Tiwa Savage has a right to speak on Black Lives Matter

Nigeria’s pop queen

The singer who is a mother of one posted a black poster on her Instagram which had the message “

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The next day Tiwa Savage replied her haters with a lengthy Instagram post. “I don't need to justify my support for #blacklivesmatter and it's sad that some people should even question my support because I'm sure these same people were happy when the rest of the world supported us with our #bringbackourgirls movement, but you don't want us to show support because it is not right on our doorstep” she wrote.

Tiwa Savage also wrote that she is not a hashtag celebrity but was active during the Bring Back Our Girls protest and won’t be forced to stay silent on certain issues. “I didn't just hashtag I joined several walks in protest, used my voice as an artist and wrote "olorun mi" as a tribute to lives lost on the Dana crash and will continue to do many more as it is my duty as a Nigerian, a citizen of this world and a child of the Most High” Tiwa Savage wrote.

Tiwa Savage’s reply is spot on. No one can force her to keep quiet on certain issues. She has the right to support any movement she wants. It’s unfortunate that Nigerians have short memories. It seems a lot of people can’t remember when Tiwa Savage joined the march to get the government to do something about the missing Chibok girls.

Like she rightly pointed she composed and released a song for the lives that were lost in the Dana Air crash of 2012. The people crucifying her didn’t give her accolades when she did this.

A lot of Nigerians have this baffling belief that celebrities must speak about societal issues while they stay silent about it. I can bet you that the people who insulted Tiwa Savage for her Black Lives Matter post did nothing when the Chibok girls went missing. These people are comfortable criticizing celebrities but do nothing when it's time to protest or march. They expect celebrities to fight for them.

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The world is now a global village. A Nigerian has every right to have an opinion on a global topic. An ignorant person in the 21st century is someone who has no opinion on what is happening across the world. The truth is a lot of Nigerians are ignorant and they want the enlightened ones to join them in their ignorance.

Instead of Nigerians to pressurize the political leaders to address the problems in the country, they bash celebrities who are informed and have strong opinions on global issues. Tiwa Savage has a right to be part of the Blacks Lives Matter movement because she is a citizen of the world and not an ignorant Nigerian.