-
Star Actor, Mr. MARCARONI
Everybody knows Mr. Macaroni. He is one of the wave making comedy skit makers in the country at the moment. But he is first and foremost a trained actor and a damn good one at that. In the last couple of years, his profile and rating as an actor has gone up on account of some of the block buster movies he has featured prominently in. There is no doubt about it, this talented young man has done very well for himself. But apart from acting, he is also making a name for himself as one of the most respected youth voices in the country when it comes to speaking out against bad governance, injustice, oppression and the sorts. Mr. Macaroni was also one of the visible celebrities who participated actively at the ill-fated EndSars protest that shook the entire nation to its foundation couple of years ago.
This very popular humour merchant whose real name is Debo Adedayo stunned everyone when he halted his busy schedules, put his entire career on the line and threw everything he had into the protest, all in a bid to ensure that the reasons for which the protest was started were realized. He is one personality that the youth have tremendous respect for and they listen to him. He is brilliant. He is intelligent. And for a young and emerging activist, he is also very articulate. And no one could question his passion for the fight against police brutality and bad governance, it was evident for all to see. He joined thousands of other youths to sleep all night on the road right in front of the Lagos House of Assembly if that was what it would take for them to be heard. Little wonder why many now look up to him and see in him a beacon of hope that indeed, there are some outstanding young people with incredible minds out there who can and will do great things in this country if they are allowed to get into positions of leadership.
Last two weeks, City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) had an engaging time with Mr. Macaroni. He spoke about his issues with the President Bola Tinubu administration and why he thinks the Labour Party going to the Supreme Court may not achieve any result different from what they got at the Tribunal. Here are excerpts of the interview.
The Labour Party, as you already know, has filed an appeal and taken its case to the Supreme Court, as someone who believes in the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, what do you think are the chances of Peter Obi at the Supreme Court?
Well, for me, my thinking is that, at the end of the day, who are those that will decide the justice that we ought to get? Everything is so tricky. Besides, the Labour Party, the PDP is also there, waiting to get justice as well. What I am trying to say here is that, if the election was free and fair, it will be easier to decide these things. It will be easier to weigh in on these matters. The foundation is vey faulty. Even now that both the PDP and Labour Party have gone to the Supreme Court, the structure that we have right now does not really allow for the independence of the judiciary. I mean, there are powers where there are powers, so who calls the shots? And what will the Supreme Court do differently? I’m sorry, but as regards the decision, I don’t think anything will change even at the Supreme Court. Nothing will change.
You have often expressed your displeasure for the process that brought in President Bola Tinubu’s government, are there a few things that you honestly think he has done right? Are you fairly impressed with his performance so far?
Yes, yes, I have been. There is no doubt that the take off has been good. There have been some issues but it has not been a very bad start. But, you see, for me, I am about the growth of Nigeria. Did I want APC to come into power again? Absolutely not. But right now, they are in power. As far as Nigeria is concerned, they are in government. The charge is that they do right by the people. If they are doing the work as they ought to and they realise that the people have the right to say that they are not doing it right, I don’t think there will be any problems. So far so good, there have been a few things that the government is doing right and I want to urge them to continue in that light. But they must understand constantly that they work for the people, they serve the people. They are not doing the people any favour. So, I do not appreciate when the government does something and the ministers come out to start sounding like they have just done us a favour, no, they are not doing us a favour. You are there because you want to serve the people, but if in your head you think you’re doing us a favour, then you’re not supposed to be there. So, it will be unfair to say we have not seen any changes, we have seen a little, but the truth is that, we are no where near where we should be right now. But from the kind of government we had before, yes, we have seen some changes.
How concerned are you that this whole election has thrown up a lot of ethnic hatred, the toxicity on social media amongst Nigerians is getting alarming, Yorubas against Igbo, Obidients are fighting Batified everyday, how concerned are you that things are getting out of hand?
It’s a big shame. And majority of those who should share the blame are the political leaders and we too should hold ourselves accountable because pre-election and even during election, we said clearly that everyone has the right to vote for whoever they believe can do the job. That’s your right as a citizen of the country. But when you allow for some people to be bullied because they refuse to align with a particular political party, you are setting a very terrible precedence because, with what we have on our hands right now, it will be very hard to cleanse it. It has triggered a lot of tribal hatred amongst ourselves. So, at the end of the day, why I said we need to hold ourselves accountable is because we have also failed to understand that what comes first is us as Nigerians. I hear a lot of people say, oh, there is no Nigeria, may be we should all go our separate ways, but right now, if you are asked, you will say you’re a Nigerian. And when you recite your pledge, you will say you pledge to Nigeria your country, to be faithful , loyal and honest, to serve Nigeria with all your heart. So, it’s Nigeria, your country. If tomorrow, we all agree to go our separate ways, then, fine. But, right now, as it stands, we remain Nigerians and that is what I expect should come before any tribal differences. That is what I always expect the people to remind themselves of, that it’s Nigeria first and that what we all should be working assiduously towards is the growth of our country. But, even public figures, celebrities, because you want to support a certain candidate, throw all caution to the wind and allow some people to be bullied. Personally, I have been a victim. When I talk, people curse me. They curse my parents, they call me all sorts of names and I have never for once come out to say don’t vote for this person. I have only come out to say this is who I will vote for. And I also never failed to say that you can vote for whoever you think can do the job. If the candidate I don’t believe in is the person you believe in, why not? But a lot of people did not toe that path. Instead, they chose the path of recklessness and they are to blame for a lot of the tension that we have in the country right now.
Where did all of this hunger for justice, passion for good governance and the desire to see a better Nigeria come from?
Well, my dad is a journalist. He writes a lot. You won’t catch him talking on and on about something. Anytime he has something to say, he will just write it down and then publish it. So, I have always known that. But then, growing up also, I always knew that, as human beings, people deserve to be treated with respect until they prove otherwise. Because some people do truly prove otherwise. Like you treat someone with respect and the same person now shows you a terribly different side to him that tells you he is not the kind of person you treat with respect. And for me, that’s the religion of love that I practice. Everybody must be treated with respect. People say money makes the world go round, I always say that love can also make the world go round. When you treat people with love, you don’t want to do something that will hurt the person, you won’t do some certain things because you are living by that principle of love and respect for the next person. It has always been a question of, we deserve better.
But to be honest with you, it can be tiring sometimes when you’re just trying to do your best, contribute your own quota into seeing that those in leadership positions do right by the people. The pressure can be enormous, even from my parents alone. My mum will be shouting, Debo, oti to, it’s enough. And for me, you can’t cheat people where I am, I will speak up because everybody has a right to good life. It is even bad enough that people are cheated right from birth. The system is rigged against them. Some already have it all, while the common man has to struggle and struggle and struggle, meanwhile, in Nigeria, we have been so blessed that we do not need to struggle. The people need to live, not survive. Every time in Nigeria you hear people saying, we will survive, we will survive. Even Nigerians now take pride in saying if you can survive in Nigeria, you can survive anywhere else. Everyday, we wake up to struggle, why are we waking up to struggle everyday? Why? Meanwhile, some people have cornered the common wealth of the people, stealing billions. It is absolutely ridiculous. You know I said we also have a part to play, but I will always still talk about the leadership because at the end of the day, leadership is selfless. Leadership is service. Leadership is sacrifice through discipline and integrity to the people that you have sworn to serve and protect. Anything contrary to that is fraud. So, by nature, we are all selfish. We are all greedy. By nature, you want to have everything to yourself, so it takes that discipline and it takes the knowledge that there’s God and the knowledge that your fellow human beings deserve better for you not to go and corner over a billion dollars and put somewhere while the common people, the masses are suffering. So, we all need to do better. I know we all cannot become millionaires, but at least, let bits of it go round.
Why I Am Against TINUBU’s Government was last modified: October 10th, 2023 by
Send Us News, Gist, more… to citypeopleng@gmail.com |
Twitter: @CitypeopleMagz
