Soyinka Mocks Tinubu Govt Over Ban On Eedris Abdulkareem’s Protest Song

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka Says Censorship Is a “Downhill Slide into the Abyss”

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has issued a scathing rebuke to the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the ban placed on a politically charged song by veteran rapper Eedris Abdulkareem.

The Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) recently prohibited the airing of Abdulkareem’s latest track, “Tell Your Papa,” which criticizes the worsening economic conditions in the country and is directed at the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu. The NBC cited the song’s “objectionable content” as grounds for the ban, a move that has since triggered widespread backlash across the country.

Reacting in a statement titled “Surely, Not Again,” Soyinka lampooned the government’s action, employing irony and sarcasm to highlight what he described as a dangerous return to censorship and suppression of dissent.

“Courtesy of an artist working in another medium – the cartoon – who shared with me his reaction to the ban, I was made aware of this unfortunate turn of events,” Soyinka said. “Apparently, a song by Eedris Abdulkareem has been outlawed. But I think the authorities didn’t go far enough. Why stop at banning the song? Why not proscribe the artist himself, and disband his musical association?”

Soyinka also referenced cartoonist Ebun Aleshinloye, who criticized the ban in a widely shared cartoon, sarcastically suggesting that he too should be sanctioned for daring to challenge authority.

While admitting he had not yet listened to the track, Soyinka defended the right to artistic and political expression as a democratic principle that should never be compromised.

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“I may not have heard the song, but the principle is clear and inviolable in any democracy. Suppressing uncomfortable truths or critical art is not only self-defeating but also promotes the work further. Mr. Abdulkareem is likely enjoying increased popularity—and earnings—thanks to this government endorsement-by-censorship,” he added.

The literary icon warned that Nigeria had seen this pattern before—of governments using state machinery to silence critics—and noted that such actions often end in public disillusionment and international embarrassment.

“History has shown us where this path leads. It’s tiresome, repressive, and ultimately counterproductive. Attempts to gag artists and critics only embolden the message. A democracy cannot thrive on praise-singing alone,” he stated.

Soyinka concluded by calling on the NBC to reverse its decision, warning that intolerance to criticism signals a broader collapse of democratic ideals.

“Any administration that only embraces cheerleaders and stifles dissent is heading for a dangerous descent. This irrational move by the regulatory agency must be reversed to uphold the integrity of free expression,” Soyinka said.

Eedris Abdulkareem, best known for his 2004 protest anthem “Jaga Jaga” which took aim at President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government, is no stranger to controversy. With “Tell Your Papa,” he appears to have reignited his long-standing tradition of using music as a tool for political resistance.