Why I Performed for Tinubu - Waje Responds to Backlash

Nigerian singer Waje was heavily criticized when she performed at President Bola Tinubu's Inauguration concert. There were calls to have her cancelled, and a lot of fans expressed disappointment in her and her decision because of their feelings towards the president.

Now, in a new interview with The Nation, Waje is finally speaking out about why she performed as well as addressing how she handled the criticism. Here's what she said.

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Speaking about why she performed at President Bola Tinubu's concert, Waje said:

WAJE: To be fair, I understood why they were talking when I performed at Tinubu’s concert. I have never really been a political person. For me at the time, I was making a business decision. It was a decision my management and I made. But when they came for me, I understood and that’s why I never responded because everyone is in their right to feel aggrieved seeing we’ve been through so much that it can feel like you’re turning a blind eye. However, I performed for an institution, not a person. The presidency is an institution not a person. You’d never see me at the campaign rally or all of that I stay away from them.

Speaking about her reaction to criticism, Waje said:

WAJE: Before, I used to actually cry. I honestly believe that people who criticise and troll people are just trying to focus on something to take them away from their problems. Because if truly you are fulfilled and focused on something, you would not have the time troll others. 24 hours is not even enough for me. By the time I deal with my daughter and family issues, deal with work, mental issues and even surviving, how many hours do I have? That’s why I do not even do clapbacks. When I see someone troll me, I feel that person is subtly venting. Let me tell you a story, when I was very active on X (twitter), I had a boy who always insulted the living daylight out of me but by the time we finished our conversation, we were best friends. He became one of my armies. Sometimes, people need to understand that everyone is going through something and the fastest way to get through what we are going through is to make the person feel worse than we feel. For the first few minutes of trolling, I might be upset but I move on, I no send them. If you vent to me by trolling me, won’t it to be foolish of me to also respond?

What do you think of what Waje said, and about her decision to perform at the concert? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment either below or on my Jide Okonjo Facebook post.

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