Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has strongly criticized the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for banning a song by Nigerian hip-hop veteran Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the move as a dangerous return to censorship and a threat to free expression.
In a statement released from New York University, Abu Dhabi, on Sunday, Soyinka expressed concern over the implications of such actions, noting that they echo Nigeria’s history of suppressing artistic and socio-political commentary.
“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 in a piece shared via PM News.
Soyinka, with a touch of irony, suggested that the censorship didn’t go far enough.
“It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Although he admitted he had not listened to the banned track, Soyinka emphasized that the matter goes beyond the song’s content. For him, the core issue is the undermining of a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he added.
Soyinka also highlighted the irony of censorship, noting that it often ends up benefiting the very artists it targets.
“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 concluded.
The ban has since sparked widespread debate on social media and within the creative industry, with many echoing Soyinka’s concerns over the growing clampdown on freedom of expression in Nigeria.
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Written By Elegbe Theodore