Popular singer, Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, better known as Akon has come under backlash for his thoughts on poverty.
The Senegalese had said he was much happier when he was poor because life is tougher for the rich than the poor.
He said: ‘Nobody can tell me I didn’t go through poverty. I was that African young kid playing soccer with no electricity no running water. I knew what tat felt like. I know what poverty looks like but I also know what success looks like and from my personal experience, Ii am having more problems successfully than all that comes with success I has when I was poor. I was actually happier when I was poor but that’s my personal experience.’
Angry Nigerians who have not had a taste of wealth seem to disagree with the singer’s opinion.
Here are some people’s reactions
Officialqueenesty wrote: Onye kwuru that thing?🙄 please sir with all due respect will your property to me.
Yanjusofine wrote: Sir please be quiet
Davidoofficial wrote: Baba dun high finish before he make this statement 🥲🥲😩 it is well
Slimkaffy wrote: Is this playing? 😂 Tadaaaa
Cinnysbeautyempire wrote: Money is neutral, na pipu mindset and action dey make the judgement pass into money. Mr Akon sir, send me some money I wan check something.
Akon spends 6 billion dollars on his Senegal homeland city
In 2020, Akon revealed his plans on building a sprawling $6 billion city in his Senegal homeland to welcome Africans of the diaspora to their “home back home”.
According to the R&B star who boasts two multi-platinum albums, he had laid the first stone for the city in the Atlantic Ocean village of Mbodiene around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the Senegalese capital Dakar.
As he was growing up in the US state of New Jersey, where his family moved when he was seven, Akon “ran into a lot of African-Americans that didn’t really understand their culture,” the 47-year-old said.
“So I wanted to build a city or a project like this that will give them the motivation to know that there is a home back home,” he said, adding that he had received the blessing and advice of Mbodiene’s elders.
Akon City will offer hotels, a university, hospitals, business and leisure centres including a casino, as well as movie studios, all featuring futuristic designs by architect Hussein Bakri, with African sculptures for inspiration.
Akon also revealed that “Wakanda”, the fictional comic city also inspired him.
He said the project would cost an overall $6 billion but would not name the principal investors because of confidentiality clauses.
