What our celebs can learn from the US presidential campaign

It’s campaign season in the United States and it is crazy.

All eyes are on the Republican Party presidential nominee

A few months ago Donald Trump’s campaign looked like a joke, now his bid is looking like a scary reality. Americans are starting to face the reality that Donald Trump could become the 45th President of the United States of America. With this realization has come a fierce resistance of the billionaire both from citizens and celebrities.

Last weekend Donald Trump’s rally in Chicago was postponed after a clash between his supporters and demonstrators. The heat is turning up on Donald Trump and American celebrities are not being left out.

Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, T.I, Chris Brown, John Legend and others have spoken up against Donald Trump. Rapper T.I even went as far as threatening the Republican Presidential candidate.

Those who are not bashing Trump are still active and vocal . Rapper Killer Mike is an avid supporter of Democratic party candidate Bernie Sanders while Caitlyn Jenner has called Hilary Clinton a “liar.”

Read:"Donald Trump cannot become US President" says Jennifer Lopez

Last year Nigeria had her general elections as well as presidential elections and we also saw celebrities get into the mix. In Nigeria, the celebrities were actively involved with endorsing the politicians who ran for office. The only difference is that Nigerian celebrities only showed up at adverts and performed at rallies. Their political endorsements were devoid of them speaking about the policies of the politicians they were endorsing.

While American celebrities looked passionate when they sold their candidates to the public, Nigerian celebs felt kinda stiff in their adverts. And they were no statements of support from the Nigerian celebs. It just involved them posing for the camera and collecting their cheques.

Yeah, during the election period Nigerian celebrities sold their voices for a fat sum. That's the truth. A lot of Nigerian celebrities fed fat during the election campaign. They didn't endorse candidates because of their political convictions and ideology. They did it for money.

Irrespective of them selling their influence to the highest bidder we shouldn't be hard on Nigerian actors and singers. Entertainment is a cold and harsh business out here. Despite popular belief, there is hardly any money in the business. Only a few are cashing out. The rest are basically waiting for the next cheque. Election period is their peak period and it only makes sense for them to cash out.

Not all artistes can be like Fela or his sons. People are built differently. Celebrities need money and apart from endorsements, money from politicians is the only windfall they can enjoy from. In America celebrities make loads of money from the entertainment business so they can afford to be financially dependent.

Still, despite these reasons Nigerian celebrities have a responsibility to the Nigerian public. No one isn't saying they shouldn't endorse politicians but they should be more passionate and vocal about it.

You can watch Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode's campaign video featuring various Nigerian celebrities below;