This Is Nigeria – Falz
Nigeria: sweat, tears, and blood. This is what Falz has very accurately captured in his This Is Nigeria video. The song which is a cover of Childish Gambino’s This Is America is graphic in its depiction of the injustices and struggles faced every day by the average Nigerian.
The video sees Falz dressed as Fela dance round a warehouse with ‘Chibok Girls’ providing backup choreography; with an assortment of everyday wahala (troubles) playing out in the background – SARS ‘shark attack’, killings by herdsmen and bandits, the glorification of internet fraud (419), etc. In an industry where a lot of the content produced makes little or no sense in the pursuit of happiness; however temporary; it is refreshing to see an artist consciously address relevant issues. And it’s not just the video; it’s also the lyrics. It is easy for one to get distracted by the ruckus being stirred in the video, but Falz is quite brazen with his words in addressing the gross lack of security, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria; our Nigeria.
As expected the video has gotten mixed reviews from its audience: some fans took exception to the use of the hijab (a metaphor for the Chibok/Dapchi girls) in the video while others are not comfortable with his choice of words as in the chorus: This is Nigeria/Everybody na criminal, but all the negativity pales in comparison to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ encouragement of the material with a short clip post of Falz’s This Is Nigeria video with the caption “#Nigeria LETS GO!” on his Instagram page.
This Is Nigeria is very controversial and has succeeded in starting conversations in Africa that would otherwise stay buried; we see on social media that other African countries are asking for their indigenous artists to do their own cover versions. And rightfully so too, because we all need to inspire major reform conversations so that Africa can truly free itself from the stigma of corruption, poverty, and injustice plaguing it. This Is Nigeria has seen to the rebirth of a conversation that won’t be shut up for a long time to come.
This Is Nigeria is conscious content we don’t see on these streets every day. This Is Nigeria is good music!
