Nigeria bans Eedris abdulkareem’s song criticizing President Tinubu’s economic policies

By Mark Ogagan

The Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), has barred radio and TV stations in the country from playing Tell Your Papa – a song by local afro pop star, Eedris Abdulkareem which criticized President Tinubu and his administration’s economic policies.

The recently released single, throws jibes at Tinubu’s “poor” economic record after two years in office, which have seen major protests over the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

The song containing lyrics in Yoruba, English and Pidgin – is addressed to Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son, who called his father the greatest leader in the country’s history.

Abdulkareem calls on Seyi to let his father know “people are dying” from economic hardship as well as continued insecurity from armed groups. The song also highlights what the rapper calls a string of unfulfilled “empty promises”.

On Wednesday the National Broadcasting Commission sent a memo to TV and radio stations describing the rap as “inappropriate for broadcast due to its objectionable nature”. It also said the song violated section 3.1.8 of the country’s broadcasting code which prohibits content that is a “breach of public decency”.

Abdulkareem hit back on Thursday, posting the memo to his Instagram account and denouncing the ban. “It’s obvious that in Nigeria, truth and constructive criticism is always deemed as a big crime by the government”, he wrote.

“Any wonder why Nigeria hasn’t made impactful strides all these years?”

He called on fans to stream the song online instead. It has since gone viral.

The “bizarre ban” of the song is a violation of freedom of expression, international rights group Amnesty International said in a statement, stressing the song’s criticism of those in power is not grounds for censorship.

“This clamp down on artistic freedom is an appalling reminder that artists are at the risk of being silenced,” Amnesty said.

This is not the first time Abdulkareem’s music has caused a stir. In 2004, the authorities banned his track Jaga Jaga, in which he described then-president Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration as corrupt.