Soyinka further warned that legitimising acts of impunity creates a dangerous environment, where state authorities feel emboldened to crush dissent under the guise of regulation. He cautioned that Nigeria risks descending into authoritarianism if only praise-singers are allowed to thrive.
Abuja, Nigeria – Renowned Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has strongly criticised the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for its recent ban on a protest song by Nigerian hip-hop artist, Eedris Abdulkareem. Describing the move as a troubling throwback to censorship and a direct assault on freedom of expression, Soyinka warned that such actions pose a grave threat to Nigeria’s democratic values.
In a strongly-worded statement released on Sunday from New York University, Abu Dhabi, Soyinka condemned the NBC’s decision, comparing it to past efforts to muzzle artistic and socio-political expression in the country. He stressed that attempts to silence dissenting voices often end up empowering them instead.
“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,” Soyinka remarked with irony.
Although the literary icon admitted he had not listened to the banned song, he maintained that the issue at hand goes beyond the content of the music. According to him, the core matter is the suppression of a fundamental democratic right—the freedom of expression.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely, is basic,” Soyinka insisted, while also referencing a recent cartoon by Aleshinloye which satirised the ban. He encouraged such artistic responses, calling them “easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summations” of the absurdity of censorship.
In a satirical tone, Soyinka mockingly suggested that the NBC should have gone further by banning not just the song, but the artist himself, and perhaps even the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), if Abdulkareem is a member.
The Nobel Laureate didn’t stop at condemning the song ban. He used the opportunity to raise alarm over the broader culture of impunity in the country, citing the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State as a tragic example. He extended his condolences to the families and survivors of the attack, describing the incident as a “senseless slaughter.”
Drawing parallels with the 2022 murder of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka lamented the continued failure to prosecute those responsible for such atrocities. “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces,” he noted.
Soyinka further warned that legitimising acts of impunity creates a dangerous environment, where state authorities feel emboldened to crush dissent under the guise of regulation. He cautioned that Nigeria risks descending into authoritarianism if only praise-singers are allowed to thrive.
Concluding his statement, Soyinka called on the NBC to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that the suppression of critical voices ultimately undermines democratic growth.
“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 all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” he warned.
Soyinka’s reaction adds to a growing wave of criticism over what many see as increasing attempts to stifle artistic freedom and free speech in Nigeria.
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