Seun Kuti Warns: Protests Are Not Enough For Change

Seun Kuti Warns: Protests Are Not Enough For Change

Nigerian musician and activist Seun Kuti has underscored that protests alone are not enough to drive meaningful change, urging Nigerians to take more substantial steps toward transformation. His remarks come in the wake of the recent nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests, which exposed widespread frustration over national difficulties.

In an interview on Channels Television’s Rubbin Minds, Kuti described protests as just the beginning of a larger movement. He likened protests to a child complaining to a caring parent, but argued that the current leaders are indifferent. “What I will say to Nigerians is that protest is not enough. I see protests as a child going to a loving parent complaining, ‘Oh, daddy, mummy, I don’t want to eat this,’ because the daddy and mummy care. But these people don’t care; that’s why I don’t preach protest only; I preach mass organization because we the people must also organize ourselves for power,” he explained.

Kuti emphasized the need not only to protest but also to signal readiness to replace current leaders with true representatives from the people’s side. “It is not enough that we are protesting because we don’t like what they do; we must also show that we are ready to replace them—not with another version of themselves, like PDP to APC, but with new representatives from our side to rule this country for our benefit,” he added.

He called for a broader mobilization toward a more equitable system, stating, “It is not enough that people want to protest. Protest is the beginning of this dance. The real change starts when we begin to mass mobilize into a socialist movement to free this country from the capitalism that we are experiencing.”