- Nigerian comedian Basketmouth expressed his dissatisfaction with the country’s economic situation and the leadership of the country.
- Basketmouth expressed concern over rising inflation and naira depreciation, affecting Nigerians’ lives, during an interview with AFRIMMA.
Nigerian comedian Basketmouth has expressed his discontent with the current economic situation in Nigeria and the country’s leadership.
In an interview with the African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA), Basketmouth articulated his deepening worries about escalating inflation and the devaluation of the naira, which have significantly impacted the daily lives of Nigerians.
He said, “There’s nothing that can happen, quote me anywhere. Think about it, in 1970, the year I was born, it was one naira to a dollar and this year it’s one dollar to 1600 naira. There was never a time from that time to date that the dollar crashed and went back to what it was and stayed there. It has never happened; think about it.”
Basketmouth also criticized the popular phrase, “E go better,” which translates to “It will get better,” often used by Nigerians during difficult times.
“Every time it changes, all the conversations you’d be hearing is ‘E go better, E go better.’ it’s getting worse, bro. What are the policies? And what have they done? Now 100 pages for a passport is 100,000 naira; they just increased it,” he elaborated.
He speculated that the government may have intentionally created these economic difficulties to encourage citizens to consider “japa,” a term commonly used to describe emigration in search of improved prospects.
“I suspect that our government planned this thing to make the Nigerian population suffer. So that when they suffer they can now want to japa, then they will increase the price of the passport and they’d make money,” said the actor.
With a hint of sarcasm, he concluded, “It’s not like I’ve given up hope; I’m hopeful. Maybe one day, the country will be better. Let’s all believe in that pipe dream. It’s done, it’s over.”
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