BAMIDELE JOHNSON
Never heard of Mandy Kiss until she declared her interest in winning an X-rated Nobel by bedding 100 presumably able-bodied men, something she hoped Guinness World Records would be giddy over. I do not want to imagine the mechanics of what she desired, especially the wear and tear on the parts of the anatomy that would be pressed into action and whether the men on parade would be 60-second men. Or even at that, if any woman born of a woman has the stamina to do what she planned.
For all we know, she may be a spiritual descendant of Messalina, wife of Emperor Claudius, who was said to have an appetite so limitless she once competed with the prostitutes of Rome and won by exhausting 25 men in one night. History credited her with a libido that could conquer legions. Compared to her, Mandy’s ambition of a century of men begins to look like a family tradition.
Whatever the case, GWR, to her understandable chagrin, said something like it was no Pornhub and showed no interest. Her consolation prize came quickly, to the disappointment of common sense. Lagos State Government announced her appointment as an anti-drug abuse ambassador under the Lagos State Kicks Against Drug Abuse programme. I doubt the government did not think the announcement would not raise eyebrows. Mine rose like the claws of an angry crab. Here is a visually offending young woman who only recently made headlines for promising a marathon sex act, later brushed off as a joke.
Such a stunt lingers in the public consciousness and sits uneasily beside the solemn task of preaching discipline and sobriety to young people vulnerable to the seduction of narcotics. The government’s choice exposes a contradiction at the heart of the campaign. Lagos State Kicks Against Drug Abuse is supposed to stand for self-control, dignity and responsibility. By selecting a figure best known for provocation, it risks muddying its message. Instead of reinforcing the gravity of drug abuse, the appointment invites the question of whether social media clout now outweighs credibility and moral authority.
For any public health campaign to be effective, especially one aimed at the youth, trust is everything. Trust rests on the belief that the messenger is a model worth emulating. But when the messenger is still shadowed by sensationalism, the campaign is vulnerable to cynicism. It feeds the impression that government is less interested in the problem itself than in chasing headlines and internet traffic.
Worse still, Mandy Kiss will not just be the star of the story, she will be the story itself, eclipsing the real subject which is the devastating impact of drugs on lives, families and communities. Media chatter has already shifted from substance abuse to the controversy over whether she should be the face of the campaign. It is a dangerous distraction that weakens the urgency of the message.
There is also the matter of optics in a society that remains largely conservative. For many parents, religious and community leaders, it is jarring to see government endorse someone whose brand has been built on provocation. Such dissonance will alienate precisely the constituencies whose support is crucial.
Government, of course, has its defence. It argues that Mandy Kiss has a large following and can reach youths who may ignore traditional voices. It has also stressed that everyone has a past and that redemption is a powerful message. In theory, this is not without merit. Influencers are increasingly used in public health campaigns around the world because they reach audiences that traditional ambassadors cannot.
But redemption must be framed with clarity and intention. If the goal is to present Mandy Kiss as a reformed figure, her transformation must be explicit. Otherwise, the appointment is nothing but opportunism, a reward for notoriety rather than a platform for change.
Government may be hoping for reach, but what it has got is controversy. If it insists on sticking with Mandy Kiss, it must at least surround her with ambassadors who command deeper respect and have moral authority. Otherwise, this initiative will crumble under the weight of its own poor symbolism, remembered less for its stand against drug abuse than for the distraction it chose as its face.