“Independence Day Should Be A Day For Mourning Not Celebration” – Saidi Balogun

Actor, Saidi Balogun expressed his thoughts on Nigerian’s Independence and how Nigerian should have been mourning and not celebrating on Oct 1st particularly the entertainers because the legislators had refused to put stiff penalties for piracy. He said this in a recent chat with The Punch.

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 “It should be a day for mourning and not celebration. Nigerian entertainers should be in a mourning state. It is not for the country alone but for our industry.

“The National Assembly has refused to pass bills with stiff penalties on piracy. Now the price of crude oil has crashed and everyone is crying whereas we could generate money from the entertainment industry and everybody would be smiling.

“It is not an independence that is celebrating it because we are still dependent. We entertainers are still under the colonialism of the legislators. Maybe they are afraid that if they pass the right bill against piracy, they would not be able to enslave us anymore.

“To me, entertainment can boost our economy aside from our dependence on crude oil. Does it mean that if there is no crude oil, our economy would die? Let them pass the right bill so that we can make more money and improve on our country.

“Three years ago, a president said that our industry contributes greatly to the economy’s GDP, so, they should please pass laws with very stiff penalties on piracy.

“If I had my way, I would have asked all artistes to march with placards to the house of each legislator who is in any committee that has to do with the entertainment industry on Independence Day. Since their lives are all about padding, they should help us ‘pad’ that law.”