Don Jazzy and Zara back in 2010. Photo: Facebook As the Nigerian music industry is mourning the death of one of its own Zara Gretti, a lot of criticism has been directed at her colleagues for allegedly turning their back at the singer who suffered from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). An industry sweet heart, Zara was healthy and bursting with energy and always making friends with many in the industry before her illness began.
Zara was an eccentric talent, ready to storm the industry and was rightly tipped to, until she suddenly went off the radar. It was later revealed that she had fallen ill due to complications from multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.
She needed help with her bills and started a fund raiser through a website – Gofundme.com. In the 10-minute video posted on the web, Zara talked about her illness and what was needed to save her; she practically begged for people to help her out of her sad and pitiable situation. ‘Now I am at the hospital again and I don’t have any kind of health insurance. And my bills are getting big so please help me. I want to come back home to Nigeria, to come and perform. I want to be around everybody I love. My friends, my family, my fans and my colleagues, so please do for me what you can,’ she tearfully pleaded in that video.
But it seems the entire music industry gave a deaf ear to her plea. There were no campaigns, no charity causes, no plea from influential colleagues and execs. Nothing remarkable, just a few Instagram posts by close friends. NET confirmed that numerous attempts by the singer to seek help from her colleagues were futile as many of her friends from the industry were not even picking or returning her phone calls. Information on the website opened for her fund-raising revealed that Zara needed fans and friends to contribute the sum of $23,000.00 (N3.7M). As at the time of this report, what was raised is the sum of $14,046 (N2.3M).
But Zara has passed away and it has suddenly become fashionable to be a ‘Zara friend’. Surprisingly the social media (Twitter, Instagram and BBM) have been flooded by a slew of tributes to the late singer from the same industry that ignored her when she needed them most. ‘Funny how half the so called celebs tweeting their RIPs to Zara didn’t even contribute a dime while she was alive,’ former Cool FM OAP and artiste manager Augustus ‘BooBoo’ Aja-Onu angrily wrote on Twitter, hours after Zara’s death. A sentiment shared by others close to the late singer.
‘Zara’s close buddies in the industry abandoned her; some are even among the reigning artistes now with endorsements and sold-out shows every day, yet they abandoned her. It was not just about giving her money, they could have created a buzz around her and people will help,’ an industry insider told NET. No names mentioned, yet. And it’s possible some celebs donated in anonymity. M.I, for example shared a screenshot of his conversation he had with the singer a day before she passed. Zara died on March 28, 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria, her manager confirmed to NET. She was 28 years old....
- Nigeria Entertainment Today
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