“Yes. I feel it is very funny because there is no cause of action, to be honest. There is no law that is against young ladies dancing in hijab. There is absolutely no basis for a legal action, I mean, people dance in hijabs all the time in movies and parties. In fact, designers have made sportswear that have hijabs, so why are they not saying that is a disrespect to the religion? I think it is a baseless allegation.”
Nigerian rap artiste, Folarin Falana better known as Falz has given his reaction to the claims by Muslim Rights concern (MURIC) that his musical video “This is Nigeria” is a hate video.
It will be recalled that Falz had released “This is Nigeria” which was a cover of American singer, Childish Gambino “This is America”. Upon its release, the music generated a lot of discussions and controversies. One of which was the order by MURIC to Falz to withdraw the video and apologise for allegedly inciting hate against Islam.
The group had said in a statement released by Professor Ishaq Akintola, ”MURIC warns Nigerian artists to stop giving Muslim names to devilish and lowly characters. We appeal to Muslims all over the country to simmer down. Let us adopt a civilized approach to ‘Shaku Shaku’ and teach agents provocateur some lessons in respect for human feelings. Instead of going violent, Nigerian Muslims should take those behind the ‘Shaku Shaku’ video to court in order to serve as a deterrent to others. We therefore give notice of impending legal action against the artist behind the ‘Shaku Shaku’ video unless the latter is withdrawn and an apology is widely published within seven days.”
However, in an interview with PUNCH, Falz rebuked the group saying “I think it is very clear what that scene represented in the video. The message is very clear because the girls there symbolise the constant issues and troubles that face the innocent girl child in Nigeria, especially in the northern part of Nigeria. They have been victims of kidnappings and we have the case of the Chibok girls and recently the Dapchi girls. Till date, most of the Chibok girls have not been found while a Dapchi girl is still held captive. That is what those girls symbolise. I feel everyone got the message and it is absurd that a group of people like MURIC alleged that it is a hate video. I do not think that makes sense in any way because in the same video, I spoke about other issues like insecurity, corruption, and I even talked about pastors. No Christian has come out to say that it is a hate video; so what is MURIC talking about? I do not really understand them.”
“Yes. I feel it is very funny because there is no cause of action, to be honest. There is no law that is against young ladies dancing in hijab. There is absolutely no basis for a legal action, I mean, people dance in hijabs all the time in movies and parties. In fact, designers have made sportswear that have hijabs, so why are they not saying that is a disrespect to the religion? I think it is a baseless allegation.”
“I have the utmost respect for Islam as well as every other religion but what I think our people need to focus more on is how to get away from being religious fanatics. It is one of our biggest problems and it was an issue I addressed in the same song and visual.
Speaking on the threat by the group that he was going to face legal action, Falz who is the son of foremost human right lawyer, Femi Falana said “If there is really going to be a court case, of course, I am prepared but there is none; there is no case here and I do not think it is anything that would hold water in any court. If they were to institute proceedings, I do not think it is something that would see the light of the day because there is no cause of action.”
He added that he was prepared to face the consequences of making music that preaches about truth “I am very prepared and I know that social conscious songs like this do not come without repercussions and reactions. They do not come without backlash. It is something I have thought about and it would definitely come my way but if you are going to speak the truth, then you have to stand for what is right. This is something I am going to continue to do and I would always stand for what is right.