Seun Kuti slams online activism

Afrobeat musician Seun Kuti has weighed in on online activism, claiming that it does not drive meaningful change in a society.

Seun, while speaking in a recent video, argued that people overestimate the power of social media. He recalled the past public campaigns in Nigeria, noting that they did not produce the desired result.

Seun also spoke against repetition of approach, arguing that Nigerians tend to use the same approach used in different incidents and expect different outcomes.

“If you remember clearly, during the previous administration, we kept shouting ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ every day. From Jonathan to Buhari, the slogan continued. Even when Buhari came into office, the girls were still not returned. It later became a situation where if you bring it up, people will attack or insult you. As usual, in Nigeria, we keep repeating the same approach and expecting a different result. Social media is not as powerful as many people think it is. If social media truly had the power people believe it has, governments would not allow unrestricted access to it. Social media is regulated and controlled. Algorithms can suppress content. My last video had its audio removed, and I returned to post again, but the post was restricted. So, in reality, what we think we are achieving by simply making videos online is not enough,” he stated.