Our Reporter, New York
Nigerian entertainer and social activist, Charly Boy, popularly called Area Fada, has warned politicians planning to rig the 2027 general elections of dire consequences awaiting their actions.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90MinutesAfrica, the youthful-looking septuagenarian declared that the slogan for the 2027 election will be “rig and die.”
Born Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa, Charly Boy is an unrelenting voice of resistance, creativity, and change who rose to fame in the 1980s with his controversial but deeply influential showbiz personality. He has since remained a powerful voice in Nigeria’s socio-political space, fearlessly expressing his views and criticisms of injustice and bad governance.
“The 2027 election will be a defining moment for Nigeria,” the convener of the OurMumuDonDo Movement stated.
“Anybody that plans to rig should be ready to die. It is rig and die. What is coming by 2026 will make Nigerians decide whether to continue in this manner or to cause a revolution to happen in this country.”
Also commenting on the recent decision by the Lagos State government to rename the “Charly Boy Bus Stop” in Bariga, Mr. Oputa dismissed the action as “outright silly and a bloody distraction,” insisting that the only thing that bother him is how to rescue the millions of Nigerians who go to bed with empty stomach daily because they can’t afford any decent meal.
He further argued that changing the country’s situation requires a credible electoral process that guarantees that the people’s votes count and are counted.
“The solution to bad governance in Nigeria can only come when our votes begin to count. So, our concern right now should be how our votes would count in 2027.
“I see 2027 as rig and die. Enough is enough. We cannot continue to have the worst of us leading the best of us. It is abnormal to let this kind of system continue. This is bound to explode. We have nothing to lose,” he asserted.
Charly Boy also weighed in on the current travails of Omoyele Sowore in the hands of the Nigerian Police. He praised the courage of the former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) to speak up against the bad governance in the country. He called on more young people to join the struggle to salvage the country.
“Anyone doing the kind of things Sowore is engaged in should be ready at any time for arrest. This is a government without any checks,” he said.
“It is not easy to speak truth to power. We need a lot more people like him in Nigeria. I have always maintained that the salvation of Nigeria lies in the hands of its exceptional young people. So, I’m happy that he has regained his freedom. I will say it is back to the trenches because the fight is just beginning.”
