Falz, a singer and activist from Nigeria, is undoubtedly one of the public figures that speaks out the loudest about politics and the state of the nation. Several things have happened over the past few weeks and months, including celebrities not speaking out, promoting prejudice and tribalism, and endorsing opposing politicians while receiving negative press. Falz sits down with Breakfast Central to discuss all the recent events that have taken place after a number of them. Here are Falz’s comments on these subjects.
During the interview, Falz was asked “In the last couple of weeks and months, there have been criticism of people who didn’t speak up or weren’t part of the conversation in the build up towards the election. They even called you the ‘Real African Giant’. Can we get your thoughts on the call for more Nigerian artists both in the music industry and Nollywood, to lend a voice and not stay silent when these things are happening?” He said:
FALZ: I think what it is from a celebrity perspective, I think for people that have probably been on the receiving end of this backlash, I would maybe appeal to them to not look at it as just people trying to attack them for no reason. I see where it’s coming from. It’s from a place of hurt. It’s almost like human nature to turn on someone when you feel like they should be on your side and they should be doing more and they’re in a position to do more. So I will not like for us to antagonize each other, it’s not a good thing, this is probably the worst time for us to ever antagonize each other. This is a time when we need to be together, be on the same page as much as possible, as a people. I think as celebrities, if you’re in a position of influence, if you have a voice, I think that you should use that voice to your best ability. If you however do not have anything to say, it’s not by force to speak.
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“Let’s talk about celebrities who have used their influencing to speak in support of certain candidates that they prefer. We’ve seen different celebrities throwing their weight behind different presidential candidates and governorship candidates. Now some of these celebrities have accused young people of bullying and trolling them, talking about the mob mentality and cancel culture. I’d like to find out what your thoughts are on that?”
FALZ: I find it funny but at the same time not funny because I see where people are coming from. For the ones that have fueled the tribalism and bigotry that we spoke of earlier on, I say they hundred percent deserve the bullying they’re getting because that is stupid of them. It’s such an evil thing to fuel. And I’ve seen celebrities, celebrities I thought had some sense in them. I’ve seen them blatantly fueling this thing, this tribalism and bigotry. in such a senseless manner. I think those ones deserve the bullying. However, for the other people that have just come to say, ‘This is my preferred candidate’. Everyone of course, like we know, should be fully free from any attack. You know, I should be able to say, ‘This is my preferred candidate and I stand by that’.
However, we know what we are going through as a country and we know the people that have kept us here as a country. So, when those people come with their full chests and say, ‘This is who I support’, I see why people attack them. However, it’s not okay. Nobody should be bullied for their choice of candidate but those people too, they should think about it. Look at the suffer, it’s going round. Them too, they’re feeling it. Ah ah.