The owner of Movee Exp Building Africa, Ope Nimbe Pelemoh (Brobro)) who is the former Head Marketing & Sponsorship Manager for AYSHOW has said that he was used by Guinness World Record (GWR) holder in crochet, Chidinma Modupe Okafor, to attain stardom.
Okafor broke the world record for the longest crocheting marathon, setting a new record of 72 hours.
At 30 years old, Okafor created a white dinner gown during her three-day “crochet-a-thon,” more than doubling the previous record of 34 hours and 7 minutes, set by Alessandra Hayden (USA) in 2021.
Pelemoh in an interview with The Guardian said his company, Movee Exp Bulding Africa gave Okafor the necessary support in her quest to set a new Guinness World Record in crochet but after attaining stardom, she decided to turn her back on him.
How did you get to meet Chidinma Modupe Okafor and what was the relationship between you and her?
I met Chidinma Okafor through my elder brother in Canada around September 2023 and we became very good friends who later got into a serious relationship after which she told me about her two-year marriage and how she was being maltreated. We got along and I discovered she was talented but didn’t have the means to get into the limelight.
She needed to get a lawyer to legally separate her from the previous marriage so that she could be eligible not just to be in a relationship but to get married. By this time, we had started dating each other and in fact, she had moved into my flat and we were living together as lovers.
So after four months of our living together, I got a lawyer to help us facilitate the separation between Chidinma and Christian (her ex-husband) and thankfully, this was achieved after I paid the lawyer while I even stood as a witness.
What role did you play in Chidinma setting a new Guinness World Record in crochet?
I played a significant role in her setting a Guinness World Record in crochet. I told her prior to the GWR attempt while responding to her application that I would leave no stone unturned to help her set a new record and become a global star.
In fact, when I asked her ‘’what do you intend to do for the GWR?’’, she said she will do shoes, bags, face caps etc. I, however, had a plan on what I believed she could do to draw attention and all of that. So, I told her we will do a wedding gown which will be a masterpiece for the GWR and she also saw that as a great idea.
Meanwhile, the fears she had were majorly how to get finance for the GWR attempt, where to use as venue, how to promote the GWR and the business name under which the GWR would be promoted. Of course, I had earlier promised her that I was going to use my wealth of connections to take her far and set a new record.
On finance, I had always known that to stage a GWR, a lot is involved and due to the track record and years of experience the management of Movee led by my humble self has had in the industry, we took it upon ourselves to source for money.
The first place I took Chidinma to was Nike Arts Gallery, Ikate Elegusi, Lekki-Epe Expressway where we met with the owner, Mummy Nike and we discussed at length on the GWR. She was happy about it and asked us to further discuss with her husband who, however, declined our proposal. She was confused and almost discouraged but I assured her I would get a place and by then, I was already in conversation with sponsors.
I reached out to KFC for sponsorship to use one of their outlets for the GWR but due to the short notice, they could not come on board. I then reached out to UAC plc, and extended a conversation to my friend who is their Marketing Manager for sponsorship and possibly to feed the team for the three-day marathon and give us a venue.
After going back and forth, UAC approved our proposal and allotted Mr. Biggs in Magodo to hold the GWR but that per day, we would have to pay 800,000 naira and at this stage, I had already designed a flyer carrying Mr. Biggs as the venue. After many meetings canvassing UAC to use their venue, no consensus was reached and by this time, the date we set to organize the GWR was just two weeks away.
I encouraged her not to panic that I would get a befitting venue, so I reached out to Goge Africa for sponsorship to use their place due to the existing relationship I have built with the management of the company. They asked me to prepare a sponsorship proposal which I did and I was invited for a meeting.
I convinced Chidinma to join me for the meeting with the management of Goge Africa and she went with us on December 16, 2023 where we met with the Goge Africa team and other sponsors and partners.
After getting a venue to use but with so much work to be done to make the event a success, the talent was faced with financial difficulties on how the venue would be decorated, non-stop power for the three days, sufficient internet facility for a non-stop live recording, logistics of moving the items, feeding of the crew, payment for security among other things. I single-handedly shouldered the financial burden as the manager of the talent with the projection of getting return on investment (ROI) on endorsement from brands. I spent approximately N3.5million.
I decided to put out a press release on January 19, 2024 to promote the talent after a successful GWR in December 2023. We sent a sponsorship proposal to the Wool Company to sponsor the press release and possibly use their office but they insisted that until the talent had been confirmed, it would be impossible for them to commit with funds.
Having understood the need and the urgency of the press conference, I decided to speak to veteran actress, Dame Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett to hold the press conference at her venue in Illupeju, Lagos. She welcomed the idea and again convinced the talent to follow me for a meeting so they could get to meet in preparation for the press conference.
Prior to the press conference, I wrote to several media partners, sponsors and newspapers such as Axa Mansard Insurance Plc, Beazyn, Purpose Consulting, NewsMag Media, Goge Africa, Silverbird TV, TVC, Vanguard, Fresh FM, Mainland FM, The Nation and Tribune for promotion, sponsorship and media hype for the talent promotion amplification. I also spent another N1.8million approximately on the press conference.
Prior to her Guinness World Record feat, did you have any agreement with her?
Yes, this is because I was able to convince her that I was going to use my platform to promote her and she agreed and that was why she followed me to every meeting I attended. For example, she followed me to the Nike Arts Gallery and for meetings with Ajayi-Lycett, UAC as well as Goge Africa and the various radio stations we went for interviews.
How did your relationship with her turn sour? What really went wrong between the two of you?
After the press release we had in January, I told Chidinma about my intention to formalise our relationship giving that I had already helped her to get a lawyer to convince her ex-husband to come to terms and have a peaceful divorce with her to allow me and Chidinma go ahead with our relationship.
I visited her family with my uncle, we were well received and I took with me two bottles of wine and some fruits for the introduction. Her father asked me about my denomination and I told him I attend the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) he told me it was not possible for him to give me his daughter and that if I really plan to marry Chidinma, I would have to change my denomination because they are members of the Assemblies of God Church.
It became a serious issue that I had to invite everyone important in my life to step in and possibly convince her father to allow me go ahead with my marriage plans his daughter. We left their house and I came home waiting to get good news from Chidinma’s parents after spending so much money on her because by this time, she was living in my house.
The pressure was much and none of her relatives including the mother agreed with me and even when I tried to get close to them, they obviously made it clear that I was not welcome but Chidinma was always assuring me that I should not bother that after all, she was the one I had business with.
But before this time, she used to follow me to the church and I had flaunted her as a member of the Celestial Church of Christ before to promote her and give her the publicity she needed and she also did a video to that effect.
The video trended on the CCC platform, all these happened before she clinched the GWR. We both were in a serious relationship and the intention was to get married which was why I paid a lawyer to help us to legally end her former marriage which I explained earlier.
Sadly, she had been flaunting a guy as her new manger, someone who does not understand the frame work of talent management. I saw a talent in her and knowing that I had the resources she needed to come to the limelight, she turned her back on me after I had spent millions of naira.
I saw her post where she visited the wife of the former Vice President, Mrs. Osinbajo in Abuja with her family that was never there for her during the GWR attempt. This is a clear evidence that she is a terrible lady and she cannot go far with this kind of attitude. At it is, she cannot even go to Goge Africa, Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett and any of the brands I brought to support the GWR.
She moved all her belongings to my house in August 2023, in fact, we were living together as a couple. She got pregnant for me and she was already four months gone. I told her to allow us discuss the pregnancy with her family but she said no and that she would like us to wait till the baby bump became obvious.
Every day, I would go out and come back early just because of her state but I noticed that she suddenly started giving me attitude right under my roof, accusing me of cheating and that she was disappointed in me. She started doing things on her own and left me out but because of the love I had grown to have for her, I invited some elders into the matter.
They advised me that from the look of things, she was sounding very harsh and distasteful that she was disappointed and they asked her what was her reason, she said she saw my chats with a lady and that was why she had made up her mind to quit the relationship, that even if it would take her 10 years to find the right man, she would wait.
Can you please explain in details what transpired after you invited some elders into the matter?
On that fateful day, I was out to a school I manage their event in Ikeja GRA because as far as her crochet skill is concerned, I have been the one marketing and promoting her. She does not have any creative plan, it has been me all along, when you go to her social media page, yes she has clinched the GWR but the page is so dry and nothing is happening there.
The master plan on what to do after clinching the GWR is with me. To make matters worse, before I came back, she had packed all her things and left my apartment with the pregnancy. Before she left, we both went to the hospital for a scan to check the condition of the baby and the doctor said it was fine and in fact, she was expected to deliver on September 6, 2024.
Immediately she packed, the next message I got from her was that she lost the baby but I didn’t believe her because she had threatened to abort the pregnancy and that she would not want to go against the wish of her parents.
I told her your parents that left you alone and none of your family stood by you when you needed help for the GWR and now, you are telling me you would not like to do anything against their wish and possibly if they say we both cannot be together because of denomination, she would do something about the pregnancy.
So, immediately she sent me a text that she had lost the baby, I was enraged and really disturbed because I had gone to pay for baby things, thinking I was going to become a father by September.
To cap it all up, she has turned her back on me and blocked me and every other team member that fasted and worked for her during the GWR and went all out to make sure she won but she is now taking the glory alone.
The Guardian reached out to Chidinma who, however, countered the allegation, with the new Guinness World Record holder in crochet denying that she used Pelemoh in attaining stardom.
She said Pelemoh spent some money to help her actualise her GWR dream but it wasn’t up to the amount being specified by the Movee Exp Bulding Africa owner.
