Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has fiercely criticized the recent decision by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) to ban the song Tell Your Papa by veteran rapper Eedris Abdulkareem. The song, which directly criticizes President Bola Tinubu and his son, Seyi Tinubu, over the worsening economic situation in Nigeria, has sparked widespread debate and backlash.
The NBC on Wednesday issued a memo directing all broadcasters to stop airing the track, describing it as “objectionable.” The move has since drawn outrage from civil society groups, artists, and concerned citizens.
Reacting to the development from New York University, Abu Dhabi, on Sunday, Soyinka described the ban as a dangerous return to authoritarianism and a blatant attack on the right to free expression.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseam. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary, but most essential of all, subversive of the fundamental right of free expression,” he said.
He sarcastically suggested that the government go further by banning Abdulkareem himself, his musical association, and even a cartoonist who illustrated a satirical piece on the controversy—highlighting the absurdity of censorship in a democratic society.
Soyinka emphasized that such actions only give more publicity to the artist and deepen Nigeria’s global image crisis.
“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 added.
The literary icon also linked the clampdown on music to wider patterns of state repression and impunity. He condemned recent mob violence in Edo State, where 19 people were lynched, drawing parallels with the 2022 murder of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto.
“The culprits are in plain sight and so are witnesses. There can be no excuses,” Soyinka said, warning that unless justice is served, Nigeria risks descending into lawlessness.
He urged the NBC and government authorities to reverse their “petulant irrationality” and recommit to upholding democratic values and artistic freedom.
Wole Soyinka condemns censorship in Nigeria
