Musician and activist Seun Kuti has emphasised the need for Nigerians to move beyond protests and work towards genuine political transformation.
Kuti emphasised during his visit on Rubbin Minds that protests are insufficient to solve the issues facing the nation.
Martin Luther King’s remarks, which emphasised the significance of actively pursuing justice and rights, served as an inspiration for Kuti.
He said that although Nigerians were formerly recognised for their tenacity and contentment, they are nowadays being prosecuted for standing up to injustice.
Seun Kuti criticized the current state of activism in Nigeria, emphasizing the need for organized and systemic change.
He argued that protests should be accompanied by a clear plan for replacing existing power structures with new, representative leadership.
Seun Kuti also advocated for a shift away from capitalism and towards a more socialist approach, emphasizing the need for mass mobilization and a unified socialist identity to bring about meaningful change in Nigeria.
In his words:
“I am going to paraphrase Martin Luther King, but he said something like, ‘I would rather live in a warzone that is just than live in a peaceful place where there are no rights because there is nothing more peaceful than an unjust society’. They have accepted their fate and keep quiet so the oppressors can do what they like.
“Up until 10 years ago, Nigerians were the most resilient people in the world, they said we were the happiest people in the world and nobody came to give us awards for it. Now that we want to start speaking up for the betterment of ourselves, we are being charged.
“What I will tell Nigerians is that protest is not enough. I see protests as a child going to a loving parent complaining, ‘Oh, mummy, I don’t want to eat this,’ because the daddy and mummy care. But these people don’t care; that’s why I don’t preach protest only; I preach mass organisation because we the people must also organise ourselves for power.
“It is not enough that we are protesting because we don’t like what they do, we must also send signals that we are ready to replace them. Not with another version of themselves like we did before, PDP to APC but with new people, representatives from our side of the divide.
“It’s not enough that people protest, it is the start of the dance. We need to mass mobilise into a socialist identity to realise this country from this capitalist nonsense we are experiencing.”
