Music has always been a uniting factor for people across different strata of society. As one media that’s accessible and capable of evoking powerful emotions, music is both personal and public. A song is a conversation between the artist and the listener, and listening to music as a community is an experience that cannot be replicated. For as long as music has existed, it has been an avenue to connect with others, unite and inspire people who listen.
The social justice scene in Nigeria is something of an underground one; in a society where you could be ‘disappeared’ for speaking out against someone in authority, talking about social issues is a risky move, except you have strong political backing and/or clout. This is where Nigerian music comes in.
Nigerian songs – Afrobeat and Afrobeats – as a rule, generally focus on beats and rhythm before lyrics. It’s not necessarily a bad thing; it just is. Despite this, there are Afrobeats songs and Nigerian songs that aim to pass a commentary on the deplorable state of the country.
Here are five songs that perfectly reflect social issues in Nigeria.
FELA KUTI – ZOMBIE.
A pioneer of the Afrobeat genre, Fela is undoubtedly one of the greatest Nigerian artists of all time. His skill with the saxophone and his penchant for live performances cemented his place as one of Nigeria’s biggest in the 70s and 80s. Fela had a reputation for speaking out against the Nigerian government. In a time reminiscent of this one, where military presence was the order of the day (it was a military government after all), Fela was unafraid to speak about the issues that plagued Nigeria. His 1977 album of the same name was a criticism of the white nationals and the military governments that were the norm across Africa.
Zombie compares the military and its officers to the undead Zombies who are mindless and follow orders of whoever control them. The song was a hit across the continent, and still continues to be a hit as the situation hasn’t gotten that much better but it was a hit that Fela paid for.
Eedris AbdulKareem – JAGA JAGA
There must be something about former military head of state and civilian president Olusegun Obasanjo because his reign inspired not one, not two but three songs on this list. Fela’s Zombie was released during his time as military president, and Eedris AbdulKareem’s hit song with the one-liner that has stood the test of time was released during his time as the first president of the fourth republic of Nigeria.
Jaga Jaga was a commentary on Nigeria’s overall situation. Jaga Jaga as a pidgin word that means ‘crooked’ or ‘rubbish’, an apt word that summarised the Nigerian experience, one that still does. Eedris Abdulkareem was not a stranger to talking about Nigeria’s issues, earlier on, he had released Mr Lecturer, a satirical hit that talked about the ‘Sex for Grades’ issue rampant in Nigerian universities.
With its hard-hitting words and rhythmical pidgin, Jaga Jaga swept the country in a frenzied wave, then President Obasanjo banned the song from radio and TV stations but as any true Nigerian knows, you cannot truly ban something. The song continued to be a hit in houses and nightclubs. Jaga Jaga is still relevant to the Nigerian situation for a song that came out in the early 2000s.
African China – MR PRESIDENT.
The head is just as good as the rest of the body, or however that saying goes. Despite my butchering of the statement, it is a statement that many Nigerians believe to be fiercely true; Nigeria is only as good as its president.
This is the track that African China takes on his hit song ‘Mr President’. Following a similar line of complaint as Eedris Abdulkareem’s Jaga Jaga, Mr President takes on a tangent – instead of dragging the country for all its worth, African China appeals to the head of state to ‘lead us well’. The chorus is an appeal to people in authority to treat the people they lead with dignity.
Side note – I really do wonder what these people who were singing songs about the Nigerian experience in 2004 would think about 2022.
FALZ – Talk
The Falana name is no stranger to social justice – Femi Falana is a devoted human rights lawyer, his name holding the same, if not more weight than Festus Keyamo of the old days. Falz burst into the music scene with “Ello bae”, a catchy tune that had people bobbing their heads and calling their lovers.
In 2019, Falz released Moral Instruction, an album that can only be described as socially conscious. This album featured ‘Talk’ as the lead single. Talk is true to Falz’s style of rapping – catchy, repetitive lyrics and satire so good it takes you a moment to catch it. “Four years tenure, three years holiday” is a reference to Buhari’s first civilian tenure, which he spent a good chunk of it in London as opposed to actually leading the country but “no be me talk am o”.
Show Dem Camp ft Ozone – Epigenetics.
In addition to being the best duo since Don Jazzy and {redacted}, Show Dem Camp’s run of Clone Wars albums are somewhat of a pillar of the Nigerian rap game. In their 2019 edition of Clone Wars, Clone Wars IV “These Buhari Times”, the duo enlists Ozone in Epigenetics. This song is a complaint, a story on the collection of Nigeria’s experience in the Buhari Times.
“Ever felt like you’re in a low budget Nollywood flick” is an accurate description of the country and the things that happen in it. Nigeria’s everyday happenings can give comedy central a run for its money and that’s what Epigenetics talks on. There’s no clear destination to this song (much like something else I can talk about) but the last two lines of the chorus are a warning “There’s generational trauma going on here/And like karma the bitch won’t stop”. Unless something changes, unless as a people we change our habit of rewarding people who don’t have our interests at heart, everything will stay the same.
