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Why I cant Join Planned Protest–Portable
Nigerian street pop sensation, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has explained why he won’t join the planned nationwide hardship protest.
Slated to run from August 1 through August 10, 2024, the 10-day demonstration is aimed at expressing grievances over the state of the nation.
Some Nigerians on various social media platforms have continued to mobilise the citizens for the protests, ignoring the pleas from President Bola Tinubu and some civil society organisations.
The organisers have also appealed to influential Nigerians to leverage their platforms to galvanise support for the planned demonstration.
Reacting to such calls, Portable, who burst onto the scene after performing during the EndSARS protest in 2020, declared his intention not to heed the call.
In a video making the rounds on social media, the controversial singer instructed his fans that people of affluence like Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola don’t participate in protests because such adventure is only reserved for the economically deprived.
Portable asks Nigerians to focus on self development
While proclaiming wealth, Portable noted that he was poor in 2020 hence his participation in the EndSASR movement.
He urged his fans and Nigerians as a whole to prioritise personal development and build connections with people who can elevate their status.
“It will not end well for anyone who suggests that I should go and sing in a protest. Why don’t you take the microphone and sing at the protest yourself? If you are hustling and you have work to do, you will not join them to protest. Fight for yourself, and not for Nigeria.
“Nigeria is okay. It is you that is not yet okay. The money is where it is; you are the one who is not working, and you don’t stay loyal to your helper. People who will help you are also available; you are the one who is not networking. Fight for yourself, so that your career will not turn into a barrier,” he said.
Emphasising the need for self-reliance, Portable urged Nigerians to mind their business.
“Those of you who are saying I performed during the protest in 2020, that was then. I joined the protest at the time because I was influenced by poor thinking. Now that I’m rich, I now think like a rich person. Have you ever seen Otedola lead any protest in Nigeria before or have you ever seen Dangote carry placards at a protest to save Nigeria?
Anytime you hear Dangote speak, he only talks about saving his business, so mind your business. That’s why I mind my business,” the singers said in Yoruba.
