Veteran musician, Omatshola Iseli, also known as Tee Mac, has lamented the challenges Nigerian artistes faced due to COVID-19, saying they are suffering.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Tee Mac said entertainers were the worst hit by the restrictions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the flutist, the fact that night clubs and multipurpose halls had been shut down and live shows have been banned, entertainers like musicians, actors, and comedians have been hugely affected.
Tee Mac however maintained that entertainers have no streams of income, hence the need for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to provide palliatives for them.
His words: “Nigerian Entertainers are suffering, if government bans live shows, night clubs and multipurpose halls from operating, they should also cushion the effect on entertainers who were not working by providing palliatives.
“In 2020, we were told that some money was earmarked as COVID-19 palliative for Nigerian Entertainers but up till now, no musician, comedian or actor has received any dime as palliative.
“This is disheartening and I plead with the government to wade into this issue promptly because Nigerian entertainers are really suffering.
“In Switzerland, every musician gets US$3,000 per month, in the United States of America, they get US$1,500 per month while musicians in the United Kingdom get 1,500 pounds, this is because their wellbeing is prioritised.
“Nigeria should not be an exemption, the wellbeing of musicians, comedians, visual artists, and actors must be placed on the front burner.”
Tee Mac further noted that there were over 400,000 professional musicians in Nigeria and about 1.2 million amateur musicians who were currently suffering due to the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The group of people who have suffered the most during this COVID-19 era are the entertainers, the said COVID-19 palliative should be extended to us,” he said.