Nigerian ace rapper, Jude Abaga, popularly known as MI, was attacked on social media for defending South African rapper, AKA, who had written on Twitter that Nigerians should stay in their country.
However, in a chat with Saturday Beats, MI stated that his stance didn’t mean he was supporting xenophobia.
He said;
If you search on Google, you’ll see that over the years, AKA has shown Nigeria love and respect. I felt that dragging his name into something as dangerous as xenophobia was wrong.
I simply said what I knew about him not being a xenophobe and being one who loves Nigeria. I thought my tweet was tasteful and as a person of integrity, I had to speak out honestly in defence of his character because I don’t think any other Nigerian spoke on his behalf. In retrospect, the timing probably wasn’t particularly right. I wasn’t standing with him against Nigeria.
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MI also decried the destruction of some businesses in Nigeria. He stated;
We saw a picture of someone who died in the protest. It’s never worth a human life – whether on the side of the xenophobic attacks or the protests here in Nigeria. I don’t think that taking property and jobs away from Nigerians in Nigeria is the right outcome. I hope there will come a time when we would respond to hate with love and react logically when threatened.
Yetunde Adegoke
