Veteran musician, Sunny Neji has said that celebrity endorsement of politicians is unnecessary going into the general election because nobody is a fool anymore.
He said that Nigerians know the pains they are currently feeling and do not need anyone to tell them who to choose.
Neji, who is the Vice President of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), spoke in an interview with TheCable.
The singer described the situation in the country as “heartbreaking”, saying that Nigeria is plagued by selfish leaders.
“We have lots of mean people wicked people who are in positions of power. Unfortunately, they are in positions where they’re supposed to affect things positively and make life better for Nigerians but they are very selfish, and self-centered. They just seek only what benefits them. They do not care about the rest of the people,” he said.
Asked if he will be endorsing any candidate, Neji said he would not be making his choice public.
“I’m not going to say that but know that my head is properly screwed on so I’m going to vote for someone that I know I can tell I can see that loves Nigeria. Someone I know who cares about the future of this country. Someone that is going to move us from where we are now; a nation that just consumes and consumes to a nation that is going to begin to produce, to generate, to bring in money into the country. I’m going to be looking at someone who cares about my sector, the entertainment sector, someone I know that can see the potential and is willing to invest to make sure that our sector is well catered for, knowing fully well that this sector, if properly harnessed, can generate a lot to the GDP of this nation,” Neji said.
Asked to speak on celebrity endorsements of politicians, the singer said, “I have my reasons why I don’t want to talk about who I’m endorsing.
“People are free to endorse whoever they choose based on their own reasons. If they want to come out openly to support a candidate, they are free to do that. But will it sway people their way?
“I do not know how much effect that will have but I know that there’s nobody who is a fool in this country anymore. The pain that one person is going through, several other persons are going through it.
“You might say you can afford it, but what about hundreds of thousands of other people who cannot afford it, who are probably related to you? Your brothers, your sisters, your cousins, your uncles, your friends, your other relatives – so no one is isolated, no one is in a cocoon, and everybody is feeling the pain.
“So I do not think you can just come and say some nice things and think that you can sway people, everybody can see everybody is feeling the pain and I know people know exactly who they believe can help relieve this pain that they are going through.
“It doesn’t matter who any celebrity support, celebrities can support anybody for whatever reason but the masses know who they’re going with as far as this election is concerned,” Neji said.