Nigerian rapper Panshak “Ice Prince” Zamani has explained his decision to perform at the All Progressives Congress (APC) convention.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the ruling party held its national convention in March at Eagle Square, Abuja, under the theme “Unity in Progress: Consolidating the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
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Eight thousand, four hundred and fifty- three (8,453) delegates drawn from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory attended.
In a viral video on Friday, extracted from his interview on the “Black Box” podcast hosted by broadcaster Rufai Oseni, the Jos-born artiste stated that his appearance was strictly professional and not politically motivated.
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His clarification followed widespread backlash and criticism from netizens, many of whom questioned his appearance at the political event and suggested it signalled political alignment.
Not political
Responding to the backlash, he said, “I performed at the APC convention, the one that happened this year. Who booked me for that event? My uncle, Nentawe, is the APC chairman. Nentawe Yilwatda is not just a random person to me. This is my uncle, who has supported me all my life, or let me say, all of my career. In fact, he’s been there for me. He’s my real uncle.
“I am very happy with the position that he holds today. I’m very proud of him because, as I told you earlier, my people are very strict. My people are very, very ignored. You know what I’m saying? Nentawe Yilwatda is 1,000% ungassed. For somebody like him to have the platform that he has, a lot of us are proud that we’re even being recognised. So, my going there to do that event was literally in support of him, not necessarily in support of anybody else in the government.”
Killings
Furthermore, the singer denied allegations that he had not spoken about the killings in Jos and Benue State.
The “Everybody Loves Ice Prince” crooner also maintained that Jos was not unsafe, describing it instead as a beautiful place filled with beautiful people.
“And unfortunately for all of us anyway, two days after that event was when the shooting in Jos happened. So, a lot of people use me as a point of contact to say, ” You see, you guys are supporting the government of the day. Meanwhile, they are killing your people. You should come out and talk about it. Now, again, like I told you, there’s nothing wrong with talking about it and creating the awareness that this is really, really going on.
“People don’t see when you’re talking about it. In fact, on my Instagram page, on my Twitter page, you would see how I have spoken about the Jos crisis and the Benue crisis, and I have elaborated on it there. But people only want to focus on the fact that you are with the government of the day, or you’re supporting the government of the day”, said Ice Prince.
Jos
The “C.O.L.D.” crooner said he wanted people to invest in Jos and also experience its beauty.
“Recently, I took people like Tacha there. I took some artists there. And you know, the first thing, their first reaction is, ah, no, I don’t want to go to Jos. So, you know, that’s not what my city needs people to do. Jos is literally the home of peace and tourism.
“And if we’re constantly talking about this, if I’m constantly preaching about the crisis over there, nobody wants to go there. Nobody wants to invest there. And me, I want people to go there.”
READ ALSO: ‘‘I’ll go to university, become a farmer at 40” — Ice Prince
Disenfranchisement
Moreover, the zoology graduate from the University of Jos revealed that he had never voted in any election—whether local government, state or federal—since he was born.
Explaining the reasons behind his self-disenfranchisement, he said, “Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I’ve never been in the country during the election. In 2011 or so, I wasn’t in Nigeria when the election happened. In 2015, I wasn’t in Nigeria when the election happened.
“In 2019, I wasn’t in Nigeria when the election happened. The only one I was around for was the last, and I had not collected my PVC, so I didn’t get a chance to vote.”
