Top Nigerian rapper, Folarin Falana popularly known as Falz explained in a recent interview with Silverbird Television why he stopped going to church. According to him, he believes that God exists but he doesn’t do religion as it is rife with eye-services.
These are his exact words:
“I’m not an atheist. I believe there is a God. But I believe in spirituality over religion. I have nothing against the church or going to church. Everyone has the right to practice the religion they desire. It has been a while that I have been to church. It does not make me less of a Christian.”
Even Falz’s mum, Funmi Falana, once complained about Falz’s continuous absence from church service after the release of his 2019 debut album. Funmi said
“Folarin, you don’t go to church and I am bothered. I hope you would start going to church this year.”
But it appears Falz’s mum will have her hopes dashed as it is the middle of the year already and her son has no intention of going to church. In the interview, Falz also said:
“I have nothing against the church or going to church. Everyone has the right to practice the religion they desire. It has been a while that I have been to church. It does not make me less of a Christian. “The reason is that I went to a few churches and, during sermons, I was put under undue pressure. There was a time that a pastor called me to the altar just to acknowledge my presence for being in church. “In my mind, I felt that the service was not about me. I felt that everybody was there to worship God, yet they were putting undue pressure on me. The pastor gave me the microphone to address the congregation and I was puzzled; what did he expect me to say to the congregation?”
Falz also addressed the criticisms that trailed after the release of his album, he said:
“My songs are always going to be heard. The world is a lot smaller now; it only takes one post and it’s everywhere regardless of the attempts by powers that be to try to stop stuff here and there.”
“If you’re making this kind of music, you have to always be ready for the worst. Of course, ‘This is Nigeria’ was banned. We’re still in court. But I have my fundamental rights so you can’t really stop that regardless of what body you are.”
