurah Isah, Amal Umar, Tumba Gwaska, Maryam Keke, Nafisa Abdullahi, Falalu Daurayi, Umar Shariff, Teema Makamashi have in separate chats commented on the scandal and vowed to do everything within their powers to bring “whoever is responsible to book,” as whatever happens to one of them can affect all of them in certain ways.
ALIYU ASKIRA, our reporter, sought the opinions of some Islamic clerics and others on their takes the leaked video of Maryam Booth, who opined that men of the Kano Hisbah Board should invite Maryam and her ex-boyfriend to give further explanations on what actually happened. According to some, the duo should either be charged to Sharia Court for alleged fornication or be left with their creator for divine punishment.
Head or tail, what happened has completely destroyed the moral character of Maryam Booth and that of her colleagues who are standing by her through a page created on social media by one of her supporters titled “I stand with Maryam Booth.” This has once again thrown up the issue of members being perceived by the public as persons that are morally corrupt, jobless, drug addicts, homosexuals and lesbians. The whole world is watching how this issue will be handled.
One Ahmed Muhammad, a petty trader in Kano, told Blueprint Weekend that people are only wasting their time, adding that most grown-up ladies these days can hardly make love without recording it in their phones. According to him, if owners of Ajinomoto can give Maryam the sum of N25 million for her to pose for them, which they will use for commercial purposes, only God knows what might have taken place before she was chosen for the job. “What we have today all over the place is sex, sex and more sex; so those in Kannywood cannot be an exception, you see a lady that joined Kannywood at a time she can hardly feed herself now riding in expensive cars and building houses. So, where do you think the money usually comes from? Let everybody purge himself of sin and let us all return to God as there are many Maryam Booths all over the place.”
