Performing Poverty, Philanthropy and Popular Culture.

As a scholar studying the collision of charity, cameras, and celebrities, I have always marvelled at the tension and even trivial matters related to how, why, and what constitutes charity. Who performs it, and what purpose is intended? The audience it is performed for. I also tried to track the recipients' lives to see what became of them, both good and otherwise. I published a paper titled "When Charity and Camera Collide: Nigerian Celebrity Philanthropy in the Age of Technology". Along those lines, I also published a chapter in an edited volume titled "Corophilanthropy" on all the charities performed by sacred (pastors, imams) and secular (politicians, celebrities, government, and corporate entities) actors during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The latest—not really the latest, but another dimension—is the performance of poverty to elicit compassion from the unsuspecting public through altered identity. Recently, Comedian Brain Jotter posted a video of a "girl" with a disability who was selling pure water in traffic to caution the urgent 2K (a trope for needy women) and other supposedly entitled individuals on the importance of hard work. It turned out the supposed girl was a boy, and not only that, performing poverty was allegedly his stock in trade in Osun before changing locations. Before this time, both the Governor of Osun, where he was said to hail,and music star Davido were already searching for the lad after his viral video.

This kind of story raises important questions that continue to pique my interest. Why do people perform poverty for sympathy? In what way do religion, gender, location, and other identity markers complicate or influence this? Specifically, with people with disabilities, one is prompted to ask if there is a fetishization of disability in which people only help because a disabled person is involved, and that allows them to perform an act of charity that elevates them into some sanctimonious realm as do-gooders. How does this individual's cross-dressing complicate queer performativity or gender transformation in popular culture?

Also, a few days ago, Nigerian music artist Wizkid was seen in a video throwing money around and was alleged to have promised to give 100 million away this December. What intellectual sense can be gleaned from his method of charity, Mr. Ibu's story, and all the theatrics with the contradictions and complex narrative of Jay Boogie's alleged health crisis?

Posted on Facebook on December 13, 2023.

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