Wole Soyinka Criticizes NBC’s Ban On Eedris Abdulkareem’s Song “Tell Your Papa”

Wole Soyinka, the renowned Nobel laureate, has boldly condemned the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for their recent decision to ban “Tell Your Papa,” a protest song by Eedris Abdulkareem.

Abudulkareem’s song, which was released on Apr. 7, captured the economic hardship and realities endured by Nigerians in the country.

Three days after its release, the NBC barred radio and television stations across the country from airing the song which it described as “objectionable.”

Reacting to the development, Soyinka, in an official statement on Apr. 13, from New York University, Abu Dhabi, described the ban as an outright attack on the constitutional right to free expression.

The Nobel laureate said NBC’s actions reflect an intolerance for dissent, which is becoming a disturbing trend.

“The fundamental right of free expression, as already touched upon, is not a closet affair; it is never hidden but echoes as loudly on international fora as in the most obscure hamlet,” Soyinka stated.

He further emphasized that the government risks authoritarianism if it continues to silence opposing voices by artists and creatives.

“Any government that is tolerant only of yes-men and women, which accommodates only praise-singers and dancers to the official beat, has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss,” he partly wrote.

Reactions and conversations around the ban of Abdulkareem’s “Tell Your Papa” raise questions about the freedom of artistic expression in Nigeria.