The singer voiced his concern during an interview with Channels Television, stressing that Nigerians are not happy with how hard the country is, and neither is he.
“Things are really hard. I feel it for people because if people are not happy, I can’t be happy, too. I pay bills. I help a lot of people, so I understand what people are going through. I’m also feeling it,” he lamented.
He stressed that the cost of living in the nation has substantially increased and negatively impacted everyone concerned.
Timaya said, “If i was paying so and so for my staff and upkeep for my mum before, now upkeep is high everything is higher, Things have drastically increased because of the high cost of living.”
“You don’t expect things to be normal. Even politicians are crying, too, not to talk of me. Do you understand what I’m saying? The only way you can meet up with the standing is if you’re earning in dollars. If you’re earning forex and you convert it to naira, that’s how you can ball,” he added.
Timaya asserted that even though the economic instability has affected every country worldwide, Nigeria is considerably harder than other countries.
“Even in America right now, things are still hard there. I’m not going to lie to you because it’s still the same conversion, but they’re earning in dollars and spending in dollars. It’s hard everywhere in the world. The world is hard right now, but Nigeria is harder,” he said.
Speaking on how the economy has affected the music industry, he explained, “Currently, you need a lot of money to promote music. Before, we didn’t even bother about shooting music videos. Even if we were shooting a video, it would cost just 1.5 million naira. Now, just to shoot one video: 100 million, 50 million, 60 million. And when you shoot the video, to promote it, you need more millions. That’s why booking fees for artists now are expensive,” he said.
See the full interview below: