Nigerian singer Rema has shared his thoughts on how he plans to use his influence to give back to society in a meaningful way, and no! It does not include rice.

During his recent interview on The Breakfast Club, the Hehehe singer opened up about his desire to go beyond the traditional charity methods, such as distributing bags of rice, which are commonly seen in Nigerian politics.

He explained, “With the influence we now have as artists, I feel like we are now at the point where we can tell politicians, ‘Yo, you’re not doing your job!’ if I am seated with the governor, I will whisper in his ear, ‘I don’t think you’re doing this right. Sorry, it’s coming from a 24-year-old.”
He expressed his willingness to introduce helpful policies to Nigerian politicians, in a bid to better the lives of Nigerians.

“We can help convince them about policies, and the little we can do and invest the money we make, bringing it back home, giving kids life meaning,” he added.
He criticized the common practice of giving rice as a form of charity, noting that it doesn’t address long-term needs.

Rema said, “A lot of times I tell my manager that it’s not about giving rice all the time. You don’t know if some kid has an allergy to rice, and then you leave and the kid has to go to the hospital to sort it out. There is a whole perspective of me giving back; I don’t like to do the basic ‘I gave you food,’ because what about tomorrow? What are they going to eat tomorrow?”

Rema offered more sustainable solutions, which he determined would help people in the long run, as opposed to giving them rice and food.

“I would rather create a platform that would consistently provide, a platform that would consistently educate and a platform that would consistently clothe or shelter. It could be 200 people or could be 500 people, but if it’s 1000 people, it’s quite consistent. It’s better than giving 1 million people food today and tomorrow, they’re hungry again. That’s my perspective on giving back, I’d use platforms and policies,” he explained.