The ban on Tell Your Papa, a song by Eedris Abdulkareem, by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission indicates that Nigeria may be returning to the dark ages of military juntas. It is a needless provocation at a time of economic distress.
Describing it as “inappropriate and objectionable” and in breach of public decency, NBC hinged the hammer on Section 3.1.8 of the broadcasting code and labelled it ‘Not to Be Broadcast’. The ban is laughable. It exposes the institution to ridicule. It should reverse its decision.
Tell Your Papa is a work of art, a creative response to the boast made by President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi. In March, Seyi told youths in Adamawa State: “My father is the greatest president Nigeria ever had.” For a president under two years in office, this is flat-out nonsense.
In response to Seyi’s arrogance, Eedris’ protest song has begun to resonate with many Nigerians because it hits the nail on the head. The citizens are hungry and unsafe, the cost of living is unbearable, and government officials continue to waddle in opulence and corruption at the expense of the taxpayers.
This resounding truth is verifiable. There is nothing vulgar about Eedris’ song.
While the government tries to silence the song with a sledgehammer, it has buoyed it to the limelight.
This is a replay of history. In 2012, President Olusegun Obasanjo banned Eedris’ song, Nigeria Jaga-Jaga. Instead of dying down, the ban gave it popularity. The Tinubu administration has failed to learn lessons from that episode.
NBC has failed to explicate how the song was ‘objectionable.’ To the public, the song is neither vulgar nor distasteful. It is the direct opposite of the ribald songs on the airwaves, many of which are sexist, and promote crime, ritual killing and disagreeable cultural values.
In 2020, NBC fined Channels Television, Arise TV, and AIT N3 million each for “unethical coverage” of the #EndSARS protests without justification.
Although the intention behind setting up NBC is good, it has failed to carry out its role with transparency.
Unfortunately, MDAs want to please the government in power. Their allegiance to the state beclouds their judgement. This is an indication of weak government institutions.
Therefore, institutions should be recalibrated structurally and systematically to serve the people, not the government in power.
Eedris has a constitutional right to freedom of speech. This law supersedes and displaces the NBC codes.
Eedris addresses Seyi, who has assumed a larger-than-life role in the Presidency without any official designation.
It appears that the Tinubu government misconstrues citizens’ criticism as malice, disrespect, libel, or treason. This is a misnomer. Criticism is part of governance, and it is the civic duty of citizens to comment on issues that affect their lives.
While the right to protest is enshrined in the Constitution and established by the courts, the security agencies are quick to brutalise activists, journalists, and citizens.
Sadly, they fail to deploy the same rigour and intelligence in clamping down on terrorism, criminality and violent Fulani herdsmen rapine plaguing the country.
Recently, a youth corps member was threatened for complaining about the high cost of living and her paltry allowance. A lady in Sokoto was sentenced to 12 strokes of the cane for complaining about the insecurity in the state.
The Nigerian Bar Association and other professional groups must be firm in asserting the rights of citizens. The media and civil society organisations must not relent in pushing back the shadow of tyranny that continues to rear its head. It must resist the Cybercrime Act.
The media needs to lend a voice to those clamouring for positive change in the country.
As Fela Anikulapo-Kuti did, Nigerian musicians should engage the government and public with more politically conscious music.
