The devastating terrorist attacks that have been occurring in Nigeria continue to make headlines today. The unfortunate events, including a mass kidnapping that sparked the viral hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, have even gained the attention of rapper Wale, who has a special connection to the country and has compared the attacks to hell on earth.

"My dad is out there right now, he's in Nigeria — and I believe it's north Nigeria," the "Bad" emcee told MTV News. "My dad is in the country ... part."

Wale, who is American by birth, has family from Nigeria, where violence has become common place for years. "It's f****d up and it's just like, 'Where are you safe at? Where?'" he said.

According to the latest reports, more than 2,000 Nigerians were murdered in the Jan. 3 terrorist attack by Islamic insurgent group Boko Haram on Baga, a fishing town in northeast Nigeria. It was then reported that explosives were strapped to a young girl and set off in Maiduguri, killing at least 20 more people and critically injuring several others. The day after, it was reported that more were killed in a separate attack.

In April 2014, Boko Haram abducted more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls who are reportedly now being used as suicide bombers. Wale's gripe with the situation includes the unjustified use of religion as a defense mechanism.

"Something as pure as religion — which is essentially love, love for mankind and respect and loyalty to your spirit, a loyalty within self, a love within itself — it's so crazy that has been used as a tool to kill, to murder and to have no boundaries," the MMG rapper said. "Killing children, suicide bombings, even 9/11."

The emcee ended the interview explaining his views on the graphic images of the unforeseen massacre. "I didn't want to see them, but people kept sending them, people kept posting them." It made him realize the smallness of personal problems like breaking up with a girl, with the emcee saying, "...These are minuscule, minor things compared to what's going on in the world." 

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(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for GQ)