‘You campaigned with Emi lokan’ — Falz hits back at First Lady over claim that government is under pressure

• Falz criticised First Lady Oluremi Tinubu over her remarks about pressure on the government.

• He said the administration should be held to the promises it made during the 2023 campaign.

• The rapper also questioned government spending and its call for celebrities to support poor Nigerians.

Rapper and activist Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, has fired back at First Lady Oluremi Tinubu after she claimed the burden on the government was too heavy, calling the remarks absurd and holding the administration accountable to its own campaign promises.

The First Lady made the comments on Saturday, July 11, during the launch of the National Community Food Bank Programme in Lokoja, Kogi State, where she urged Afrobeats stars including Burna Boy, Davido, and Asake to establish charitable foundations for poor Nigerians.

"The burden on the government is huge. You can still help," she said at the event.

Falz, reacting in a recent interview with Arise News, did not hold back.

"What do you mean, pressure on the government? Did anyone beg you to take up this work?" he said.

He went straight for the administration's 2023 campaign slogan, pointing out the contradiction at the heart of the First Lady's complaint.

"If I remember clearly, the campaign slogan for this current administration was 'Emi lokan.' Do you know what that translates to in English? It is my turn. I've never seen anything more absurd than that in my entire life," he said.

"That means from day one that you set out on your political journey, this is the day you have been waiting for. So how can you come out and say the pressure is on you? Are you okay?"

Falz also questioned the government's spending decisions, arguing that money spent on vehicles, jets, and acquisitions told a different story about where the administration's priorities actually lay.

"Is that the solution to our problems, more foundations? If we look at what has been spent on acquiring new vehicles, acquiring jets, acquiring all these things, and look at what has actually gone wrong with insecurity and what we're facing, what are your priorities?" he said.

He added that calling on individuals to step in was not generosity on the government's part, but it was an abdication of responsibility.

"You're out here talking to individuals. This is actually your job to do. It's wild," he said.

The First Lady's comments had already drawn widespread criticism online before Falz weighed in, with many Nigerians arguing that asking entertainers to fund social welfare amounted to the government outsourcing its core obligations.

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