By Yankuba Jallow
Musician, Big Faa has said that the government can be held accountable through music.
Big Fa made this remark ahead of his mega concert slated to take place on the 15th December 2018. He will be launching an album at the Penchami Hall, Paradise Suites Hotel on Saturday. The album titled ‘Nyu defarr ko’ a ‘wollof’ term meaning ‘let us make it’.
He said his music is not only for its sake but beyond that. “In my music, I always talk about the realities people face in the country and the failures of our governments to address these problems”.
“As citizens of the Gambia, we have a big stake in national development. Our message is the truth. Through music we sensitise people and through it we will continue to hold the government accountable,” he said.
He said his music concept is to stand for the people of the country.
“Right now, the country lacks sufficient water and electricity supply. We don’t have good roads and many other challenges that our governments aren’t addressing,” he said.
He said all the government of the country has to do is to promote the welfare (livelihood) of the people.
“The government should do as much as it could to address the dilemma of irregular migration by providing or creating job opportunities to the youths of the country. People are leaving because they are suffering,” he said.
He said the musicians in The Gambia are facing many challenges but more interestingly, the governments of the country since the year 1965 have been neglecting artists.
“It is their duty to support us. It is their duty to promote our welfare as citizens. So why are they neglecting us? Why are they promoting foreign artists over us? They will spend our money on foreign artists but they won’t spend it on Gambian artists,” he said.
He said Gambian musicians do not have enough support and there is need for the Government to redirect their focus and invest in the local musicians. He added that music is a source of employment for many people.
Big Fa also commended the Ministry of Tourism and Culture for their decision that come 2019, 80% of the music to be played on the radio stations should be Gambian music.
“We don’t want them to only stop at making pronouncement instead they should implement it,” he said.
He expressed the need for change and added that “as artists, we will never remain silent over the issues confronting the people of the country,” he said.
He added: ‘The youths and elders are still complaining that we need sufficient supply of electricity and water. The people are demanding for good roads. We need companies to create job opportunities for the youths.’
He urged the government to implement the intellectual property laws of the country so that artists in the country can reap something from their own work.
“The government is not helping us. The government is not helping the artists, in particular, they are not supporting the upcoming ones to grow. We do struggle to come up with albums with little support from our friends and well-wishers. So, the government have a legal instrument like the copyright law and yet they cannot put it into force,” he said.
“At least the artists should benefit from every music played by the radio stations,” he concluded.
He urged all Gambians to attend his live concert on Saturday where he will unveil his new songs to the people.
