Nigerian star Tiwa Savage has called on Beyonce and her team to use their platform to speak out about the ongoing #endSARS protests in Nigeria.
Last year, Tiwa, along with Wizkid, Yemi Alade, Mr Eazi and Burna Boy were featured on Beyonce’s ‘Lion King: The Gift’ album, and its visual accompaniment, ‘Black is King’, released earlier this year.
“I was involved, recently, in a project that I was so proud of, like as an artist I was so so proud to be called to be among the few people that was involved in this project.
“It’s called ‘Black Is King: The Gift album,'” Tiwa said in an Instagram live session. “But I want to use my platform right now to call Beyoncé and the whole team that reached out to a lot of Nigerians. Nigerian artists, Nigerian producers, Nigerian video directors, dancers, creatives.”
“I’m calling on Beyoncé and her team, the same way they used their platform… to elevate and to show the world that Black is King and how beautiful Afrobeat and Africa our culture is,” Tiwa Savage added. “I want them to please use their voice and their platform right because the same country that birth this genre is on fire right now.”
She added that Beyoncé should not ignore what’s happening in Nigeria and stressed that she may be criticised for speaking out.
“I know that I may be blacklisted by these outpourings but we know what the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti stood for and we have to stand for the same things too,” she said.
What is happening now is deeper than police brutality. I don’t want the government to frustrate us. The government will not win this time, we would win.”
Protests against police brutality have continued across Nigeria for a second week. Protesters are calling for good governance and an end to extrajudicial killings by SARS.
Rita Osakwe