Soyinka slams Tinubu Govt Over NBC Ban on Eedris Abdulkareem’s song Tell Your Papa — Accuses Regime of Silencing Free Speech

Wole Soyinka speaks on Eedris Abdulkareem's song Ban by NBC

 According to Soyinka, the prohibition represents a troubling return to Nigeria's history of censorship and free expression restriction.

Eedris Abdulkareem's protest song "Jaga Jaga Reloaded: Tell Your Papa was banned by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), a decision that Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has vehemently opposed.

According to Soyinka, the prohibition represents a troubling return to Nigeria's history of censorship and free expression restriction.
In a satirical and scathingly critical letter emailed to PM News on Sunday from NYUAD, Abu Dhabi, Soyinka criticized the Bola Tinubu administration for what he called a "petulant irrationality" that goes against democratic values.

Soyinka utilized a cartoon by artist Ebun Aleshinloye that criticized the government's censorship as a springboard for his larger analysis on the perils of stifling different opinions.
"I recently learned of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem, thanks to an artist working in a different genre—the cartoon—who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event," Soyinka said.

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In an attempt to highlight the ridiculousness of the ban, Soyinka used a tone of mock exaggeration to joke that perhaps not only the song but also Abdulkareem, his musical association, the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), and even the cartoonist Aleshinloye should be banned. This was done as a rhetorical flourish to show the ridiculous extent to which suppression can go when left unchecked. "I have not yet listened to the record, but the principle is inflexibly etched on any democratic template. It cannot be flouted," he said, emphasizing that censorship does not weaken artists but rather gives them more confidence and increases their popularity.

"The artist's nest egg is boosted by the ban because of the government's free promotion." Now, Mr. Abdulkareem must be rambling merrily all the way to the bank. "I'm envious of him," he said.

The famous author emphasized that stifling free expression only helps to weaken democratic liberties and encourage impunity, cautioning that Nigeria has already been down this route.
He condemned not just state agencies but also the emergence of religious and governmental institutions that persecute and arrest artists for voicing alternative opinions.
Soyinka said, "Any government that only accepts yes-men and yes-women and that only allows praise singers and dancers to the official beat has already started a downhill slide into the abyss."

The playwright also addressed the recent killings in Edo State, where 19 young people were allegedly killed by mob violence, in a somber postscript.
Drawing comparisons to the killing of student Deborah Samuel in 2022, Soyinka criticized the enduring culture of impunity that permits those who commit such crimes to go unpunished.
“The horror is not in numbers but in the act itself… Our passion for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Soyinka's participation lends a strong voice to a growing call for responsibility, justice, and the protection of civil liberties as Nigeria struggles with growing authoritarian inclinations and public outrage over repeated crackdowns on freedom of expression.

By Primelineinfo