Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has condemned the ban of Eedris Abdulkareem’s protest song “Jaga Jaga Reloaded: Tell Your Papa”, by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
Soyinka described the ban as a disturbing return to the culture of censorship and suppression of free speech in Nigeria.
In a piece sent to PM News from NYUAD, Abu Dhabi, on Sunday, that was both laced with satire and biting criticism, Soyinka called out the Bola Tinubu administration for what he termed a “petulant irrationality” that undermines democratic principles.
Referring to a cartoon by artist Ebun Aleshinloye which critiqued the government’s censorship, Soyinka used the piece as a launchpad for his broader commentary on the dangers of silencing dissenting voices.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka wrote.
“I have yet to listen to the record but the principle is inflexibly etched on any democratic template. It cannot be flouted,” he asserted.
Soyinka emphasised that censorship, far from weakening artists, often emboldens them and adds to their popularity.
“The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he remarked.
The literary icon warned that Nigeria has been down this path before and stressed that clamping down on free speech only serves to erode democratic freedoms and embolden impunity.
He criticised not just state agencies but also the rise of religious and governmental authorities that harass and imprison artists for expressing dissenting views.
“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,” Soyinka warned.
In a sombre postscript, the playwright turned his attention to the recent killings in Edo State, where nineteen youths reportedly fell victim to mob violence.
Drawing parallels with the 2022 lynching of student Deborah Samuel, Soyinka denounced the persistent culture of impunity that allows perpetrators of such acts to walk free.
“The horror is not in numbers but in the act itself… Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
