In a recent interview with the African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA), comedian Basketmouth voiced his concerns over rising inflation and the depreciation of the naira, which he said has significantly impacted Nigerians’ daily lives.

He reflected on the currency’s history, stating, “There’s nothing that can happen, quote me anywhere. Think about it, in 1970, the year I was born, it was one naira to a dollar and this year it’s one dollar to 1600 naira. There was never a time from that time to date that the dollar crashed and went back to what it was and stayed there. It has never happened; think about it.”

Basketmouth criticized the popular Nigerian phrase ‘E go better,’ meaning ‘It will get better,’ often used in times of hardship, saying, “Every time it changes, all the conversations you’d be hearing is ‘E go better, E go better.’ It’s getting worse, bro. What are the policies? And what have they done? Now 100 pages for a passport is 100,000 naira; they just increased it.”

He also speculated that the government might be intentionally worsening the economic situation to drive people toward emigration, known as “japa.” “I suspect that our government planned this thing to make the Nigerian population suffer. So that when they suffer they can now want to japa, then they will increase the price of the passport and they’d make money,” he said.

Sarcastically, he concluded, “It’s not like I’ve given up hope; I’m hopeful. Maybe one day, the country will be better. Let’s all believe in that pipe dream. It’s done, it’s over.”

See the full Interview below: