Nigerian rapper YCee has expressed concern over what he described as society’s growing obsession with wealth, saying the pursuit of money has negatively affected people’s values.
Speaking in a recent interview, the rapper argued that some countries facing war and greater hardship than Nigeria still do not exhibit the same level of questionable behaviour, adding that “so long as you make money” has become a common justification for wrongdoing.
Addressing the controversy surrounding the “Olodo Uprising” phrase, YCee said he did not coin the expression and maintained that his comments were misunderstood by those who accused him of being classist or elitist.
The rapper also reflected on his educational journey, revealing that he only holds a secondary school certificate. According to him, he had hoped to study Computer Science at the University of Lagos but was unable to meet the admission cut-off mark at the time.
He said …
“I hate what the pursuit of money has done to us as a society. There are societies that are worse of than Nigeria. War-torn societies where people do not behave as badly as Nigerians. And the excuse is always so long as you make money.
The whole Olodo Uprising frenzy, I didn’t coin the phrase. I feel a lot of people missed my point and are trying to make it seem as though I was classist of elitist because I have some level of education. Mind you I just have my school cert o. I don’t have a university degree.
It got to some point in SS2 when I couldn’t read anymore, I was like I’m done. I had wanted to study computer science, but I couldn’t meet the cut off to study in UNILAG but now they’ve reduced cut off maybe if I had written now I’d have gotten computer science…”
Watch him speak below …
Nigerian Rapper Ycee has lamented what he described as Nigeria’s growing obsession with wealth, warning that the pursuit of money is eroding societal values. He also revealed he once aspired to study Computer Science but missed the admission cut-off, reflecting on his academic… pic.twitter.com/cpEa2zQAUc
— The Guardian Nigeria (@GuardianNigeria) July 25, 2026
