In an era where digital content flows freely, a recent incident has sparked a broader debate on intellectual property rights online. Media strategist Esther Ijewere claims that Nollywood actress Dayo Amusa republished her original reflections on singer Asake’s personal struggles without offering proper attribution.
According to Ijewere, the post was originally shared on Facebook at 1:15 a.m. on March 15, reflecting on Asake’s childhood pain, parental rejection, and how fame doesn’t heal emotional wounds. Later that same day, Amusa posted the exact same words on her own Facebook and Instagram pages without mentioning Ijewere as the original author.
When Ijewere publicly called her out, Amusa deleted the Facebook post but left it up on Instagram. She defended herself, saying she had found the post on a friend’s WhatsApp status and didn’t know who wrote it. She also argued that using the hashtag #copied was enough to show she wasn’t claiming ownership.
“E dey pain you say I no tag your name abi. Pele baby!!! Like I told you in your DM earlier. I don’t know you, let alone knowing you were the original writer. It was copied from a friend’s WhatsApp, and I even screenshot am for you to see.
“I felt the need to share to a wider audience coz I related so well with the circumstances. I am sure you & your soldiers aren’t blind to see the #copied at the end of the post, meaning I take no credit to the post.”
Ijewere, however, insisted that proper credit should have been given, especially since blogs had already mistakenly attributed the post to Amusa. The situation has sparked a conversation about respecting content creators and giving credit where it’s due.
