The Art of Social Responsibility

With the Nigerian Independence Day just gone by there have been varying reactions to Nigeria turning sixty.

Some, like myself, posted pictures in traditional attire, ate traditional food and celebrated the beautiful culture and resilience of our motherland; others posted pictures of dilapidated hospitals, pothole-filled flooded roads, and condemned the government.

All hoped and prayed for a better Nigeria. Sixty years later and my beloved country is still dealing with some of the same issues we had when the colonizers left us.

In the midst of the noise though, I longed for artists to make a statement, something, anything that would encourage their collective billions of followers.

 “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” — Dr Martin Luther King Jr

But I noticed that most of the artists, specifically musicians were either eerily silent or promoting merchandise and brand partnerships.

However two people stood out to me, Yemi Alade’s series of posts around her song Criminal in Agbada and Banky W’s caption about Patriotism.

Banky W Tweet

Both spoke to the same cause, the message, “for Nigeria to be greater the government and people have to do better”.

This sparked a conversation about social responsibility, specifically that of artists in Nigeria.

Social responsibility is an ethical ideology that an individual has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. According to Wikipedia, this responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals.

So do artists have a social responsibility to their country? I say yes.

I understand why others might disagree and say an artist does not have a social responsibility, especially to please the public’s sense of right and wrong when writing, creating or otherwise expressing his or herself.

 “As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.” — Nelson Mandela

The ability to influence comes as a part of fame. And that is a responsibility that some musicians don’t want to accept, because it holds them to a higher moral standard, and I get it, not all of them have the capacity. Leadership isn’t for everyone.

Music Journalist, Joey Akan says “Musicians are there to sing and make money, their job just influences a lot more people” than the average joe.

Agreed artists aren’t in the limelight because of activism, they don’t exist solely to save or fight everyone’s battles. But I would argue that the fact that they’re in the limelight is the very reason why they should use their voice.

It’s not enough to be passive, they must act. If all humans have a social responsibility to their environment, why should artists be exempt?

In his book “A World of Art,” Henry M. Sayre explores the four basic roles of art in society. Sayre writes that the roles of art and by extension artists include keeping a historical record, giving form to intangibles, revealing the hidden, and showing the world in a new way. 

These are tasks that come along with the job title. Some will say making protest music is a bad investment for Nigerian musicians, that the song won’t be successful, even though Fela had a very successful career doing just that.

We’re also seeing a shift in that direction with Tiwa Savage’s “Ole” currently on multiple top ten playlists and Burna’s now Brit certified silver African Giant album. 

Falz made an entire album titled Moral Instruction, a highly political album that spoke about the various injustices in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, a mere days later he was dragged for filth for calling out transactional sex.

Artists are scared to speak out because of the backlash often attached to it. In a tweet, Burna Boy writes that “when Fela was alive, the very people he was fighting for were those who put him through hell” in response to a tweet calling him out for not protesting, even though he’s referred to as a revolutionary musician.

The fear of repercussion is why every man for himself mentality has been adopted, it’s also the reason why artists speak out about injustices in other parts of the world where there are no perceived consequences but don’t do it as fervently when it concerns their home country.

So my question to you is are we all allowed to pick up and drop off our social responsibilities when it suits us?

We all have a voice, and if we don’t use it. What is the point?

“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.” — Thurgood Marshall

Lastly, stay up to date with all you need to know about African music at SOA, right here.

Main image – London, UK. 1st June 2019. Afrobeats Artists Wizkid performs at The Ends Festival. Photographed Michael Tubes