Musician, KiDi
Ghanaian music star KiDi has given his opinion on the growing pressure on public figures to take a stance on topical or trending national issues.
According to him, whenever social issues are trending, especially on social media, many netizens tend to focus on who has not yet spoken on an issue, rather than the issue itself, thereby distracting from meaningful discourse.
KiDi, real name Dennis Nana Dwamena, expressed support for using one's platform to "educate and spread positivity," but lamented the fact that many public personalities engage in some form of “performative activism” out of fear of criticism rather than genuine concern.
“I am for everybody doing whatever they want with their platform. If God blesses you to a level where you have a platform that can reach people, you can use your platform to educate, spread positivity, and do a lot of things.
“What worries me is that a lot of times, we tend to lose focus, instead of people focusing on the issue at hand, we rather focus on who hasn't spoken about the issue.
“Then everybody ends up being performative, they will end up doing things because they are afraid of people criticizing them for not doing it, not because they want to do them.
“It mainly comes from people who have an agenda to project, but let's not lose focus and instead of speaking up about a particular issue, we are looking at who hasn't spoken up yet,” he said on an interview with YouTuber Kwadwo Sheldon.
He also acknowledged that while many align with political parties, some remain disinterested, having found no option that resonates with them.
The singer's comments have sparked a broader conversation about the role of celebrities in political and social matters.
Most notably, in September 2023, during the height of the #OccupyJulorBiHouse protest, some celebrities were lambasted on social media for not joining the protests.
Recently, in March 2024, Gospel musician MOG was attacked on social media for refusing to air his views on the Anti-LGBT+ Bill currently awaiting assent by the president.
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