Peter Okoye was once a member of the Nigerian musical group P-Square, which started in the late 1990s. He paired with his twin brother Paul Okoye. The two wrote and produced most -if not- all of their songs, which included a total of 5 studio albums, 25 music videos, and 29 singles.
P-Square first gained recognition in 2003 after they released the music video of their hit song, Senorita, which their elder brother Jude Okoye directed.
After founding their label, Square Records, and releasing multiple albums like Get Squared (2005), Game Over (2007), and Danger (2009), they gained more popularity and influence.
Some of their works that received the most raves were Bizzy Body, Temptation, Do Me, Beautiful Onyinye, Personally, E no easy, and Alingo.
The public loved them. The media loved them. Everything they released was gobbled up quickly and they started making a splash internationally.
P-Square won Best Group for two consecutive years in the early 2000s and won Artiste of the Decade in 2015 at the MTV Africa Music Awards. Although they still haven’t received an award at the MTV Europe Music Awards, they have been nominated multiple times for Best African Act. P-Square has also taken home a lot of trophies at many Nigerian awards shows. Such as The Headies, NMA, and Channel O Music Video Awards.
Everything appeared to be going well for the two in terms of fame, status, and wealth at the time. However, behind the scenes, their relationship was beginning to sour.
In 2017, Peter Okoye and Paul decided to part ways citing management issues and irreconcilable differences. A year before that, Peter publicly accused their elder brother Jude of favoring his twin and excluding him from making decisions about the affairs of their label on multiple occasions.
Their split was not smooth. The three of them threw insults around both on social media and during public appearances. Pulse Nigeria even uploaded a viral clip showing the siblings almost coming to blows while at their lawyer’s office.
Peter Okoye later adopted the stage name Mr P while his twin used the name Rudeboy. Both of them had successful solo careers within the two years they were apart. They occasionally appeared on shows together and performed in many cities. However, they only did so on a professional level.
Fast forward to 2021, when fans were starting to lose hope that P-Square was ever going to happen again. The two unexpectedly mended their relationship. A few days before their 40th birthday, they released a short clip to not-so-subtly let everyone know that they had reconciled.
Now although fans were happy to see Peter Okoye back with his other two siblings, some were still skeptical about their reunion. Possibly in an attempt to dispel people’s doubts, the duo held a concert in December of that year titled “P-Square Reactivated.” Those who attended spoke highly of their synergy online. Most of the fans also felt that everything had been patched up based on their interactions on stage.
For close to three years, all seemed to be well………..until a few weeks ago.
In a recent interview with City FM, Paul Okoye revealed that Peter has no intention of reuniting P-Square. He also mentioned that Peter had accused him and their brother, Jude, of moving a large sum of P-Square’s royalties into a private account, leading to an investigation by the EFCC, a commission that looks into financial crimes.
However, in response to these claims, Peter released an open letter to his brother on X last week.
In the letter, Peter wrote:
“My dear brother Paul, Just like I have told you several times, I am not in any competition with you or anybody else. However, seeing you grant countless interviews where you constantly discredit my efforts in the group that we both created and built together really speaks volumes…..Every time I have spoken in interviews about P-SQUARE, I have always used “we” and “us” because I saw us as a team. But whenever you speak, it’s always “I” and “me,” even when I’m standing right beside you. It’s as if I never existed…….Rather than joining forces with me to reclaim our number 1 spot in the music industry, you chose to team up with Jude to claim the number 1 spot in the P-SQUARE group, always looking for opportunities to marginalize and humiliate me.”
He also called out his brother for disrespecting his wife and family while taking their elder brother’s side, whom Peter claims is “clearly trying to oppress me.” You can read the full open letter here.
At the time of writing, Jude denies diverting funds to a private account. Meanwhile, Paul is now calling for unity among the three brothers. However, the tension resulting from their recent split doesn’t seem to be easing anytime soon.
