Everyone knows that a fair society is built on justice. And that means in a case of a dispute between two parties, allowing both parties to air their grievances.
Or in this case, respond to allegations made against them.
And so, it was that when Nigerian entrepreneur and self-confessed feminist, Glory Osei was dragged to the court of social media sitting on Twitter, on allegations of fraud, Ponzi scheme, fake feminism, managing a toxic workplace and maltreatment of staff, it is only fair that she tells her own side of the story.
And that was exactly what Glory Osei did by issuing a Twitter message to deny any wrongdoing and to threaten court actions against those behind the accusations. We have it covered here.
In a Twitter statement released on her personal page, Glory Osei tries to pass off the accusations as stemming from some disgruntled ex-employees. She maintains that her company – Divergent Enterprises – complies with extant regulations and is diligent in its dealings. She also invites stakeholders -presumably clients and investors in the company – to visit the company and check out things for themselves.
It should be noted that while the statement was written on Divergent Enterprises letterhead, the statement is unsigned.
The statement in full:
“Dear Stakeholder,
“Our notice has been brought to the defamatory claims on social media against our Company and its Directors surrounding our operations. We would like to clearly state the following:
- Our Companies are fully operational and operations are fully within the Laws o of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Lagos State.
- As a Company, we conduct due diligence in all our dealings.
- Our partners are secure and our businesses are going as usual
- Stakeholders are welcome to visit us and address issues as to business confidence and for inspection purposed
“Please be informed that these claims are coming from disgruntled and ex-employees and are grossly untrue. We are an equal employer company and have been and will always be fair in our dealings and transactions.
“Further to the above, we are taking steps to ensure proper legal actions against all parties who have commenced these libellous claims against our Organisation.”
Some background
On Sunday night, a Twitter user identified only as Ada and going by the @TherealAda_ started a tweetstorm where he made various unsavoury accusations against Divergent Enterprises, a business entity owned principally by Glory Osei and her husband, Muyiwa Folorunso. She basically accused the company of scamming their clients through bogus selling of what essentially amounts to non-existence real estates and pocketing the cash. She also accused them of operating a Ponzi scheme via their Pork Money startup. According to Ada, Glory Osei is s “scam”, while her husband is a “fraud”.
Then what?
Glory Osei’s first reaction was to issue an unofficial press statement to deny the accusations. In the statement published on several social media platforms, she explains the origins of her various businesses, viz: Pork Money, Porkoyum, Landlagos and Hyberfactory.
On the accusations of maltreatment of staff, Glory Osei calls it a “tricky subject” maintaining that staff often are not remorseful when they’re wrong. She coincides that the business could be “gentler” and that what has happened is “teachable moment for my company.”
She continues: “ I wish we had handled the VERY necessary dismissals with a little more tact. The problem with running a private company in Nigeria is that we can see the people gaming the system and doing the barest minimum and we understand on a very deep level how that affects the productivity of any system. We are now putting every measure in place to make absolutely certain that this is no longer the case.
Glory Osei called the accusation of running a Ponzi scheme “ludicrous“.
“Everything we have done from when we started till now is to maximize the resources at our disposal, making sure to not take more than what we need to achieve what needs to be done,” she says. According to her, that anyone would say that her company is operating a Ponzi scheme is shocking. Glory Osei maintains that the company is “on schedule to paying all.” She also stated that the company would no longer be soliciting outside investment to sustain its growth.
On her marital status and social media posturing, Glory didn’t deny that she’s, in fact, married and to Muyiwa Folorunso. However, she prefers to “to keep certain aspects of my life very private” despite being a public personality
In her final sentences, Glory Osei apologised “who are unhappy with my perceived treatment of them while working for me.” She also urged the public to keep an open mind as the case unfolds.
And now?
So, the unofficial statement was followed with the official statement, we talked about earlier. It’s clear that the official statement was drafted with the aid of a legal advisor. Glory herself implied that she would be doing so.
However, it doesn’t take a soothsayer to tell anyone the gravity of these accusations that could potentially get the law enforcement agencies involved. And it’s almost certain this would not end on Twitter. We expect some sort of actual law enforcement agency swooping in, at least to investigate. At this stage, it is ‘she said, he said’. Nigerians deserve to know the truth. Hopefully, our law enforcement agencies can step in and do the necessary.
The unofficial statements:
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