Comedian and activist Adebowale Adedayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni, has said he stepped back from speaking out on national issues because Nigerians are not ready for the change they constantly demand.
In a recent interview on the ‘In My Opinion Podcast’, Mr Macaroni said the country’s pattern of endless complaints without meaningful action had left him exhausted and disillusioned.
“I stepped back because Nigerians are not ready for the change they claim they want. We don’t act like we are ready. We only complain, but it doesn’t lead to anything. We’ve been doing that for so long. We want change but are not ready to put in the work,” he said.
He summed up his frustration with a simple statement: “My pain is just that we the people are not ready.”
Mr Macaroni’s withdrawal from political commentary has been building for months. In September 2026, he clarified that his decision to reduce his public criticism of government was influenced by a combination of factors: fatigue from repeating the same messages, backlash from the very Nigerians he sought to represent, and serious threats to his life and family .
“Forget about the threats. My issue with us as Nigerians is how we move on quickly. We complain and move on. There is nothing I will say now that I haven’t already said hundred times over. Until we as a people are ready to fight for what is ours, saying the same thing over and over again is just TIRING,” he wrote on X at the time .
He also revealed that the threats he received during and after the #EndSARS protests became so severe that his family wanted to fly him out of the country.
“My family, no time, they were every time calling me, crying, ‘Debo, please. Debo, please.’ Every blessed time, my mother. Every blessed time. It was so bad they wanted to fly me out of the country. I said, ‘For what? I’m not running anywhere,'” he recounted .
Part of Mr Macaroni’s disillusionment stems from his experience during the 2023 general election. He publicly encouraged Nigerians to vote wisely and made no secret of the candidate he personally supported.
“I didn’t go silent after End SARS. I still came out. I said, ‘We must vote wisely.’ I did series of videos, series of tweets… And I said, ‘Okay, this is the person me I will vote for.’ I did not say vote—everybody should go and vote for this person,” he said .
The backlash was immediate. He was cursed, insulted, and accused of being a tribalist. When the election was over and the outcome was clear, he found himself asking what more he could possibly say.
“Now, everything don dey as e be. Is affecting me too. But what—okay, okay, oya, what should I come and say again now?” he asked .
Despite his activism, Mr Macaroni has consistently maintained that he has no ambition to enter politics. He expressed disappointment with some of the people he once admired from his school days who later entered politics and, in his view, damaged their legacies .
He also rejected an apology from Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu after the #EndSARS protests, insisting that if the governor was truly sorry, he should come to his house rather than summon him to an office .
For now, Mr Macaroni says he is enjoying his break, focusing on “redefining myself and Art, which I love as dearly as I love Nigeria” . But he left the door open for a return.
“When Nigerians are finally ready, I will be ready too,” he said .
