Falz says the protest was an outcry for Nigerians [BBC]

Recall that Falz was one of the most involved celebrities during the historic movement.

Nigerian rapper, actor and activist Falz has revisited the moment in which he realised that the 2020 movement against police brutality, the #ENDSARS protest, was going to be big.

During a recent interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo on the With Chude podcast, Falz noted that he never anticipated the engagement and support the movement received back in 2020.

He explained, "I don't think anyone saw the numbers coming. I don't think anyone imagined it or could have imagined that it would have been so crazy, but it was super exciting to see."

"In the beginning, it was just an issue that everyone felt so strongly about and it was something that had continued. People were continuously being harassed, tortured and extorted by the very same people that were meant to protect us, so it was an outcry," Falz added.

Falz joined hundreds of Nigerian youths to protest at Lekki toll gate in 2020. (TheNation)
Falz joined hundreds of Nigerian youths to protest at Lekki toll gate in 2020. (TheNation)

The rapper recounted how the movement started with himself and singer Runtown as spearheads and admitted that he was taken aback by the numbers.

Falz explained, "On the first day, I remember seeing a tweet from Runtown and he spoke about a planned protest and it instantly resonated with me. So I spoke to him and said, 'Let's ginger this thing together; it has to happen.'"

"So I put out a tweet about the protest and I expected 50 to 100 people but Omo, the entire stretch of Ozumba Mbadiwe was packed. On the very first day, it was then that I realised that what we had started was something," he recounted.

He stressed that it was at that moment that he realised that the protests would indeed be impactful and historic.

See the see full interview below: