Bernice Larryoboh
Nigerian rapper, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, has revealed that he would rather go down fighting for justice than to remain silent and die from the failed system of the country.
The hip-hop artist who disclosed this in an interview with a cable network, Arise TV, on Wednesday, said he is not afraid of death, stressing that life in Nigeria is not meaningful.
The multi-talented entertainer featured on the programme ‘Music as a Socio-political Tool’, following the release of his latest song ‘Yakubu, which featured his colleague, Vector, and was titled after the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
The rappers, in the song, called out INEC, its chairman and other political parties allegedly involved in the electoral malpractices in the just-concluded general elections.
Falz, who joined the programme via Skype from the United Kingdom, explained that he was not abroad because he was afraid of confrontation from state actors over the controversial song.
He said, “I knew that was going to come up when you announced that I was doing this from London. Like I said earlier on, this is not the first time, this is not the second time, this is not the third time.
“I have released tons of records that are very confrontational. And I was on ground. I’m always on ground when I release these records.
“It is not to say that I’m running anywhere. Absolutely not. Everyone knows where to find me, if anyone wants to find me. But I have no reason to fear anything. And I always say this when people ask me ‘how do you do these things without any fear of consequences?’
“And this is the same answer that I always give: the kind of life we are living already is one which we are more or less fading away already. It’s not a meaningful life what we have in Nigeria as a country.
“What’s the worst that could happen? It’s death. I don’t fear death. I would rather go down fighting for a just cause. I would rather be remembered as someone that lived a life that was meaningful rather than someone that for example was walking down the road and got run over by a danfo [bus] because he was driving recklessly, or someone that got a heart disease and could not save himself because there are no hospitals capable of saving him in Nigeria.” The singer added.