Nigerian singer Rema has shared his thoughts on how he plans to use his influence to give back to society in a meaningful way, saying It does not include rice.
During his recent interview on The Breakfast Club, the Hehehe singer opened up about his desire to go beyond the traditional charity methods, such as distributing bags of rice, which are commonly seen in Nigerian politics.
“With the influence we now have as artistes, I feel like we are now at the point where we can tell politicians, ‘Yo, you’re not doing your job!’ If I am seated with the governor, I will whisper in his ear, ‘I don’t think you’re doing this right. Sorry, it’s coming from a 24-year-old.
He also stated that he was willing to present beneficial policies to Nigerian politicians in an effort to improve the lives of Nigerians. “We can help convince them about policies, and the little we can do and invest the money we make, bringing it back home, giving kids life meaning,” he stated
He criticised the common practice of giving rice as a form of charity, noting that it doesn’t address long-term needs.
A lot of times I tell my manager that it’s not about giving rice all the time. You don’t know if some kid has an allergy to rice, and then you leave and the kid has to go to the hospital to sort it out. There is a whole perspective of me giving back.
I don’t like to do the basic ‘If i gave you food, what about tomorrow? What are they going to eat tomorrow?”
In place of giving people food and rice, Rema offered more long-term solutions that he determined would benefit people. “My perspective on giving back is that I would use platforms and policies,” Rema said.
I would rather create a platform that would consistently provide, a platform that would consistently educate, and a platform that would consistently clothe or shelter. It could be 200 people or could be 500 people, but if it’s 1000 people, it’s quite consistent.”
