Why My Son Falz ’Embarrasses’ Government – Falana Speaks
The well-known human rights attorney from Nigeria, Femi Falana, SAN, has spoken about his well-known son, Falz.
He claimed that Folarin Falana, better known by his stage name Falz, his son and a musician, embarrasses the government as a result of the upbringing he received.
Speaking on Sunday at the Oluyinka Odumakin Lecture’s 2nd anniversary in Lagos, Falana said his son had previously been troubled by his numerous arrests as a lawyer.
He noted that this made Falz raised a question if his father was a criminal getting arrested often.
Falana said this days after the release of a new song by his son, titled, ‘Yakubu,’ featuring fellow rapper, Vector.
He said, “One of these guys one day said, ‘Falana talk to your son; he should stop embarrassing the government’. I said which government? You mean that boy who is an adult? Can I give you his number so you can talk to him? But be careful because when that boy was growing up, I was being arrested from time to time. So, the only language he understood was detention, arrest and the rest of them.
“One day, when that boy was six, he asked his mother, “Our teacher taught us that only criminals were arrested. Is my father a criminal? Why is he always being arrested? And the mother had to say that in Nigeria, under the military, only two sets of people were arrested: Criminals suspects and political suspects. Political suspects are those who are out to expose the criminality of the government. That is what you see going on.”
Falz is one of the activists who regularly hold #EndSARS memorial in honour of those whom they believe lost their lives to police brutality in the country.