"Light-skinned People Don’t Have It Easy In Nigeria" According To Nigerian-American singer, Jidenna.

The Classic Man singer appeared on Vlad TV for an interview, where he discussed gender and racial issues. In his interview, Jidenna, who declared himself as “Igbo American” stated that unlike in the US, being lightskinned put you at a bigger risk in Nigeria. He described the South-East as being “away from the city”, adding that when you’re lightskinned, you tend to stand out.
“When I went to bury my father, I had to bring a lot of AK-47s… I had to employ military commandos… Because when you’re light-skinned, you’re a heavier target for being kidnapped, because you’re seen as more valuable.”He added that his family had been assaulted and robbed, adding that the situation for lightskinned people had it easier in America.


"I have had a particular type of upbringing that is not the traditional. Whatever the traditional is for a light skinned mixed African American. I am Nigerian-American and more specifically I am Igbo American, Igbo being the ethnic group where I am from and that means you are in the South East of Nigeria.
You are way from the city so it means when you go to your village you are the only person or one of the few people that look like you. In my case, our family is light. Therefore when we go to our village, when I actually buried my father I had to bring in a lot of AK47, I had to employ military commandos because when you are light skinned, you are a heavier target for being kidnapped because you are seen as more valuable. You are seen as white therefore you have money.
You are American therefore you have more money. If you have more money then you are easy to kidnap and if you are easy to kidnap then we are going to get you. So for me being light-skinned in Nigeria, in our family, it was difficult. We have been hounded. We have been robbed. Our family has been assaulted. We have had a lot of issues. You can say these to a family that is dark skinned color. They may or may not have these experiences but for us we have always been the target but when you come to America, its the opposite. The police may look you over. They may not pull out the gun faster the way they would have done if you were darker"he said.