Omo… It’s not today that we’ve been hearing tales of people getting backlash over things that their governments have done. In the last few years, we’ve seen multiple countries go to war against other countries. Many times, unprovoked. For resources, for land, for dominance… a country would just launch an attack, killing innocent civilians, destroying important infrastructure. And everyone else would just watch quietly.
There could be sanctions placed on the attacking countries, but that doesn’t always work. If the country decides not to care about the damn sanction, or figure out a way around it, then the punishment is ineffective. Punishment is meant to actually punish and make people change, but when people figure out a way that makes the effect of the punishment almost nonexistent, then you can bet that they won’t stop at all.
And these days, we see football teams refusing to play against certain teams from attacking nations, actors, artistes, and celebrities find themselves losing roles and million-dollar deals simply because of decisions that they had no hand in making. After all, they didn’t ask the government to make those rulings, they didn’t ask the government to go into foreign territory and slaughter those civilians. They’re just powerless individuals.
But then, I think it’s more than that. People aren’t holding such celebrities accountable because of what they’re governments did, they’re holding them accountable for how the celebrities reacted to it. Many times, most of the celebrities found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place; do they speak against their government and probably make things harder for themselves at home? Or do they ignore and still damage their careers?
For many, they choose to speak up, regardless of the risks. They lend their voices to the atrocities going on, hoping that their platform will make a difference. And for others, they just keep quiet. They let it all unfold, hoping that it would roll over without hitting them. After all, what can an ordinary celebrity do? That’s what many of them will ask themselves. And when you think about it, they do have a point. Most of these acts by the government are carried out for selfish and material gains, never for the good of the people. Which is why even when the people are angry and pressuring them to stop, they go ahead anyway.
But then, I’ll only say this: if you refuse to stand for something, who then are you? This is something that’s also going on in my country at the moment. Nigeria has been named a country of particular concern by the Trump administration, and killings and kidnappings have skyrocketed. And right now, a lot of people are expressing outrage, but I know that it’s only for the trend. They’re simply doing it for the clicks and views.
Nigerians have a thing for forgetting the things that matter, and get easily distracted when something shinier comes along. If by next week or next month, people are still agitating like this, then I’d know that we’re serious. Until then, we’re pretty much on our own. And as far as I’m concerned, every celebrity or leader who refuses to use their platform to speak up for those they’re leading, for their fans and followers, they’re complicit in it all.
So yeah, while we can’t hold the citizens responsible for the actions of their governments, we can hold them responsible for how they respond to it. Because when it all boils down to the most basic, there are only two things involved: you’re either in support of the government acts or you’re not. There’s no in-between. And your actions will determine where your loyalties lie.
I rest my case.
