Nikotina, the soundtrack of Mozambique's youth in protest

On the streets and in music videos that get thousands of views on YouTube, the 32-year-old musician is throwing himself into the waves of demonstrations that have gripped Mozambique since disputed October 9 elections.

"I don't think this is a political issue. It's a social issue," Nikotina told AFP on a busy street in Maputo's rundown Mafalala neighbourhood, his face tired and drawn after that morning's protest dispersed by police.

Rights groups say security forces killed dozens of people in youth-led protests called by opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who rejects results showing he lost the presidential election to the Frelimo party that has governed for nearly 50 years.

"People already had the gunpowder; Venancio lit the fuse," said Nikotina, whose real name is Higino Fumo. "People realise that one group of people has a lot and another has very little. This creates social divides."

The southern African nation has ample resources -- including newly discovered natural offshore gas -- but more than 70 percent of its people live in poverty, according to the African Development Bank.

Around two-thirds of the population of 33 million is under 25, according to UN figures, and young people are most affected by unemployment or underemployment.

The despair of Mozambique's youth, for whom the election had held the promise of change, is the theme of Nikotina's latest collaboration, "Pray for Mozambique", which shows him selling loaves of bread in a humble market.

"You want to make a living, but you end up losing it when a policeman takes your peace away," he sings in Portuguese in the clip, which had nearly 100,000 views in the week after it was published in early December.

"I can die for everything, but I won't live for nothing," he sings.
At least to dream
"I'm not mobilising young people because of Venancio," the rapper, who often wears his trademark baseball cap and a single earring, told AFP.

"I'm using my influence to promote the fundamental right to demonstrate that is in the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique."

It is a point he makes in "Artigo 51 Uma Aula De Direito" ("Article 51 A Lesson in Law").

"For me, the biggest problem of young people is lack of hope. It is important that the government creates mechanisms for young people to at least dream."

His message and music inspire a huge following of fans and he is regularly stopped in the street to sign autographs or take pictures.

As long as there is no hope for a better future, young people will not give up the protests, said Zilton Macas, a 29-year-old barber in Maputo's Maxaquene neighbourhood that has become a demonstration hotspot.

"We young people really lack jobs," he said. "In the past 10 years, Mozambique has become a lion's den where only some people are able to survive."

Juvencia Bila, 43, graduated more than a dozen years ago with a degree in environmental management but has only found work selling fast food.

"You grow up being encouraged by your mum and dad to study to have a better future. I went to school and even looked for a job from an early age, but it came to nothing," she said from her stall, her university graduation cap on her head.

Wilson Lobo, 24, ekes out a meagre living as an agent for mobile wallet apps, a far cry from his plans for a better life that led him to leave his rural province of Zambezia.

"We want a different government to see if the country is poor or if it's the leaders who are making the country poor," he told AFP.
Power to the people
Using his profile to speak out in Mozambique's increasingly bitter standoff has led to threats against him and his family, Nikotina said.

It is a mission to which he committed after the death in March 2023 of his idol Mano Azagaia, one of the most respected social justice rappers in Mozambique and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

In front of a mural of Azagaia, whose 2008 "Povo no Poder" ("People Power") has long been an anthem of anti-government protests in Mozambique, he raises a fist of solidarity.