Mr P Says He’s the Only One in the Okoye Family with a Music Certificate

Nigerian singer Peter Okoye, popularly known as Mr P and one half of the former duo P-Square, has stated that he is the only member of the Okoye family who holds a music certificate. He made these remarks while performing at a recent AY Live event, where he also addressed longstanding criticisms that he lacked talent and reflected on the factors that contributed to the group’s breakup.

Speaking to the audience, Mr P pushed back against the narrative that he was “talentless.” He said he had sung and danced throughout his career yet still faced that label, and he set out to demonstrate his abilities on stage by singing, dancing, and playing both the guitar and the piano. “I have sang and danced but they told you I am talentless. I will prove myself today,” he told the crowd. He later asked rhetorically whether performing those skills live was easy.

He linked the persistent comparisons between him and his identical twin brother, Paul Okoye (Rudeboy), to the duo’s eventual split. According to Mr P, fans repeatedly claimed one brother was more talented than the other; that narrative, he said, affected Paul and led to problems within the group. “The reason P-Square split was because two brothers were doing their thing and some fans started saying one was more talented than the other and it got into his head and he started misbehaving,” he stated.

Central to his defense was the claim of formal musical training. “They lied to you. In the whole of Okoye’s family, I’m the only one with music certificate. I read music. But they lied to you. I know the liars but let’s leave it,” he said. He presented this qualification as evidence that the “talentless” label was unfounded.

The comments align with earlier statements Mr P has made about his background. In past interviews he has described attending a music school in Jos for about six months, obtaining a certificate, and being the first in the family to pursue music formally, while also noting that he can play multiple instruments. His twin brother Paul has continued a successful solo career as Rudeboy, and the broader Okoye family (including older brother Jude) has long been associated with the music business through management and related activities, though Mr P specifically distinguished formal certification.

P-Square rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of Africa’s biggest music acts before internal disagreements led to a prolonged split. Both brothers have since pursued solo careers, with Mr P releasing projects under his own name and label. Public comparisons and family tensions have periodically resurfaced in interviews and social media. Mr P’s AY Live performance framed his musical credentials and stage skills as a direct response to those narratives.

The statement has generated attention online and in Nigerian entertainment coverage, with reports highlighting both his defense of his abilities and his account of how external praise for one twin over the other strained the partnership. As with many public comments from the Okoye brothers over the years, it adds another chapter to the ongoing discussion of talent, training, and the legacy of P-Square.