Afrobeat singer and activist, Seun Kuti has said that Africans are only respected for their love of buying expensive things.
Kuti explained that while other continents inspire their citizens to produce what they need and export, Africans prefer to buy from them and flaunt their wealth.
He discouraged the act of buying expensive designers produced overseas while urging Nigerians to start producing their products to boost the country’s economy.
Going further, Seun cited convicted internet fraudster, Hushpuppi as a case study saying he stole a lot of money just to buy expensive things made abroad instead of rocking Nigerian-made designers.
“The only thing successful African men can do is to buy things. You are only seen as successful because you can buy anything you want, not because you can make anything you want. African success is only because they can brag about whatever they like, African young people must never be inspired to believe that they can produce whatever they want. This is why they are going to jail for twenty-five years because they want to buy Richard Mille instead of us live in a country where we are buying Ramoni Abass, we want to wear Gucci on our bodies because of things white people are making. Why can’t Africans make those things? No, they must inspire us to dream to buy but you cannot be if you do not make and that is what people don’t understand.
“You sit down here and think you can never be slaves again, if the Europeans come and ask you to sit down there, what will you do about it? You think they cannot do it and that is the same mistake your ancestors made.”