By Segun Adebayo
Nigerian singer and founder of Marlian Records, Naira Marley, is back in the news again. This time, he is being dragged by a vast majority of netizens who knocked him for declaring that nothing would ever stop him from smoking Marijuana.
The famous singer, who has a cult-like following among Nigerian youths, has been enmeshed in series of controversies, from being arraigned for suspected internet fraud to allegedly inflicting bodily injury on a former artiste signed to his label, Mohbad. The Kojosese crooner doesn’t seem to be bothered about his public image.
While he is rated as one of the most successful music artistes in Nigeria with some of the popular songs including Abracadabra, Soapy, Opotoyi, Koleyewon to his credit, same could not be said of his behaviour, especially when it comes to sharing his thoughts on social media platforms.
A tweet had emanated from the singer’s Twitter account days back, where he appeared to be glorifying hemp smoking and pitching it to his numerous social media followers, who are largely dominated by young people.
The tweet which was adjudged to be offensive didn’t sit down well with many users who flooded his timeline, cautioning him against statement or actions that could further deepen moral decadence and lead young minds into embracing drug abuse.
Marlian as his fans call him in a post shared said may God not let him see what will make him quit smoking. The tweet reads” God, please don’t let me see what will make me leave smoking”.
Reacting to the post, a tweeter user with the name Simply_Smart said “Nigerian entertainers don’t know when and how to draw the line when it comes to leading by example,” adding that if an artiste as famous as Naira Marley could publicly embrace and endorse marijuana in the social media space and gets away with such offensive tweet, then “something has gone wrong with our society”.
Another twitter user said Marley has finally lost his mind and should be reprimanded by the appropriate authorities for publicly endorsing marijuana. He stated further that it is funny how in Naira Marley would lead many young people on the wrong path with his music and behaviour for a whole year but turns around to observe the Ramadan fast when the holy month kicks in a few weeks time.
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