Looking Deeper Into Falz’s This Is Nigeria
Donald Glover, an American rapper and comedian, stirred internet conversations on the 5th of May when he released the video for his song “This Is America.” The song highlighted many challenges African Americans have faced. These include; racism, gun violence, police brutality among others. Furthermore, the video depicts some distractions put in place to divert attention away from the real issues. There were debates on different social media platforms following the song’s release. They emphasised how Nigeria goes through its struggles and blindfolds itself from the harsh realities of the nation.
It was in this vein that Rapper and Actor Folarin Falana (popularly known as “Falz the Bahdguy”), who has never been one to shy away from giving a voice to societal problems, created a parody of the song titled “This is Nigeria.” This is Nigeria” brings to light several problems plaguing us as a nation; corruption, drug abuse, police brutality, dependence on fake pastors, cybercrime, and many other appalling situations. Below is a breakdown of some of the major issues pointed out by Falz in his video.
WE ARE DISTRACTED FROM THE REAL ISSUES
The video starts with a chaotic background full of Nigeria’s issues, such as a killing carried out by a Fulani man, violence amongst youth, and the destruction of property. Meanwhile, girls in hijab (probably a reference to the Dapchi/Chibok girls and other girls held captive by Boko Haram) are performing the famous shaku shaku dance.
Falz drives his point home through artistic visual explanation. Amidst all the troubles and chaos in the country, only a few are bothered about the real issues. We are more interested in the latest dance moves and other trends that the media feeds us instead of standing in solidarity and helping to end the menace.
Falz also uses himself as a reference point, saying, “because I am on TV now, person dey check to see if my watch is original.” We are in an era where we get carried away with the glamour and beauty of celebrity lifestyle and gossip. For example, the popular show “Big Brother Naija” gained a lot of clout and commentary around social media platforms. People were emotionally connected to the show for the whole season. However, they turned a blind eye towards the nation’s chaos.
THERE IS NO FORM OF ACCOUNTABILITY
“Where that madam Philomena, money vanish for your office 36 million, you talk say na animal.“ This was about the infamous JAMB office saga in Benue state. 36 million naira suddenly got missing, and the office clerk in question (Philomena) blamed a mysterious snake for spiritually swallowing the money. This story quickly circulated on media platforms but was mostly turned into a joke and was no sooner forgotten. Arrests were never made, and the mystery behind the missing money is yet solved.
This lack of accountability drives deep into the political offices of Nigeria. Falz didn’t fail to outline this when he said, “This is Nigeria, we never end recession oh, but looters and killers are still contesting election oh, Politicians wey thief some billion and billion, he no dey go prison oh.” Nigerians will recall that the APC government campaigned under the idea of “change.” They promised to tackle corruption and jail looters. Since the assumption of office, all the leaders have done is talk cheaply and produce meagre results. For example, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, released a looters list containing ex-government officials like Femi-Fani Kayode, Olisa Metuh, Uche Secondus, and many more, but it ended at that. He took no further action, and these men are still roaming the streets.
Also, many Nigerians have cited that President Buhari ran his electoral campaign based on funds from corrupt APC leaders such as Rotimi Amaechi. A number of funds have gotten missing under Buhari’s government. For example, the N18 billion IDP intervention funds and N10 billion NHIS funds. Therefore, so he has no moral grounds to fight corruption.
#Diezianigate broke the internet in 2016, where allegations that $115 million in campaign slush funds was provided by the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dieziani Allison Madueke, to use in campaign activities for PDP. Till this moment, no concrete arrest or conviction has been made. Some of these so-called looters and killers are being celebrated and even showing interest in contesting elections on different political platforms. This shows that our leaders are not accountable to anybody. It also goes without mentioning that those in power have spent more time blaming previous administrations instead of proffering solutions to them.
“Police station dey close by 6, security reason oh.” The police have been charged with the duty of maintaining law and order in the society. Unfortunately, they are often caught giving away comments like “the cell and station must be closed by 6, for security reasons.” What should the citizens do in a society where the police are more bothered about their own security and safety?
THE CHURCH vs. THE PEOPLE AND THE TRUTH
Some churches focus on teaching the word of God and winning souls for the Kingdom, as mandated. However, the challenge of false preachers and the effect on the church cannot be overlooked. These leaders create a system that exploits and misleads the public. It is unfortunate because the church has become a support system that many people have come to depend on. They choose this over fixing their hope directly on God.
A common instance is when a pastor tells his members that their “miracle” is coming forth, and instead of the people putting in work, they sit and fold their arms, waiting for the miracle to happen. Falz references this in the song where a pastor says, “My brothers and sisters, I want you to put your hands up because your miracle is coming this week. If you believe me, let me hear you say amen.”
Promises of unlimited breakthroughs and miracles have become a yardstick for gaining new members. Unfortunately, most of the churches in existence don’t have any intention for the spiritual growth and development of their members.
“Praise and worship we singing now; Pastor puts his hand on the breast of his member. He is chasing the demon out.” These lyrics explain, to an extent, the level of sexual harassment and abuse in the Nigerian church in the name of casting out demons. Pastors or prophets hold private sessions with their members and end up molesting some of their members.
A few years ago in South Africa, a Nigerian pastor was arrested for sexually molesting over 30 girls. These are the false prophets whom people follow blindly without trying to check for themselves the truth. Many are attracted to the glamorous life these false men lead them to believe through sweet words and blatant lies.
LACK OF EMPLOYMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE
“No electricity daily oh, your people still working multiple jobs, they say we lazy oh.“ Nigeria is still facing a major infrastructure problem 57 years after gaining independence. Despite numerous promises from the federal government, the power situation is still poor. For this reason, many Nigerians still need to rely heavily on the small generators popularly known as “I better pass my neighbour” for the running of their homes and businesses.
It is impossible not to mention that unemployment rates have skyrocketed recently. Also, those with jobs usually take on additional work to sustain themselves and their families. In 2016, Benue state Governor Samuel Ortom declared Fridays a work-free day for workers. This is to give them time to work so that they could take time to work on their farms at a subsistent level. When asked why he made such a decision, he cited difficulties in allocating enough money to pay civil servants in the state.
Instances like this stirred up negative reactions from youths when President Buhari went on international television to say that Nigerian youths are lazy and are sitting at home waiting for oil money. It was a sad comment, considering the harsh realities plaguing the nation.
HERDERS KILLINGS
“Fulani herdsmen still dey slaughter, carry people dey massacre.” The Herdsmen killings have been going on for years. However, this year, the killings spread out to six villages in the Guma and Logo local government area of Benue state. On New Year’s day, attacks in the area led to loss of life and properties. The attack was as a result of the enactment of the anti-grazing law in the state. They have carried out attacks in other states, such as Taraba and Nassarawa. In Benue, herders attacked a catholic church and killed 15 people, including the reverend fathers, as referenced in the video.
Unfortunately, the federal government has been slow in dealing with the matter and only a few people have been arrested. The killings keep getting worse with no value or regard for Nigerian life.
DRUG ABUSE AND CYBERCRIME (YAHOO YAHOO)
“This is Nigeria; drugs in my area.” In some video cuts, we see boys moving around and sipping codeine. Drug abuse has become one of the major problems that Nigerian youths are battling today. Unfortunately, this has been going on for years, and it took a major BBC documentary to shine a light on the harm these drugs have done to the youth. This led the government to ban these drugs’ sales without a proper doctor’s prescription. Yet, the ban is not enough, as some clinics sell illegally to their faithful customers. The government is yet to provide a more workable solution to the epidemic.
“Yahoo yahoo don tear everywhere now, and we act like it’s so cool“ cybercrime is at an all-time high in the country. The famous yahoo plus business has become the hope of many youths in Nigeria. They have watched their peers step out in the latest clothes, ride flashy cars and date beautiful women. Many businesses, especially in the entertainment industry, are built via heavy yahoo connections. Because of this, artists on different occasions celebrate these cybercriminals when they put out music. It has become cool for people to praise these criminals forgetting that they are “thieves with laptops.”
On the 11th of May, the EFCC busted Club 57 lounge in Lagos and arrested 12 internet fraudsters. Many abandoned their exotic cars and fled the scene. Citizens however took it the wrong way, blaming the EFCC for letting politicians slide while coming for young men just trying to feed their families. Falz has never been one to shy away from his criticism of these groups of people, and he also addressed them in a song on his last album (Confirm ft. Sir Dauda). Blogger Noble Igwe recently lent his voice to this same cause on Twitter. However, negative reactions followed his comments. Hence the line “casting the P (problem) and being castigated, just for trying to be Noble.”
SARS AND #ENDSARS
“SARS stop you for road any explanation, and you go talk am for station.” The Special Anti-Robbery Squad, popularly known as SARS, has come under heavy scrutiny from the public. Many citizens took to Twitter late last year to narrate their tales of struggle under the special police unit. Nigerians told stories of threats, beatings, and extortion of the highest order. The stories showed that this police unit had become something far from its obligation to protect lives and properties.
The video shows a student and his friends returning from a night out, and because they don’t have ID cards, they are taken to the station and locked up. One of the boys, whose father has money and connections, comes and bails his son, while the others with no bail money are left to suffer in the cell. This is why the ad-libs at the beginning of the video capture the reality of Nigeria. Falz’s dad, Femi Falana, says in the song, “the rich will have their way, so many criminal cases are settled in police stations.”
This led to citizens demanding the government review the various complaints laid by citizens concerning the SARS. There was also a demand for the unit to be terminated completely from the police force. This was done using the #ENDSARS tag, but to this day, the government has paid no mind to the threats made by SARS.
WHAT NEXT….?
In less than four minutes, Falz has brought to our attention the issues plaguing us as a nation. Unfortunately, these are the things the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti warned us about in his music back in the 80s. Falz has brought a similar message based on the contemporary problems we are tackling as a nation.
This year, we celebrate 19 years of democracy and 58 years of independence. Most of the problems stated above do not represent the ideals of a truly democratic nation. Falz was just the messenger of an important political statement. We must listen, digest and reflect on what we have just heard and devise ways to steer forward.
You can check out the video below;
