by Chinwe Okafor

What better way to show you’re a patriot than to vote?

Well some people thought there are more important things to do than taking time out, maybe a couple of hours even, to take a step and make things in your country right by voting a true and deserved leader (and whatever we want to believe) in and one of such is Basketmouth.

The stand-up comedian thought it might be a splendid idea to host a comedy show on the very day the elections is slated to hold. Well, he was at the receiving end of flak from fans on recently after announcing his intentions to host a live concert on February 14.

The show is meant to feature celebs, who having pledged sorority to a flag bearer should mean they would participate in the electoral process but apparently not and African comedians (who assume we are the giant of Africa and should lead by example) at the Apollo in London on February 14.

In an open invitation posted on Instagram on Wednesday, the comedian indicated that he has made an offer of free entry to only students who register for the show at a specified online address.

Basketmouth however assumed wrong when he felt Nigerians no longer cared about their country and are looking for a perfect excuse on the said day when some Nigerians reacted to the offer with mixed feelings. Most kicked against the timing of the concert and accused the comedian of planning to distract his fans from the poll.

According to reports, a respondent ranted saying, “It’s so sad to see people who are role models do this. Why must you have a show on the day the Federal Government has declared elections? It is Valentine’s Day, but we need to respect the authorities and our country.”

Reacting to the information, one Trevonatoe said Basketmouth would not dare host a concert on Election Day if he were a citizen of the USA. But he advised the comedian to “get wise” and show some respect to his country.

Surprisingly most rose to his defense.

Reacting to calls to Basketmouth to postpone the concert and stay put in Nigeria till the end of the general elections, most appealed to other respondents to consider the trouble that the comedian had to go through to organise the event.

He wrote, “Basketmouth started planning his Valentine’s Day event since last year, I trust, as a professional. Who would have thought that the Federal Government would choose that day to host an election and at a very short notice? Now the question is; should the comedian cancel his own show, after spending a lot of money and resources, because of the election? Who will pay his children’s school fees, if he does that?”

Ada Igboanugo