Nigerian comedian and filmmaker, Bright Okpocha, better known as Basketmouth, has expressed his frustration over the current state of Nigeria’s economy and leadership.
In a recent interview with The African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA), Basketmouth emphasized the concerning rise in inflation and the depreciation of the naira, noting their profound effects on the daily lives of Nigerians.
Basketmouth challenged the widely used phrase “E go better” (It will get better), arguing that the situation is, in reality, deteriorating.
He questioned the government’s policies and actions, pointing to the recent hike in passport fees as a prime example.
The father of four also speculated that the government might be deliberately creating these economic challenges to drive citizens to emigrate, thus boosting revenue from higher passport fees. Yet, he sarcastically voiced “hope” for a better future, recognizing it as a seemingly unattainable dream.
He said,
“There’s nothing that can happen, quote me anywhere. Think about it, in 1970, the year I was born, it was one naira to a dollar and this year it’s one dollar to 1600 naira. There was never a time from that time to date that the dollar crashed and went back to what it was and stayed there. It has never happened; think about it.”
“Every time it changes, all the conversations you’d be hearing is ‘E go better, E go better.’ it’s getting worse, bro. What are the policies? And what have they done? Now 100 pages for a passport is 100,000 naira; they just increased it”.
“I suspect that our government planned this thing to make the Nigerian population suffer. So that when they suffer they can now want to japa, then they will increase the price of the passport and they’d make money”.
“It’s not like I’ve given up hope; I’m hopeful. Maybe one day, the country will be better. Let’s all believe in that pipe dream. It’s done, it’s over.”
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