It was all over the news a few days ago that Nigeria’s #1 blog www.lindaikeji.blogspot.com was shut down by Google. The Worldwide Web hasn’t witnessed so much speculations and tongue-twisting since the shutdown of Lindaikeji’s blog [LIB] but we are happy her blog has been restored.
LIB made a record-breaking comeback as it was restored 24 hours after it was deleted. Normally, it takes weeks or even months for Google to restore a deleted blog.
Linda has also taken time to explain the real issue between her, one Mr. Aye Dee and her blog’s shutdown.
In her words, Linda said…
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… Click http://lindaikeji.blogspot.com/2014/10/between-linda-ikeji-and-mr-aye-dee-real.html