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•Zaki Dan Yaya’s ordeal with death rumour, trauma
From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Zaki Dan Yaya, a popular Borno singer, woke to the familiar sound of children voices in his neighbourhood in Maiduguri on an ordinary morning. Not long after, he was confronted with a strange reality of reading his obituary on the social media.
News of his death had gone viral. Friends wept. Relatives called from villages, town in and outside the state. Fans posted tributes expressing their grief.
“Many of the posts used photos and videos from my most recent Umrah trip to Saudi Arabia, accompanied by messages saying, “Rest in Peace,” he told Sunday Sun.
But Zaki is very much alive. He was left with the real burden of proving he had not die
In the hours that followed, he battled with the pains of receiving call after call, to assure loved ones he was alive, well, and had never come close to death. He told the reporter he was very distressed at the time.
He recalled: “What saddened me most was the distress it caused my family, relatives, fans and friends. I received countless phone calls from people asking if the news was true. Imagine being the person who was falsely reported dead, yet people kept calling to confirm whether I was really alive. My relatives and friends were deeply worried and upset by the situation.”
The incident forced him to abandon his microphone to spend more time debunking the death rumour. “It was very distracting,” he lamented.
He blamed his ordeal on those desperately seeking followers and engagements on the social media.
“I believe the person who fabricated the story did so simply to gain attention,” he alleged.
While commenting on the impact of technology on music, Zaki said the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other platforms have advanced arts. He however said same technology impacted negatively on productivity.
He maintained that AI has pushed many creative individuals out of business. “Graphic designers who produce wedding invitation cards, video artwork, film posters, and other creative designs are losing business because people can now generate similar work with AI in just a minute or two,” he lamented.
