Fani-Kayode’s admission of being cured of madness goes viral in South Africa

Femi Fani-Kayode’s public complaint over a livestream glitch has drawn a rebuke from South Africa’s presidency and revived an old report used to mock him online.

A minor livestream glitch has turned into an early diplomatic test for Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, Peoples Gazette reports.

After his speech at Friday’s credentials ceremony with President Cyril Ramaphosa was apparently not broadcast, the envoy complained publicly on X and declined an SABC News interview.

The presidency’s response was blunt. Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya accused him of misrepresenting Mr Ramaphosa’s role and described his approach as inappropriate over a minor operational misunderstanding.

Its later release of his speech on YouTube suggests a wish to defuse the row without conceding the point.

Online, the dispute has revived a 2006 P.M. News report titled “How I was Cured of Madness. Fani-Kayode, OBJ’s Minister Gives Testimony In Church,” which South African users are sharing to mock him.

For a newly accredited envoy, the episode shows how quickly personal history and social media can overshadow diplomacy, and how much rests on how he handles relations with his South African hosts.