Yesterday, March 3, 2015, a viral photo of the Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson in a train with her kid went viral.
People have been accusing her of doingthat for publicity stunt.The actress released a press release on why she had to board a plane with ordinary people.
Read what she wrote below:“My picture and that of my daughter, Purity in a Lagos train has surfaced online and quite a number of people have asked me what I was doing in a train and in Lagos for that matter; not Paris or London. I was around Iddo at Ebute Metta when my Range Rover developed a mechanical fault and I had to make a very important appointment inIkeja regardless of the usual traffic congestion in Lagos. Luckily, a member of my management team was around, hesuggested a train ride and we were in Ikeja in less than 30 minutes but that is not the crux of this statement.“Like I mentioned earlier, I have had to answer questions in private and public as to why I would board a train because trains in Nigeria are considered a meansof transportation for the ordinary and not-so-rich people. A friend called and said I just devalued my brand by being on the train with ordinary people. I couldn’t help but laugh. Are we extra ordinary people because we are celebrities?“In as much as I understand the concept of branding, packaging and exclusiveness, I will never trade the experience to sit, interact and feel the pulse of so-called ordinary people.
“By the way, I am part of the ordinary people. I grew up as an ordinary person among ordinary people. Why would I avoid them now? Would that be because I am now famous? Without these ordinary people, how would I have been famous in the first place?
Without the so-called ordinary people, where would Nigeria’s growing population of so-called well packaged celebrities be today?
“For the purpose of clarification, I was not on that train due to lack of money to get a well packaged cab or to get somebody to bring another car from the house but, my car developed an unforeseen fault and I needed a fast , reliable and convenient alternative immediately as there was urgent business to be attended to and I respect time a lot.“
The train was available where I was; most importantly, I did not want to turn down the opportunity to be with the people who would ordinarily not have access to me so I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and here we are.“I want to thank my co-passengers, officials of the train for treating me with absolute respect and courtesy, I am indeed, very grateful.”
