MUSICIANS AND POLITICS - by Queensley Okon

Another election season is upon us, and everyone is seemingly involved in one or two plottings to ensure the right or "right for them" candidate emerges. Chants of "PO", "OBIdient", "Asiwaju", "Osinbajo", "VP", "Ahmed Lawan" are making the Twitterwaves and airwaves every second. One question looms in everyone's mind: Who is Nigeria's next President? And you can't blame anyone for being vested as this election is probably one of the most important since we took "independence", supposedly. With inflation, killings, or in this case, murders, a weak currency, failed state of education and more of our troubles, we definitely need to make the best choice or lose a great deal for the next four or probably eight years. Now, how do musicians come into this you might ask? People tend to have a stronger psychological contract with musicians than with other celebrities. What is a psychological contract? It is an individual's belief in mutual obligations and values, between one party and another, normally between an employee and an employer(Rousseau,1998)Of course, music is the food of the soul, so it is understandable why that happens. Music is that shared belief, as there is a more personal relationship fans have with these musicians: they probably relate to their lyrics or the way they express their emotions or something deeper. Whatever the case, it tends to keep the musicians accountable to an extent to the whims of their fans. It's the reason why fans would crowd a Harry concert because he supports the LGBTQIA community, or cancel R Kelly because of pedophilia.It is also expressed in how these fans respect Eminem due to his BET freestyle against Trump which got secret service going to his home as his lyrics "sounded like threats against the President"This relationship can also be seen in how Nigerians support Falz due to his politically charged lyrics and unrelenting commitment to speak truth to power regardless of the consequences.There is a likely connection too, to why Fela is still revered to this day for standing up to the government. Musicians have an amazing power that must be used wisely. Falz understands this power and along with other established acts, has organized a free concert with your Permanent Voters Card(PVC) as the gate fee. This would encourage more people to get registered. I believe you remember the movement that shook the world when Childish Gambino gave us the groundbreaking visual to his "This is America" track. Different artistes made their versions including Falz, whose rendition almost got him in trouble with Miyetti Allah. Musicians are a different breed of celebrities and their endorsement of any candidate could make or mar their careers and earn or lose them fans. It's a slippery slope as the political scene here is volatile, but isn't it better you stand for something than falling for anything?Reference: Rousseau, D. M. (1998). The Problem of the Psychological Contract Considered. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19, 665-71.

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