Dar es Salaam. As the division across the world continues to mount up over the decision of Russia to invade Ukraine, with the West pleading for more countries to join the movement of condemning it, African superstar Diamond Platnumz has a few takes of his own about wars in his new video Fine.
The video starts with men in the same battledress who appear to wrestle as if they are trying to entertain themselves as they wait for the next battle. The scene looks like it’s played in a field or a plain space not inhabited, but there is a small camp set up as if to imitate a frontline scene.
The scene play for 18 seconds then it moves to the usual artistry set up with motorcycle, much more celebrity like clothes, but the transition is marked with a scene of Diamond reading a newspaper with two headlines, on one page ‘War is Not the Answer’ and on the next page ‘Bomb Blast.’
The lyrics of the song itself have nothing to do with war or conflict, it’s about love, as part of the chorus sing: “I see some beautiful girls but nobody is fine like you.” So it’s almost as if the artist wanted to make his point or wanted to say something about wars.
As fine visuals continue, the artist went on to combine the two aspects, the usual artist like dancing routing and the military scene visual. But now the men in camouflage changed into dancers, but there is an unusual element in their routine.
There is a woman amidst the camp, dancing with the group but not in battledress, in just casual, even attractive blue dressing. It is as if the artist wanted to erase the whole notion of the battlefield at this point.
Then, the main character, Diamond, left the camp to take a leak. Suddenly there is some sort of radio call heard, like an estimation of distance and a fighter jet seen above the sky. A missile from the fighter jet set the whole camp ablaze, in front of the artist’s eyes, killing his whole team and the lady who appeared to be a girlfriend or wife.
It’s not clear which war the artist wanted to address but he clearly tried to say something. But his quest was also emphasized in the caption of his song on Youtube which reads, “War Is Not The Answer Let’s Spread Love & Make Peace!”
The video comes just a day after eight ambassadors from European countries in Tanzania including Poland, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain in a press conference called for support from Africa in condemning Russia’s action in Ukraine. Citing that Africa’s show of support will go a long way to manifesting the global unity that exists in the approach against Russian acts.
There has also been an article by the UK High Commissioner, Mr David Concar, titled, Why global unity is necessary on Ukraine where the Ambassador indirectly criticizes Tanzania’s current neutrality stance over the conflict “What will not work in this situation are generic calls for a diplomatic resolution in the absence of broad international pressure on the aggressor”.
Citing Tanzania founding father, Julius Nyerere’s pragmatism when it comes to neutrality and human suffering, he went on highlighting the suffering of the Ukrainians, “one would need a heart of stone not to be moved by the bravery of the Ukrainian people as Russia encircles the country’s cities with thermobaric weapons and cluster munitions”, part of the article by Ambassador Concar reads.
The article did not go unanswered, the Russian Ambassador, Yuri Popov did a rejoinder titled Why global objectivity is necessary for Ukraine, equating the UK Ambassador’s article to a work of fiction. Ambassador Popov also used Tanzania’s founding father example in emphasizing the importance of Tanzania’s neutrality, “the founder of Tanzania was a real sage, a man of magnitude, and his successors have been living and performing true to his foreign policy legacy built on the principle of neutrality”.
Yesterday, Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affair explained the reasoning behind Tanzania’s abstention in the UN’s vote against Russia saying Tanzania’s abstention was a matter of principle to show that a diplomatic solution is the only reasonable solution.
It was only a dream! That’s how Diamond’s song ended. As Diamond was crying in his military uniform, looking at the ruins of their camp, he woke up. Apparently, he was dreaming the whole thing. He woke up only to find his fine woman just around in his calm home. Maybe this is a way that the artist wanted us to know, he was speaking for somebody else through his art.
You can also read: Infographic: What to expect in the economy, price of goods following the war in Ukraine
