Source: Jacopo Raule / Getty
Saweetie has been using her platform to bring awareness to a heartbreaking issue that is happening across the world. During a virtual sit-down, rising Nigerian music artist Omah Lay educated his and Saweetie’s followers on the SARS epidemic, in which Nigerian people are being killed by the country’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Like Black Americans, Nigerians have been seeking police reform and they’re doing so through the #EndSARS movement that has recently received global attention.
On Instagram Live, Saweetie introduced the issue, and her stance on speaking out, by saying…
“I was not in PolySci, I was in Communications. So, discussing issues through my platform has always just — I wasn’t always that sure because I wasn’t aware of details and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. I think we should normalize seeking out information. We should normalize asking because, at least for me, I’m not the type of person that’s just going to tweet and go. I don’t want it for a good image, I don’t want it for the press that comes with the tweet or the photo that goes up. I’m ’bout that action. I think we need to not only spread awareness, but we need to have some sort of action that goes with spreading awareness. So, this is something that is heartbreaking. It’s happening right now. Yes, in America, we have our own issues that are going on still, every day — and just like the world has stood with us when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s important for us to stand with them as well right now. Our brothers and sisters in Nigeria need our help.”
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“We’re being killed. We’re being harassed. Women are being harassed. Women are being raped and nobody’s doing anything about it,” Omah Lay told viewers. “The government isn’t doing anything about it and now the people are talking. The people are trying to speak up for themselves. This was actually supposed to be a peaceful protest, and it’s been a peaceful protest since day one… and all we have been asking for is: stop killing us. Stop police brutality. End police brutality in Nigeria. That has been our main cause, but still, we’re being shot at by the police.”
More of their conversation below, plus a statement from the youth of Nigeria, reposted by Saweetie. For more on what you can do to help #EndSARS, click here.
