Veteran Nigerian rapper, Eedris Abdulkareem, has said his new song Tell Your Papa was not an attack on President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu.
He made this clear during an interview on Rubbin’ Minds, a programme on Channels Television, aired on Sunday, April 14.
The rapper explained that the song was only a response to a statement Seyi made in March while in Yola, Adamawa State. In the video, Seyi Tinubu had described his father as the “best president Nigeria has ever had.”
Eedris said the video inspired him to record Tell Your Papa, which calls on Seyi to ask his father to fix the country’s problems.
He said, “Nigerian youths are just asking for basics: electricity, security, enabling economic environment, job creation and not palliatives. So, why should I attack Seyi Tinubu personally?”
“If Seyi Tinubu never talked about it, I wouldn’t have recorded a song like that. So, I am replying to the video that he made. If he had kept quiet, I wouldn’t have said anything. I am inspired by Seyi Tinubu to record that song.”
Shortly after the song was released, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) banned it from being played on radio and TV, calling it inappropriate.
The ban sparked criticism across the country. Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, was among those who condemned the move, saying it was a return to censorship and a threat to freedom of speech.
Eedris also pointed out that the issues he spoke about years ago in his hit song Nigeria Jaga Jaga are still happening today.
“24 years after I released Nigeria Jaga Jaga, that song is still relevant because Nigeria has not experienced the necessary development,” he said.
The rapper has long been known for using his music to speak out against bad governance and poor leadership in Nigeria.
