Soyinka mocks Nigerian govt's censorship of Eedris Abdulkareem’s song

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has used biting satire to respond to the recent ban on musician Eedris Abdulkareem’s song.

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In a statement dripping with irony, Mr Soyinka ‘praised’ the government’s “progressive move” in banning the song but argued that it didn’t go far enough.

He humorously suggested that the musician should be proscribed and that action should also be taken against Ebun Aleshinloye, a PREMIUM TIMES cartoonist, who had responded to the ban with a cartoon commentary.

“We have been through this before, over and over again,” Soyinka wrote. “We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizure of the fundamental right of free expression.”

Mr Abdulkareem had released a song, “Tell Your Papa, ” in response to Seyi Tinubu’s claim that his father, President Bola Tinubu, is Nigeria’s greatest leader.

In the song, Mr Abdulkareem criticises Seyi Tinubu for being out of touch with Nigerians’ struggles. He highlighted issues like economic hardship, insecurity, and kidnapping that ordinary Nigerians are grappling with.

President Tinubu’s decision to stop subsidy payments on petrol has led to a hike in the cost of living.Insecurity has also been on the rise. In 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says kidnapping incidence in the country is estimated at 2,235,954 between May 2023 and April 2024.

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Eedris Abdulkareem

The 50-year-old rapper, who has a history of using his music for socio-political commentary, urged the younger Tinubu to tell his father about the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.

“Seyi, tell your papa, country hard. Tell your papa, people dey die. Tell your papa this one don pass jagajaga.

“Seyi, how far? I swear your papa, no try—there are too many empty promises. On behalf of Nigerians, take our message to him. Kidnappers dey kill Nigerians,” he rapped.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBS) banned television and radio stations across Nigeria from playing Mr Abdulkareem’s song on their airwaves.

In a memo to broadcast stations, the media regulator said the content of the song was inappropriate for broadcast.

This is not the first time Mr Abdulkareem’s songs would be banned. In 2004, his song titled, ‘Jaga Jaga’ was banned for criticising former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

The trend of Nigerian artists using music to critique societal issues and challenge authority continues to grow, but the government’s response has become increasingly intolerant. The ban on Eedris Abdulkareem’s song is a recent example of this intolerance.

Fela’s songs, such as “Zombie”, “Beasts of No Nation” and “Shuffering and Shmiling” were banned during military regimes for their scathing critiques of dictatorship and corruption.

Similarly, Falz’s song, “This Is Nigeria,,” was banned in 2018 for highlighting issues like SARS brutality, drug abuse, and extrajudicial killings.

Amnesty International, a global human rights group, joined its voice to condemn the ban.

While urging President Tinubu to reverse NBC’s latest move, the organisation said the ban violates Nigeria’s international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights protecting freedom of expression.

Free expression is not a closet affair – Soyinka

The Nobel laureate criticised President Tinubu’s attempts to regulate artistic content. He said suppressing critical voices and independent thoughts of citizens is not only futile but also damaging to the country’s democratic development.

He said governments that prioritise blind loyalty over constructive criticism are on a path to disaster.

Mr Soyinka argued that the ban would only serve to promote the musician’s work, thanks to free governmental promotion.

“The fundamental right of free expression is not a closet affair, it is never hidden but echoes as loudly on international fora as in the most obscure hamlet,” Soyinka wrote.

“Any government that is tolerant only of yes-men and women, which accommodates only praise-singers and dancers to the official beat, has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”

Edo Lynching

Mr Soyinka also condemned the lynching incident that happened on Thursday, 27 March in Uromi, Edo State.

While commiserating with the family of the victims, Mr Soyinka lamented the growing mob mentality sweeping across the nation.

A mob had attacked the truck conveying 16 hunters en route to Kano. According to police reports, the vehicle was intercepted at Udune Efandion by a local vigilante group, who suspected the travellers of being kidnappers after they found locally made dane guns in their possession.

Describing the incident as a “soul-searing orgy,” Mr Soyinka drew parallels to the infamous killing of student Deborah Samuel, where identified killers were freed to boast about their actions on social media.

“As long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail,” he warned.