What you are about to read is quite long…and chilling! I wasn’t going to share this info in public but after I showed it to some family members and a few friends who came to the house this morning, everyone agreed that I need to share this, that you all need to read this. You see, what happened with my blog wasn’t about beef. It wasn’t because I showed off my new SUV. It wasn’t about plagiarism, or copyright infringement. It was something deeper, very personal and maybe even more dangerous. Some would call it obsession. Please continue…
To understand this I am going to start from the beginning but before that I want to talk about plagiarism. My understanding of plagiarism is when you take someone’s work and republish it verbatim as your own work. I don’t do that. But if I have ever done that in the past then I apologize. It was an oversight. I do get a lot of original content, way more than any other blogger in this country. Some of the biggest news stories in this country in recent times was broken by LIB. From Goldie’s death (God rest her soul) Aluu4, ABSU rape, P-Square saga, Solomon Akiyesi and plenty more. And when I take news from other sources, I always credit them. When I don’t give credit is when the news is everywhere so I write it in my own words and make it mine. I don’t believe that is a crime. I admit that I have used photos without giving credit. I apologize. That will never happen again. You learn every day. And I have learnt from this.
Now about Mr Aye Dee. Let me start from the very beginning so you guys understand what really happened. Like I said earlier, this was not about copyright or plagiarism. It was personal. Very personal. In 2009 or 2010…(not sure) a guy named Alex who used to run 1976AD blog contacted me. He said he was impressed with my work and wanted to encourage me to never relent. Alex Info 1976AD (how I knew him back then) and I became very good friends online. In fact he was my confidant. Every time I had questions or challenges, I would reach out to him.
By 2011, Alex 1976AD and I became quite close…online. We even exchanged numbers and spoke a few times. He always reminded me how proud of me he was. He told me I would one day become a phenomenon. I wasn’t number one at the time but he told me that I would one day be the biggest news site in Nigeria…that he believed in me that much. He was my friend, my supporter; he sent me news to post on my blog. He wanted me to succeed. He told me things to do to get more readers. He knew a lot about the internet and how it works so I always went to him for advice. He was my anchor.
In 2011, Alex 1976AD made me his blog’s Person of the Year 2011. I shared that post excitedly on my blog. He said I was the most deserving Nigerian for the award that year…and he wrote the most beautiful article about me. He was so proud of me…and never hesitated to tell me. I was grateful. I was happy to have him as a friend…even though we’d never met.
Then we stopped talking. I sincerely can’t remember when exactly. I know that Alex 1976AD tried to reach out to me mid last year…but I can’t remember if I responded. If I didn’t, it was an oversight. I’m really bad at replying mails because I get so many and I’m always busy blogging…but anyway.
On Wednesday around 2.07pm…my long lost friend Alex Info 1976AD contacted me via gmail chat. I was so happy when I saw his name pop up. I was like yay…Alex 1976AD! He would know what I should do in this situation. I thought he was reaching to me after all this while because he’d seen all the craziness going on and wanted to lend support…but what he said to me next shocked me to my bone marrow. He said ‘I hope u’re sitting down’. Thankfully I was because I would have literally fallen if I hadn’t been sitting.
You see, my good friend and biggest supporter Alex 1976AD told me he was Mr Aye Dee. The same guy who started this. The guy that got Google to shut down my blog. It wasn’t about plagiarism or copyright infringement…it was about a scorned former friend. It was about love turning to hate because he felt I’d abandoned him after I became big. Please patiently read our chat below…
The last time he tried to contact me was on July 12th 2013…before reaching out again on Wednesday
I will copy and paste the convo from here on because it’s quite long. Linda Ikeji is – me: Alex Info 1976AD/Mr Aye Dee is – info
info: I assumed you knew and were just forming
me: are u for real or ur just messing with me???
me: u are aye dee?
me: the person I thought respected me the most?
info: I do
me: u gave me woman of the year
info: Yes
me: are u for real?
info: that is why I was confused when I sent messages and you ignored all of them
info: I was like what have I done to this woman
info: I have helped all I can
info: and now she is doing like I am a non-existing entity because of a simple request
me: are u for real though???
info: 100%
me: my heart is beating so fast
me: it can’t be u
info: As mine has been for over a week
info: when I spoke to Ohimai, I even told him
info: that I know her we’ve worked together but she’s ignoring me
me: ignore u?
info: I really thought success had gone to your head
info: Yes
info: I sent you email
info: sent tweets
info: all ignored
me: i never got any emails my goodness
info: sigh
me: why didn’t u try to chat with me?
me: i get hundreds of mails every day
info: I wish I could tell you why, but it didn’t cross my mind till just now
me: i don’t read half of them
info: that maybe I need to go back to the account we’ve always used
me: i see alot in spam and junk
info: That’s where mine probably is
info: Funny thing is I realized I should use this account when someone I work with who knows how you and I have worked together said
me: i’m in shock
info: I know you and Linda manufactured this beef to make her more popular, cause there is no way you would ever do anything against her willingly
me: i don’t do much gmail chatting
me: but immediately i saw ur address i was like yay! my old friend
info: lol
me: tot u were reaching out to me bcos of whats happening
info: I am
info: because it makes no sense
info: I don’t want to destroy something I loved helping you build
info: Someone I’ve prayed for
info: and someone I still believe is going to be an icon for decades to come
me: my goodness
info: It’s ok
info: No harm meant
info: All can be cleaned up
info: and have you emerge stronger
me: wow
me: so why did you decide to reach out?
info: Because I figured out
info: after I read the post from yesterday and this morning
info: there IS NO WAY this woman can write this if she knows its me
info: So had to go into this account and chat with you
info: and if you still didn’t respond then I would know
info: Cause I saw my number there but the name of one of my partners
me: wow
info: I figured she must have forgotten that she’s called me on this #
info: Yes o.
info: The whole thing has been very traumatic to say the least
info: not what was said, but whom it was said by
info: I’ve never publicly stated anything we’ve done together
info: because I didn’t want it to seem like I’m guilt tripping you
info: but you can imagine what it felt like
info: especially when to add insult to injury, you unfriended and blocked me lol
info: I was like Dereisagodo
me: i didn’t know who u were
me: u know what?
info: what?
me: Recently I wondered what u think of me…wondered if u were still following my progress because u used to reach out a lot to me back then
info: I used to but you stopped responding
me: what u tot of how much I’d progressed
me: i just wondered
info: I am VERY proud of you
me: wow!
info: Everything I told you will happen is happening
info: and it’s about to get better
me: wow
me: i can’t believe this
me: from love to hate?
info: Hate ke?
info: Never that
info: Can’t happen
info: it’s like hating one’s own blood
info: all the stuff we’ve done together
info: not possible
info: If nothing else
info: this has brought out your enemies
info: I know them
me: but u are number one lol
me: i can’t believe this
me: u started it
info: After I thought you ignored and ignored and ignored
me: i didn’t
info: I believe you
me: u gave me woman of the year
me: no one else has ever done that
me: why would i ignore u?
info: fame makes people do crazy things
me: i’m not one of those my goodness
info: I know you’re not
me: i haven’t changed
info: i believed in my heart you’re not
me: I’m same girl just richer lol
me: wow
info: Yay
me: i swear i can’t believe this
info: You don’t know how happy I am to hear this
info: A little part of me died when all this happened
info: I’ve truly never felt this level of betrayal
info: or (Perceived) betrayal
info: I was like how can Linda do this to me? A person who saw her future and committed to helping her attain it out of sheer belief in her, how can she turn me into god knows what
me: i wasn’t even following u on twitter. i didn’t see ur tweets. someone who helps me source for news might have taken the stuff from u
info: Same here, someone informed me and my partners
info: and they ran with it
info: as you know, I used to provide you with stuff
info: so you know personally I don’t care
me: it was only when the rants started that i took note of the name mr aye dee
info: lol
me: I am shocked
info: I have never been so wrong about someone
info: I am truly sorry
info: I should have tried to reach out through third parties or through this
info: I messed up. All my fault
info: I hope you forgive me
me: so u thought i knew u were aye dee for real?
info: Of course
info: I’ve been following you since I opened my twitter account
info: then when we set up your blog-twitter I think I mentioned it
me: but I wasn’t following u and i never tweeted at u
me: because i didnt know it was u
info: so I thought you knew but again, since last year when you became unreachable, I stopped trying, figuring you have grown the proverbial set of wings
me: i know u as info1976ad
me: no other name
info: Yes, realized that this morning
me: wow
info: Yes
info: Wow is correct
info: You know part of me never believed you could be the way it appeared you were
info: it just seemed crazy
me: u should have tried to reach out to me
me: through here
info: I did. email and twitter
info: I know
info: Entirely my fault
me: i always wondered what happened to u
info: Last time we communicated
info: I think you were supposed to get in touch when you were in NYC
then you came, went, didn’t hear from you
me: u were such a strong support system for me
info: reached out a few more times via this acct
info: No answer
info: Of course, always and anytime. You know I will always guide you right and assist in any way I can
info: I’m sure you’ve never doubted that
info: so
me: so…
me: what do u want now?
info: Your continued success
info: Now that I’ve reached out and know this is a big misunderstanding
info: tell me what you want from me and I’ll do it
info: no questions asked
me: i’m confused
info: let me try and un-confuse you
me: ok
info: go on, ask away
me: i don’t know what to ask again
me: im still in shock i swear
info: That’s why I asked you to sit down
info: I knew I had to when you responded
info: I was like oh crap, she really didn’t know
info: What would you like me to do?
me: there’s nothing to be done
me: I’m happy u reached out
info: There’s always something
info: PR crisis managers handle stuff like this daily
me: i will definitely unblock u now and follow u
me: lol
info: Hahaha
info: how about we do this
me: but don’t worry everything will die down
info: we simultaneously post something
me: what?
info: I can handle the heat
info: Rest assured. You’re the one I’m worried about
info: I post: @LindaIkeji and I had a huge misunderstanding as a result of miscommunication. It is over now, and our relationship is back to one of mutual respect and admiration.
info: actually for 160 characters: @LindaIkeji & I had an avoidable misunderstanding, it’s now been resolved , & our relationship is back to 1 of mutual respect & admiration.
info: And we never speak of this again
info: the new story will be how did they do it
info: and what happened
info: but we can keep them guessing forever
me: wow
info: Crisis management 101
info: If we are united
info: what/whom is going to get between us? Our relationship predates “THE” Linda Ikeji afterall
me: what’s ur real name?
info: whichever tweets of mine that you want me to yank, I shall
info: What do you think, do you even remember?
Info: Mukhtar Alexander Dan’Iyan
info: MrAyeDee
me: oh dear Lord
me: i can’t believe this
info: Once done, let’s face those who are blackmailing you. We’ll have none of that
info: Yes, neither can I. Save the story for your memoirs
info: which you know you are going to HAVE to write one day
info: you are an inspiration to many
me: so the reports to google will stop?
info: I’ll ask my guys. They put requests in for my tweets that they say you took
info: At this end. Those who have been aggreived by you, I shall talk down. You might have to take some of their stuff down though
info: But if you want, I’ll walk you through overcoming copyright challenges
info: I want you to be bulletproof for the next part of your journey
info: that of being an international conglomerate, Nigeria’s first bonafide Multi Million $ web property
me: after everything that happened now i’m wondering if i can trust u
info: Have I ever given you cause NOT to?
info: I believe in you
info: nothing can change that
me: u turned many people against me…in the last few days
me: so yes
info: Those who turned we can get back if need be. You will emerge stronger from this if you want, and I’ll do all I can to assist you in this endeavor
info: I am emotionally vested in your success, I’ve been involved in your growth, nothing can change that
info: I’ve laid down all my weapons lol
info: Neutralized
me: ok so
info: so?
me: dont even know what to write again
me: lol
info: Hahahaha
info: what would you like the outcome of this discussion to be?
me: thank God i was sitting when u started chatting
info: Hahahahaha
info: smart move
me: my goodness yesterday u were asking pple to submit their names for a lawsuit and today i find out its u?
info: A day is a long time in politics
info: I have partners
info: some of them are all business
info: Me, not so much when it comes to people I care about
info: if in this convo you had shown yourself to be incorrigible
info: then different story
info: but obviously this has been a huge huge misunderstanding
me: so what do u suggest?
info: the above tweet simultaneously
info: and if you want, let me help you strategize on making the brand bullet proof
me: u want me to tweet too?
info: Has to be from both. And then we place a gag order on ourselves
info: if there are tweets you want me to remove
info: I shall
info: just point them out
info: This way all the haters/non haters/amebos/jjcs who want us to destroy each other will have no gasoline to pour on any fire
me: nah don’t worry about the tweets
me: its ok
info: No. I have to
info: don’t want to be an expressway to anything damaging to you
info: Linda that I know and Linda that I felt was aloof and inaccessible are two different people
me: i swear i wasn’t bothered about what was being said…was just afraid of the blog being taken down cos i’m not so keen on getting a website
info: Of course
info: you know the LindaIkeji.net has been yours from day 1 right
me: didn’t know that
info: Lol did you forget?
me: so what do u want me to tweet?
info: @LindaIkeji & I had an avoidable misunderstanding, it’s now been resolved , & our relationship is back to 1 of mutual respect & admiration.
info: let me know when, so we can hit send simultaneously
info: of course let me know so I can refollow you
me: we will tweet same thing?
info: yes
info: and never speak on it again
info: I’ve seen enough pr done
info: to know this is the stuff that works
me: to be sincere i don’t want to tweet anything. I never tweeted when everyone was talking…and i don’t want to now
info: Yes
info: but to bury it
info: only way
info: after that return to silence
me: but i can acknowledge ur tweet
info: I shall in regards to this issue
info: yes
info: but if we want people to move on
me: u started it.
info: that’s the best way
me: u end it
info: I agree
info: I shall
info: but you are tweeting
me: i will acknowledge ur tweet
info: so they know you’ve moved on too
me: i will write something
me: but not same thing as urs
info: okay, but key is to do it in real time. and not to comment again on the issue
me: ive never commented on it on twitter
info: If we want this issue closed
info: yes I know
me: just the blog
info: but rest assured
info: eyes of nigeria are on me and you
info: some want us to kill ourselves sef
info: some want me to destroy you
info: literally
info: people are wicked
info: some of them are people you’d think are your friends
info: Let me know when to re-follow and send
info: Speaking of losing your site, have you backed everything up?
me: not yet
info: What are you waiting for?
info: You’re an enterprise
info: Can you hire a writer?
info: If you do s/he needs a crash course on summarizing news
info: or items that do not look like the original source
me: i write alone
me: but will employ people soon
info: Hire someone
info: waste of your energy
info: you are a good business woman
info: not a darn writer
info: just my observation
info: am I still allowed to speak freely
me: lol
me: whatever
info: What?
info: lol
info: can you get someone?
me: will do
info: Also
info: You need to place rotators (or whatever they are called) to rotate ads in and out. Right now your site is slower than 95% of the entire internet.
Info: Sooner rather than later that will start to take a toll
me: what’s rotators?
info: An example:- http://www.codeitpretty.com/2013/08/blog-ad-rotator-with-html-and-javascript.html
info: everytime a page is refreshed a new ad appears in the placeholder
info: this makes your site super fast
info: assuming you use the right one
info: If you’re using blogger what you do is:
info: Go to your blog layout screen.
info: 2. On whichever sidebar you would like your ads to show, click on “Add a Gadget” and select the HTML/JavaScript” gadget.
info: 3. Decide how you would like for your ads to display (either one after another or two side by side). You can see on the side of mine that they are just one after another. This code is for one ad after the other, so if you want to display two columns of ads, make sure that your sidebar is wide enough for two ads plus a little extra room for the small space in between the ads. If you want them to display one after the other, then your sidebar just needs to be a little wider than one ad.
info: can walk you through if need be
me: my blog has been removed
info: when
me: just now
info: don’t panic
info: don’t hyperventilate either
info: we’ll get through this
info: if you want me to help you that is
info: Ok, you there?
info: Ready?
me: yep
info: Ok domain
info: you still have the lindaikeji.net or you might have another
info: first things first
info: put out a tweet that you’ll be back up within the hour though i a limited capacity
info: choose what domain you want to go with and let’s point it to self hosted wordpress
info: blogger is proprietary
info: though any host can yank you, your domain self hosted takes a bit more time, gives a bit more wiggle room
info: You there?
me: yep
info: Nervous?
info: Don’t be
info: Ok so first decision
info: Tweet put out?
info: You need to define the story before blogosphere does
info: Tweet should say: The Linda Ikeji Blog shall be back shortly, thank you for your patience and understanding
info: Let me know when done
me: done
info: Super
info: next decision
info: what url?
me: every name i want has been taken
info: Which names do you want?
Info: You’re about to be bombarded by your advertisers. I want to avoid that
continuity is key
me: lindaikeji.com, lindaikejiblog.com
info: Squatters
info: you’ll pay a ton and won’t happen immediately
info: next
info: We have to move fast
info: You there?
me: yep
info: Ok can you focus for the next 1 hour?
info: I know it’s difficult, but I need you to
info: Meanwhile I’ll begin backing up your blog
info: from this end
info: t3 line
info: shall probably be able to salvage something
info: and you can repopulate with that later on
me: ok
info: ok to which one?
me: so u asked google to take my blog down?
info: Yes
info: I did
info: Hate me later
me: and they did without even talking to me?
info: Linda let’s focus on the present and the future. Once you’re up and running we can dissect the past
info: You there?
info: I promise you, you are coming back stronger than ever
info: Best believe it, good or bad, I’ve never spoken anything into your life that hasn’t come to pass.
Info: and I’m telling you now, your best is yet to come. What you made in a year, you’ll be making in a day
Info: You will be a global media player
Info: Companies will offer to buy your brand for billions of US$, and you’ll turn them down because you know better offers shall come
Info: the things I told you about in 2010, did they not start taking place?
me: and then u tried to destroy it. I wish u had reached out to me earlier
info: I swear I tried
info: But remember this
me: I feel like i truly lost a friend
info: hard as it may be to believe
me: i used to look forward to talking with u
info: and now I am back
me: i felt u had my back
info: not going anywhere except you say you are tired of me
info: I do
me: i could always run to u
info: You still can
info: I am back, I promise you I am
info: I said this before, I’ll say it again. I am still your #1 supporter
#1 fan and totally committed to your success
info: you there?
Yeah, well…that’s the shocking real story. I thought I was dealing with Emmanuel Efremov…didn’t know it was someone from my past. Mr dear friend Alex 1976AD aka Mr Aye Dee wanted to be back in my life and he felt the best way to get my attention again was to shut down a blog I’ve slaved for almost eight years. And because he knew what to do and had the resources, he succeeded.
Below are his tweets last night after our chat…his tone completely changed.
I appreciate this. This is someone I used to love. Will always respect. I have absolutely nothing against him. At the end of the day he’s not an enemy…God used him to open my eyes. I’ll always be grateful.
I will like to say a big thank you to everyone who reached out, people who have shown concern, but most especially LIB readers. Your love and support has been overwhelming. Rest assured, I will never stop blogging. As long as I have breath in me…I will always be a blogger.
I hope you guys have learnt something from this story.
God bless you and yours and long live LIB.
Please feel free to read when Mr Aye Dee/1976AD made me his Person of the Year – here
Posted by Linda Ikeji at 1:00 AM