Singer Folarin Falana, better known as Falz, has been speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about the ENDSARS movement that has been hijacked and seen violent protests across Nigeria.
Amanpour asked if, considering the stories about SARS and many young people unwilling to come forward, if he feared for his life.
“I’m not afraid for my life, because where we are right now, I feel like I could easily die by anything away,” the artiste said.
He is among artistes who first started the peace #ENDSARS protest in Lagos before Nigerians began spilling onto the streets across the country.
His answer was in response to a description of SARS operatives’ conduct of extortion, torture, harassment and disappearing young people profiled as “living flamboyantly with no tangible means of livelihood”.
The profile has been interpreted to mean any good-looking young person is suspected to be an internet fraudster.
“We have nonexistent healthcare, a seriously high level of poverty, unemployment. We are in a critical state,” Falz said.
“If I don’t come out and complain about the state of things, I could sit back, have an accident on the way to work or something, and die as a result because the state of health care is nothing to write home about.
“Every Nigerian is one sickness away from passing away. What kind of life am I living? Why should I be afraid of dying? I am going to die any way, so what’s the point?”
