Omah Lay updates “Damn” with a 6lack-assisted remix

Posted on by The Native

The quiet time between when an artist is discovered and when they make it to the big leagues is becoming shorter and shorter, thanks to the global village we’re now living in. Port Harcourt native, Omah Lay only made his artist debut in February, and has now become a constant presence in the Nigerian music scene, and not even the social distancing laws that kept us indoors for the most part of the year could get in the way of his impressive breakout run.

Earlier in the year, he released his breezy, romantic debut tape, ‘Get Layd’ which served as comfort music during quarantine, and gave us even more indication of his ability and why he’s here to stay. When the tape dropped, “Damn” was our immediate standout and earned the spot for Best New Music that week, and now he’s given the track an update with a new guest verse from 6lack

 

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DAMN FEAT. @6lack OUT NOW WORLDWIDE! LINK IN BIO 💜

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One of the key triumphs of Omah Lay’s tape was how he was able to highlight afropop‘s diverse sonic palette. Though Nigerian pop stars have a reputation for making dancefloor bops aimed for the dancefloor and spirited concerts, his music has placed him among the new vanguard of afropop talent who seem as invested in emotional expression as they are in crafting groovy songs.

Produced by Bizzouch, the beat for “Damn” sets a bluesy ballad tone for him to reflect on his relationship with his muse. Over the moody acoustics, he warmly croons, “She loves me like damn, like damn, damn, damn,” while his upbeat vocals contrast with the beat’s slow-motion pace. The melodic effect allows his vocals to stand out as listeners are encouraged to hold on to each word written into his infectious melodies. Even 6lack couldn’t resist borrowing Omah Lay’s lyrics as he interpolates some of the original lyrics and melodies in his guest verse for “Damn Remix”; “Telling all the girls I’m on your side/Telling all my boys I’m on your side”.

“Damn Remix” is a sweet and romantic single as both singers deliver impressive vocals describing the affectionate feelings everyone wants in their relationship. Omah Lay has proven yet that he can create a moment without needing to tour and it’s only fitting that he gets cosigned by American heartthrob, 6lack for his song that perfectly captures the thrill of a new relationship.

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You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him @debola_abimbolu

ICYMI: NATIVE picked “Damn” for Best New Music in May

For Us By Us: Your Voice (And Votes) Matter

Posted on by The Native

In the midst of the chaos that has been an unprecedented year enveloped by a global pandemic, the likes of which none of us have never seen before, there seems to be a never-ending cycle of battles that we’re constantly facing to start off the new decade. Earlier this summer, we raised our voices in unison against the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two black lives that were unjustly taken as a result of racial and gendered police brutality.

Barely off the tail-end of that fight, we saw that black lives continued to be threatened across the globe, particularly here in Africa and numerous reports from countries including Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Congo have shed light on the decades-long state oppression and violence. Since the beginning of the year, it has truly felt like there has been no time to catch a break because of the continuous injustices that continue to pop up in every corner of the world. The new decade did not come with the grand and lofty ideas we nursed of cosmic technological advancements, but instead, has unearthed the deep rot that exists in society and how marginalised groups continue to suffer the most in these cases.

 

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Here in Nigeria, the gerontocratic and patriarchal system is responsible for shrinking and suppressing our voices. When President Muhammudu Buhari addressed the nation in his second televised statement since the #EndSARS protests began, he failed to mention how exactly any of the demands of the young, peaceful protesters had been met, and was more concerned with the idea that the “promptness” with which the government has acted seemed to have been “misconstrued as a sign of weakness” , going on to warn against young Nigerians persistence in exercising their democratic right to peacefully protest. His speech was a clear indication of the way the Nigerian system works, one that constantly sees the demands of a younger generation as an affront to culture and a sign of disrespect and instead of listening, makes effort to subjugate.

It’s easy to feel like your voice doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. In fact, many young Nigerians like myself would agree that no one believed we had a voice or say in the political world up until now. We grew up in a country where we were constantly told that we’re “the leaders of tomorrow” but as we became more aware of how the world works, it was made clear that we were inheriting a system sullied with corruption, police brutality and a lot more societal ills from the generation before us. That’s why this current movement has been particularly important in galvanising many of us to action, and no one is simply comfortable taking a passive step with their future when we know what exactly is at stake.

Given everything that’s going on at home, it’s been difficult to focus on anything beyond our shores. That being said, the ongoing Presidential Election in the USA is impossible to ignore. In what is ostensibly the battle between the lesser of the two evils, as it sadly always tends to be, there is a glimmer of hope. According to VOX, the turnout rate for the elections this year has reached a record high, recording more than 160 million people voting in the presidential election. This means that 66.9% of the eligible voting population turned out for this election, the country’s highest rate since 1900 and remarkably so, amidst a global pandemic. These numbers stuck out to me because it showed how much Americans were ready to come out in waves and demand that their voices and their votes mattered.

Here, demanding that your voice and vote matter is much harder in practice, made so by years of election-linked violence and malpractice in our country’s fabric. But following the #EndSARS protests that coursed through the country in the past month, young Nigerians seem to be awakened to a new reality, one where they demand more for themselves and asked to be recognised in their country. During the heat of the protests, efforts were successfully sustained through the actions of young individuals who were pooling resources from their community to provide for any monetary, legal, and medical demand that arose from the movement. We saw the Nigeria that we were fighting for being represented through their actions and the swelling sense of camaraderie that ensued from the protests. As a result of this awakening, there are already projections that the 2023 elections will be a different one in this country’s history.

At this point where physical protests across the country are on pause, the question on many minds seems to be what’s next in our collective steps to take back our country and demand the future we deserve. If the #EndSARS Protests of October 2020 taught us anything, it’s that the current leaderless, decentralised movements do not need one group needs to fight for the collective future of all of us. We all have a part to play in individually ensuring that our voices are heard and that our lives matter to those that we elect to lead us. Our country is not short of its problems, and already we’re seeing young people come up with ways they enact change and mount pressure on our leaders; whether that’s by recalling a senator or taking an active role in the ongoing judicial panels investigating SARS-related abuses.

For me, the more people willing to get on board, the better chances we have of making sure the demands of the minority are met. We can only ensure this future by informing and educating each other and making sure that the voices are heard, and what better way than by sensitising the population to get their voter’s card and take an active involvement in politics ahead of the next round of elections. To this end, My Voice My Future initiative is a non-governmental organisation in Nigeria that is currently launching a #GetYourPVCCampaign2023 aimed at sensitising young Nigerians, especially those from low-income families, on their civic responsibilities and voter’s education, as well as easing the process for registration and collection of their PVCs ahead of the elections. The team is currently expanding and looking for volunteers in the aftermath of last month’s protests as a way of taking advantage of our collective anger and channeling it into sustainable political and civic action. Having a 66.7% registered voters turnout like America would be a monumental feat for Nigerian youth, whose contributions in past elections have been largely low. According to Sahara Reporters, the just concluded 2019 presidential elections recorded the lowest turnout of voters in the history of Nigeria, with only 15.2 million voters participating out of 84 million registered voters in the country. In fact, there has been a steady decline in voter participation since 2003.

These low numbers are chilling considering they are to elect the most powerful political office in the country, but they reveal larger truths about the distrust from the public. There’s typically a general sense that your votes and voice don’t matter when election malpractice is at an all-time high. But now despite all this, young Nigerians are determined more than ever to get as involved as possible with subsequent elections, whether at the state or federal level, to ensure that we’re electing those who care about the Nigerian people at heart. The issue, however, is that even if we get the right people in power, issues like voter suppression and the exclusion of Nigerians in the diaspora from voting will always be a hindrance to our collective power. That’s why initiatives like My Voice My Future are welcome because they show what’s possible if we all get involved in our own way. One person who has been very vocal about the power of our voices and votes, is a 23-year-old artist and Fresh Meat alum, SGaWD whose legal background has spurred her to take a more active role in the country’s politics. She’s joined the My Voice My Future team to get more people involved in education and combating voters suppression in Lagos.

Here’s a summary of our chat below:

On why she’s chosen to act.

My relationship with Nigeria has been very naive in the sense that I know that this is where I’m from and live but that sense of privilege no matter how small, kind of makes you docile to the things that are happening around you. And having lived in America, being a black immigrant woman who is young, I didn’t have a lot of privilege or safety and I had to learn through community to speak up about a lot of things. Coming back to Nigeria, that sense of community isn’t strong, you really get to understand that nothing is going to change until you put your hands towards changing it. The same thing happened with my music, I was very nonchalant about my music and I kept wondering why no one was paying attention to my music but the truth is that I had to put in the work and effort and do the cover art and be more professional. That’s how life is you have to be intentional and you can plan and plan but the joy is in the actual execution.

On the work My Voice My Future do.

In the rise of the #EndSARS protests, people have been like, we have never had a time where everyone was so inquisitive and trying to be aware and actively seeking out information and sharing the information with everyone. Yes, protests are great, they gather momentum and keep morale high but we have to actively have to do things to ensure change and to safeguard and guarantee the change for future generations and the only way this can work is if there’s a reform in policy and through the constitution.

On how they plan to do the work.

We plan to tackle 3 main areas ahead of the 2023 elections and that includes the bureaucratic process of registration and collection of PVCs, voter suppression, and the exclusion of the diaspora from voting. We support other NGOs doing the work and, we also have a lady called Bolu Ogboye who has volunteered to exclusively help with any female politicians that are running for office in 2023. We also have general volunteers we have been able to gather from the community. The aim is to make sure that not only people online have access to the information but also people in grassroots communities. Also, we want to educate people on the line of accountability; everyone is so quick to hold the President accountable and they should but then you need to know that in your LGA you can hold someone accountable.

We’re making sure that all through the upcoming elections, people are making an informed decision on who they are voting for, who they are recalling, and who they want to actively support or volunteer for. We will also help people find public hearings where they can go and ask questions but because the public is not actively engaged, there is no sense of accountability and people are not proactively involved. You can’t ask someone to change something that you are not aware that is happening. For example, with the recalling of a member of the Lagos House representatives like Mrs Alli-Macaulay, not many people are aware of how the process works. Electoral recalls require 50% of the registered voters in her constituency. If you think about it, just imagine how many people would need to effect this change. And then with voter suppression and the general disdain for politicians, did up to  50% of the registered voters in a local government even vote? So how can you request this amount? Things like this really matter so paying attention to electoral laws and policy and just knowing where and how to effect change. 

On how she plans to galvanise more people to action.

As much as everyone is asking what’s next, I did mention that this is a thing of choice. So you have to know deep in your heart that you genuinely want this and you are genuinely interested in doing this. It’s free to join, it’s open, all you have to do is volunteer your time and services and share information. We already have people who have volunteered and joined the community and who are actively asking other people to join the community but I feel like you don’t have to be a certain person to join the campaign. This first wave is focused on information and logistics and we will still get to the grassroots work with people who speak languages. So everyone has a part to play. I can’t speak more on a global campaign but I am trying to run a music campaign where we can direct all of our musical energy and all of our artistry, entertainment, and sports into actually pushing for education and having them make informed decisions rather than campaigning and rallying for people who we know are going to disappoint us.

On why it’s important for artists to use their platforms.

I feel like there is a big difference between having an opinion and having a party that you support and doing the right thing. Here and now, where we are in this time of End SARS, everyone is asking for the right thing to be done so it’s either you support the right thing or you move out the way. No one is here to applaud half-assed efforts because they know you, everyone is here for accountability. For artists, no matter how much you feel you are entitled to having your opinion and your own privacy and you don’t want the burden of the public on you, because you have been gifted that platform (yes I believe its a gift), the only thing you can do is try to be the best version of yourself and push for awareness and information. So that when people are making decisions, they are making decisions based on what you have informed them about and not what you are trying to feed them. So with artists, we have to be really careful with the information we share and misleading our fans and followers because essentially your voice does matter and you influence people whether intentional or not.

On the Feminist Coalition.

As a woman, I take an active role in my local government in Akwa-Ibom. I volunteer and have been for a while for political awareness of the masses. I also work with widows in my community with the support of my mum. I think it’s a blessing when you know that life is bigger than you. My whole thing is that community is infinitely important. Once you accept that life is bigger than you, then why you need to be empathetic makes sense and why you have to even care about what other people are doing to the world around you. I am trying to push community and that’s why I applaud Feminist Coalition because they are a physical manifestation that community exists even if it was just online. It’s proof that we can build sustainable communities that exist today despite people trying to cause discord. I think that’s what a lot of people have found, that community is the only thing that can save us here. 

Featured image credits

.@tamimak_ Is a Staff Writer at The NATIVE

ICYMI: Arise O Compatriots in the diaspora, Nigeria is calling

AV Club: “Nigerian Prince” is about a fraudulent scammer, but the police is the real villain

Posted on by The Native

In his newly published book, ‘Boldly Comes Justice: Sentient Not Silent’, author and famous neuroscientist Abhijit Naskar writes, “The problem with law enforcement is not the corruption, but an absolute denial of that corruption”. It’s a statement that is as profound as it is ordinary, because on one hand it captures one of the core ills behind bad policing, and on the other it’s an observation that doesn’t need too much insight, especially if you’ve been paying attention to the news lately.

This year, amidst a raging pandemic, several countries have become grounds for protests against terrible policing systems that enable various dimensions of abuse towards the same citizens police claim to serve and protest. From America to Nigeria to Angola to Uganda, people have come out demand for police reform, but these agitations have been treated with lip service and/or further police brutality. It’s an indicator that, not only are the police unwilling to change, they’re entirely rejecting the notion that there’s any need for change.

In Nigeria, specifically, it’s far from a secret that the police is one of the villains average Nigerians have to deal with on a daily basis. For most of the population, the mere sight of police causes shudders, because extortion has been one of the system’s main ills for decades. From soliciting bribes on the roads to demanding money before taking on any form of investigation, the corruption of the Nigerian police force is as legendary as it is ever pervasive, and it clearly frames their manner of operation as a system of patronage. As long as you pay what the police demands, you’re most likely free to go about your activities, even if they know those activities are downright illegal.

In the 2018 film “Nigerian Prince”, this real but troubling relationship between policing and patronage is depicted to strong results. Directed by Nigerian-American filmmaker Faraday Okoro, “Nigerian Prince” follows two main characters, Eze (Antonio Bell) and Pius (Chinaza Uche), as their unlikely paths collide but they strike up a bond based on desperation. Eze is an American teenager born to Nigerian parents, who was sent to Nigeria to live with his aunt Grace (Tina Mba) for four weeks, only to find out the actual duration is for a year and his mother has cancelled his return flight upon landing. On his path, Pius is a scammer who crafts and engages in a myriads of fraudulent schemes, but here’s the kicker: the Police not only knows what Pius does, they basically tax, enable and generally regulate his activities.

Pius and Eze are cousins, and after an unfortunate first encounter, they basically become two peas in a pod, since the latter is bent on finding his way back home and that involves getting money for a flight ticket, while the former is seeking for people to scam in order to pay off a fine imposed by a high ranking police officer. When viewers are introduced to Pius, he’s seen selling a car, which pretty much vanishes after the victim has already paid over N3million. Immediately after the crime is reported, Pius is quickly brought in for being the perpetrator, largely because the police have a history with him and his scams.

In this interface, the dynamic between Pius and the police is quickly established: not only is he visibly intimidated, he’s clearly subject to the whims of their demands. For not informing him of the scam and not paying the tax percentage attached to each scam, the DPO of the police station, ominously named Smart, fines Pius N4million, and that’s after returning the money he ripped off his unsuspecting customer.

With the fine time bound, Pius has engaged in several schemes in order to ensure he pays up on time. To do that, he cajoles his mentor Baba (Toyin Oshinaike) into a partnership, and after they run a scheme involving non-existent bags of rice, they make a relatively big play to pass off household items as expensive chemicals that can clean “black money”. Unbeknownst to them, though, their white patron is a U.S. secret agent working in tandem with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Pius and Baba are arrested, but they are soon released following an order from above, much to the befuddlement of agent Bob. Apparently, DPO Smart paid off someone in the EFCC, and in order to ensure they aren’t rearrested and Smart has to pay more, they quickly destroy all evidence, which is one of the key times Eze is fully roped into Pius’ world. This captivating sequence plays into the common trope that the law is only binding to those without connections to places of power, and there’s no better ally than corrupt police to cheat a morally bankrupt law enforcement system.

Between the vividly forced “Nigerian” accent from Chinaza Uche (Pius), whose acting is great otherwise, the not-so-spectacular cinematography, and a storyline that is sometimes gets too literal—that scene where Pius breaks down “419” to Eze is quite cringe—“Nigerian Prince” has its critical bumps, but the portrayal of police in relation to crime is very remarkable. In situating them as arbiters and enablers of crime, the film uses art to represent a reality of Nigerian life that is widely known about but isn’t always shown like this on the big screen.

 

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It’s not that Nollywood hasn’t always depicted the lawlessness of policing in Nigeria—there are scores of films with the trademark scene where the police tortures an arrested suspect to cajole confessions—but there’s a tact in “Nigerian Prince” that we don’t always see. Part of that might be the fear of backlash from the authorities. Earlier this year, the Jade Osiberu-produced “Sugar Rush” was temporarily banned from cinema screens nationwide by the National Film and Video Censors Board, and even though the board claimed that it was a case of expired exhibition permits, there were speculations that the ban stemmed from the film’s less-than-ideal representation of the EFCC.

In “Nigerian Prince”, the police just doesn’t tax and protect Pius’ criminal activities, they also serve as accomplices, as in the final scam where they help rip off another unsuspecting victim. It’s the sort of depiction that can get a Nigeria-based storyteller and production company into hot water. “Nigerian Prince” was commissioned as part of the inaugural ‘AT&T Presents: Untold Stories’, an initiative between the Tribeca Film Institute and AT&T, and it saw theatrical release in the U.S. after debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. With these circumstances, it’s easy to see why Faraday Okoro was more fearless in showing the Nigerian police, and law enforcement generally, in its widely known corrupt light.

Stretching even beyond their corrupt practices,  Okoro incorporates the force’s penchant for brutality and casual murder, showing the prevalence and interdependence between abuse of power and financial gain, a devastating mix that fuels the country’s utterly bad policing system. Alongside other themes like betrayal and being uprooted, “Nigerian Prince” is about fraud, but it doesn’t take much to realise that the police is the main villain.

Don’t get me wrong, fraud deserves to be condemned and Pius is also a villain, but there are moments you catch yourself rooting for Pius, due to how much brutality the police metes out. I don’t think they’ve caught wind of it, but if they have, there’s no doubt that the Nigerian police will condemn their representation in “Nigerian Prince”, deeming it as bad PR when average Nigerians know that they’ve been one of the prominent villains of Nigerian reality.

There’s a popular belief that the Nigerian police know who the actual criminals are, but they’re reluctant to arrest them since these criminals always “settle” them. “Nigerian Prince” reinforces that notion, showing that the police is only friends with those who line their pocket, a relationship that can best be described as “scratch my back and I scratch yours, if not I will stab you in the back”. It’s a reiteration that the people who make up the system charged with maintaining law and order are, more often than not, lawless and disorderly themselves.

[“Nigerian Prince” is currently streaming on Netflix]

Featured Image Credits: YouTube

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Let me know your favourite the Cavemen songs @dennisadepeter

ICYMI: WHY ‘OLOTURE’ IS MORE THAN A STORY, IT’S REAL LIFE

TurnTable Charts to commence an official Top 50 chart, next week

Posted on by The Native

Back in July, when the Official UK Afrobeats chart was announced, with J Hus, NSG, Young Bxne and Burna Boy leading the table, debates over the ownership of ‘Afrobeats’ grew tense, as West African listeners criticised the charts for presenting a false reality of what the genre is, who is at the forefront of the genre, and which songs are actually hot in afrobeats right now. What these charts, and the debate around them, proved was the obvious variance in genre definitions and listening habits between British West Africans and those of us closer to the ground; as West Africans in the UK diaspora celebrated a new chart that represented their tastes, on this side, we were left wanting more. Fortunately, TurnTable Charts, which launched their first charting system on July 9, have been working throughout the year to bring us just that.

The infant Nigerian publication cum charting body, TurnTable Charts first launched, in July, with the weekly Top Airplay Chart – where Tiwa Savage made history– which records the most popular songs across Nigerian radio, according to data from Radiomonitor. Since the launch of the Top Airplay Chart, TurnTable have launched three more charts, a Top Triller Chart, Top Streaming Charts – which compiles data from YouTube, Audiomack and Boomplay, as the top three free streaming platforms in Nigeria – as well as a TV Top Songs Charts. Now, next Monday, TurnTable are launching their biggest chart yet, TurnTable Top 50.

TurnTable’s Top 50 compiles numbers from radio airplay from 54 radio stations, TV airplay from 5 cable television channels (data sourced from Radiomonitor/Media Planning Service), and streaming numbers, as monitored by TurnTable Charts themselves. As TurnTable evolves with time, however, they have already promised to incorporate more data into the Top 50 charts.

In line with Global New Music Friday, TurnTable are marking Friday’s as the start of the tracking week, ending the following Thursday. In terms of policy points, so far, TurnTable have only outlined four points, including that album songs are counted into the charts, and that airplay for remixes and their original songs are compiled together, with the version of the track attaining the most charting points being listed on the chart itself. Furthermore, in terms of airplay data, to avoid chart manipulation, a song must have received plays from at least five radio stations before its numbers are considered for the TurnTable Charts. The last policy refers to recurrent songs. Whilst some charts have policies against recurrent songs, on the TurnTable Charts, as of now, do not, meaning that no matter how old a song is, or how many times it has re-entered the charts, the song will still be eligible for ranking, given it meets all the other criteria.

Nigerians have been clamouring for a charting system that represents their listening habits for years now – it is great to finally see a body dedicated to bringing this to life, and with so much promise. Hopefully, TurnTable Charts don’t go the way of eLDee’s Playdata, but rather become the reliable go-to ranking body for Nigerian music, a valuable resource for music business insiders and another avenue to brag for artists. As they incorporate more data into their charting system, TurnTable will inch closer and closer to their full potential, but this can’t be done without our help and our interest. So, stay up to date with the charts TurnTable are finally providing, via the publication’s website here.

Featured Image Credits: TurnTable

ICYMI: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT AFROBEATS

Here’s what we know about the End SARS judicial panels

Posted on by The Native

Over the past two weeks, young Nigerians have been asking the government very difficult, yet, pertinent questions about their demands to #EndSARS. We cannot forget what happened on the 2oth of October, and we’re all demanding answers as to who gave the army its command to use brutal force against peaceful protesters in Lagos in response to our simple demand for them to  simply bring an end to a rogue Police Force Unit. So far, every response from the government has been less than satisfactory, and even though SARS has been disbanded in theory, in reality, people are being killed in the comfort of their homes, deafening bullet sounds still fill the air and violent armed forces continue to patrol the streets – markers that the government are yet to understand how best to serve and protect the Nigerian people.

Over the weekend, however, results began to look imminent. During last week, various state governments around the country announced the setting up of judicial panels to probe into the excesses and atrocities committed by ex-SARS officers. So far, Ogun, Delta, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Anambra, Plateau, Edo, Imo, Enugu, and Kaduna are amongst the states that have currently announced and begun inquiries into the victims of SARS brutality and human rights violations by the Nigerian Police Force. The Lagos state panel has been hearing inquiries from victims of the Lekki toll gate incident, which began its first sitting last week and is set to hold for another six months at the Lagos State Court Of Arbitration.

The makeup of each judicial panel is largely similar from state to state. The panel will be chaired by a retired High Court Judge and other members will be selected by the State Governor. The other positions available will be from representatives of Civil Society groups, The Police Force, The National Human Rights Commission, as well as two two ‘youth’ representatives. The National Economic Council has also directed all state governors to open a victim’s fund to enable the payment of monetary compensation to survivors of police brutality, in addition to the compensation bereaved families have been receiving.

Here in Lagos, it was announced last week that the youth representatives for the ongoing inquiries in the state were Rinu Oduala & Majekodunmi Temitope. In a detailed Twitter thread, an observing citizen shared a breakdown of the actions at the Lagos Court of Arbitration. Three cases were read last week including the accounts of Mr Okoye Agu who spent 47 days in SARS detention, Mr. Ndukwe who became wheelchair-bound from an encounter with SARS officers, and Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa. According to the thread, the chairman adjourned the cases until November 3 citing that the Commissioner of Police had to attend the inquiry, which he did not at the time of the hearing.

Yesterday on November 3rd, the Lagos panel held the first sitting exclusively on the Lekki ‘incident’ set to feature an appearance from both the Lagos State Government (LASG) and the LCC toll gate representatives. According to Editi Effiong, who has been very vocal about the state of the panel online, the LCC claimed that the footage from the toll gate stopped recording at 8 pm due to network interference, and what had been recorded was only contained visuals as there was no accompanying audio. The footage, however, was not played yesterday and was blamed on “technical reasons”. The LCC MD, Mr. Abayomi Omomuwa also claimed that the footage circulated on social media of cameras being removed were not for surveillance but actually plate number recognition cameras used to identify vehicle type.

In his detailed thread, Editi Effiong also noted that the LCC was represented by a member of the LASG legal team and they were exchanging talking points with one another. Another red flag noted was that both the LCC and LASG line of questioning was designed to absolve them of any guilt. From his account, a few stark truths ring out, there is a clear conflict of interest in this legal choice. However, a member of the Nigerian Bar Association quickly picked up on this but he was told by the chair of the judicial panel that the current exercise was only for investigation and the rules of evidence would not be the same as in a court of law because they are guided by different rules.

This was the exact problem that many feared would occur as the government has earned itself a reputation for not coming through on their promises. There is a general sense of distrust from people on social media who fear that the decisions of the panel will end up being ignored, as the government has done in the past. Writer and human rights lawyer, Ayo Sogunro confirmed these sentiments when he shared a thread of past judicial panels that have been weakened by a history of inconclusive results.

Dating back to 1999, there have been a number of human rights judicial panels set up to investigate atrocious killings and violence perpetuated by the Nigerian armed forces. The conclusions from grave instances such as the IDP camp bombing and the Zaki Biam massacre, on further inspection, showed little example of thorough, just investigation. Sogunro’s thread revealed that the reports from the past judicial panels were either ignored by the enacting bodies or the guilty police officers were further exonerated for their crimes. So why should we have faith that the current panels be any better?

The difference this time is that Nigerian youths are finding their voice more than ever before. At our disposal, we are utilising digital technology and social media to our advantage and it’s given us the propensity to galvanise in seconds as we saw during the two-week protests that took place across the nation. Today, we saw young Nigerians take active steps to join the ongoing judicial panel in Lagos – whether they attended in person or online – as well as young lawyers volunteering to provide competent legal representation for survivors of SARS brutality. Young people around the country have also begun civic education for the wider public as a means to equip and enlighten the electorate, thereby increasing our chances of getting our voices heard come 2023.

The mounting pressure seems to be working. Already we have seen the Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu renege on his earlier statement that there was no involvement of military personnel at last week’s attack in Lagos. In an interview with CNN yesterday, the governor admitted that, from the gathered footage, Nigerian armed forces are seen carrying out the attacks at the Lekki toll gate. The governor committed to a full investigation of what happened on the ground and ensured that he will channel the judicial report to all relevant authorities in the state to ensure that everyone is held culpable for their acts. Though we are yet to see any tangible results, the judicial panels are set to hold across different states for the next six months and we can only hope that, this time, the growing pressure from young Nigerians at home and in the diaspora will spur justice for the victims of state violence.

Featured image credits: Twitter/Lagos State Governor Jide Sanwo-Olu

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ICYMI: How the Festival of Lights captured the heart of the end SARS protests

NATIVE Exclusive: Introducing Midas the Jagaban

Posted on by The Native

In Greek mythology, King Midas was famously recognised as a greedy king whose itching palm led him into a life of tragedy. As the myth goes, his penchant for avariciousness landed him in a tight spot when he was cursed with the ability to turn everything he touched into shiny, hard gold–even his own daughter. These days, however, the legend of Midas has become synonymous with stories of good fortune and success and it’s this connotation that inspired new kid on the block, Midas the Jagaban’s unique moniker.

“Midas is my second persona. When I am Midas, I’m a different person entirely. And everything I touch kind of turns to gold so I related that to my music,” she says to me during our conversation on Zoom last weekend. As for the Jagaban part of her moniker, she tells me that it was inspired by her Yoruba roots and a famous line on her debut single “Come We Bill Ehh”.  “There’s a line on there that everyone likes and it goes “E mi Midas I be Jagaban” and I just knew that Midas the Jagaban was my story and it relates to me because I am leading the new generation. It seemed fitting”. For an artist who remains clandestinely masked at all times, her operative intentions seemed strange to me but for her, she was only just getting started and introducing the world to her zestful persona.

“I’m at the beginning stages of my career. I’m simply introducing myself as Midas the Jagaban and I want people to come party with me so my music is very representative of my vibe and my intentions.”

Born in the UK to a Nigerian family, Midas the Jagaban was under the usual African family pressures to succeed in life and finish her education for a suitable professional career. She was working jobs and paying bills but at the end of May, things finally fell into place for her despite the effects of the global pandemic on the music industry. “I was working for the last year and then it was just a matter of what I really wanted to do with my life. I was in a space where I was like I might as well just try. It’s one life so why not?” she says to me with a laugh. Her statements are short and terse, but they pack just enough of a punch to give me good indication of the kind of future she envisions for herself and the music industry as a whole. 

She tells me matter-of-factly about why she’s finally ready: “It wasn’t planned. It was more like I had gone to the studio, recorded this song, and then it had gotten such good reception so far so I was like yeah, I am doing this and I am going to do it properly”. And much like it usually goes in life, things fell in place naturally, and she soon found a team of people who were just as committed to her grand vision as she was to catalyse her rise to the prominence. The result was her debut single “Come We Bill Ehh”, a lively energetic single whose infectious beat all but commands that you rise up and burst into happy dance. And it seems to have caught on really well, haven amassed over 2 million views on Youtube so far.

“The music I make is a vibe really. Like it’s quite repetitive but also it’s very much very good vibes. When you are listening to it, it makes you forget a couple of bad vibes.”

Despite haven started her career in the midst of a pandemic, Midas definitely has that golden touch when it comes to the music game. Her second single “Party With A Jagaban” is only a month old but already its hit and exceeded the 1 million views mark on Youtube and currently sits at number 3 on the official UK Afrobeats chart. For a newcomer, this is a very impressive feat and it’s one that Midas the Jagaban does not take for granted. Already, there are calls from fans for her to feature with artists of similar ilk like Darkoo and Naira Marley and it’s not hard to see why.

Her sound is very familiar. It’s the catchy brand of danceable afropop with simple, memorable lyrics. Her music is influenced by her favorite artists at the moment which she names as Burna Boy, Naira Marley, Koffee, Wande Coal, and Teni. According to Midas the Jagaban, she’s heavily inspired by the “vibes”. Right now, the world is her oyster. She’s at the nascent stages of what’s looking up to be a successful run with her music and the only thing in front of her is her future. She says, “The future has sustained me. The fact that I don’t know what’s going to happen is scary but I want to find out. It keeps me going just to see and to keep seeing.” And she’s already primed for an even bigger 2021, having just been selected as one of the artists in the first edition of No Signal Radio’s annual Yearbook, showcasing the artists the station is most excited about.

Currently, her home country Nigeria, which just marked its 60th independence day, is contesting the use of brutal force within the country’s armed forces and the decades-long unfiltered excesses of her corrupt government. As a Nigerian living in the UK, Midas the Jagaban has been increasingly vocal about what’s going on back at home. To her, she believes more than anything that change is coming, and the younger generation are the ones to effect such change. Just before we round up our conversation, she adds, “I think it is a very hard time but I think it’s also an inspiring time because it just inspires change. Change is coming and I think that should inspire art or music in a way”.

Featured image credits/MidastheJagaban

Tami is available here @tamimak_

ICYMI: In conversation with Dj Switch

The Nigerian government seems more focused on every other thing than ending SARS

Posted on by The Native

On October 11, 2020, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Ordinarily, this would be regarded as a positive step by the Nigerian Youth who had started protesting against the infamous, rogue unit, but that declaration rang hollow, since this was the third time in four years the same declaration had been made to no lasting effect.

This time around, an audio ban wasn’t going to assuage the agitations of young Nigerians. Protests against police brutality continued, and along came a list of demands describing the steps the youth would like to see, in order to truly indicate the end of SARS and the beginning of wholesome police reforms that won’t put us in danger. A big part of the fight has been emphasis on decentralisation, with no one claiming to be the arrowhead and every campaigner being regarded as a leader in the push for a better police system.

At every single turn in this fight, government officials and detractors have made it a duty to reiterate that leadership figures were needed to further dialogue. This rhetoric, along with constant demands for protests to cease, became their go-to comments, despite the fact that the Nigerian youth populace had made their demands clear, in elaborate terms and would settle for no less. For many, the emphasis on specific leaders is a ploy to undermine the potency of the leaderless movement against police brutality.

Despite the stated intentions, many have inferred that there are two different, yet, equally sinister reasons behind the pressure to identify leaders: to win those leaders over through bribes, or target them for harassment. The Nigerian government seems to be giving credence to the latter inference. Yesterday evening, news filtered through that the State Security Service prevented Modupe Odele from flying out of the country. An affiliate of the Feminist Coalition and a lawyer who has been instrumental with coordinating legal services during the protests, Ms. Odele emerged as one of the more popular figures in the #EndSARS protests.

In a newsletter she shared with select acquaintances, Ms. Odele alleged that the SSS seized her passport, as she was trying to exit the country for a vacation trip, even though the seizure is unlawful. The newsletter has not been widely shared on social media, based on a request from Ms. Odele herself to the recipients. According to news publication, People’s Gazette, this prevention of international travel isn’t novel, with a source claiming that as many as six people have been stopped from travelling out of the country in the last week.

According to the People’s Gazette, the federal government has begun compiling a no-fly list of hundreds of popular participants in the #EndSARS protests, bizarrely viewing these Nigerian citizens as threats to national security. “We want to be sure of the real motive of those who led the protests and raised money. We suspect some people might have played subversive roles in the suspicious campaign against the government”, a senior official at the Ministry of Interior allegedly told the People’s Gazette.

As the #EndSARS protests gained more momentum and became increasingly organised, the government has targeted those involved in organising, especially the Feminist Coalition. In the middle of demonstrations, the Central Bank of Nigeria allegedly froze the donation links set up by the coalition, temporarily restricting the flow of funds that were crowd-sourced for the support of protesters. This instance, along with the alleged no-fly list, shows the real intent behind the government’s need to identify leaders, and it also indicates that the powers that be are embarrassed by the vitality of the protests and the unyielding calls for an end to police brutality.

The quoted statement by the senior interior ministry official shows one of the tactics the government is trying to use in invalidating the protests. In saying that they’re trying to be sure of the real motive behind the demonstrations, the government is trivialising the agitations of young Nigerian, by trying to frame the protests as a Trojan horse for a politically-driven movement, when it is very glaringly a human rights issue. By focusing on the idea that the protests were a subversive avenue to undermine the current administration, it shows just how little the Nigerian government cares about the voices of its citizens.

To further entrench its agenda of trivialising the issues raised by its citizens, it appears that the government is trying to present social media as the public enemy. In the past few weeks, officials from various tiers of government have called for the “regulation” of social media, claiming that it is largely responsible for inciting violence. In a series of videos from sittings at the Lagos State House of Assembly, state lawmakers took turns regurgitating rhetorics on the spread of misinformation via social media, with each person devolving into annoying statements concerning the Nigerian youth.

Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa led a minute of silence for the lives lost during the period of the protests, but made it a point to openly omit “miscreants”, ostensibly referring to protesters who died from state-sponsored brutality. Desmond Elliot, representing Surulere constituency, repeatedly referred to young Nigerians as “children” in his nonsensical rant on why social media should only be a tool for spreading positive information. Mojisola Allison-Macaulay, representing Amuwo-Odofin, claimed that most Nigerian youth were always high from constant drug use and only used social media for illicit activities.

Just yesterday, governors, traditional leaders and prominent clerics from the northern parts of Nigeria met, but rather than discuss the banditry that has been plaguing the region for years, they used the meeting to recommend that social media be regulated. In the communique adopted by the gathering and subsequently leaked to social media, they commended the president for being proactive in addressing issues of the #EndSARS protests, while also calling for “major control mechanism and censorship of the social media practice”, due to its “devastating effect in the spread of fake news”.

Communique from the recently held meeting of the Northern states governors’ forum

The topic of regulating social media is far from new, but the fact that it’s gaining renewed momentum indicates the government’s seriousness with censoring the words of its citizens, under the guise of stemming fake news. In November 2019, a bill to regulate social media passed its second reading in the senate. Officially titled “Protection from Internet Falsehoods and Manipulations and other Related Matters Bill 2019”, the bill is sponsored by Senator Muhammad Sani Musa, representing Niger State East senatorial, and has garnered criticisms from large sections of the populace.

In March, the bill seemed to have been dealt a death blow, while Senator Musa attempted to defend the bill during its public hearing. In three hours of testimonies, civil society organisations, government agencies and private citizens vehemently stood against the bill, with the Supreme Council for Islamic affairs and Nigerian Army being the only supporters. With this turn of events, it was widely expected that the bill will be totally dumped, however, with this rejuvenated support across all tiers of government, there’s the possibility that there will be an even stronger push for the bill to be enacted into law.

Even though it’s disappointing and very frustrating, none of these tactics are surprising. For simply demanding the basic right to live freely and peacefully, without the fear of being physically abused and killed by the police, the Nigerian government has responded with brutality, half gestures and infringing on people’s rights, with the potential to take away even more rights. By focusing their energy on far removed issues that many young Nigerians are opposed to, the government is exhibiting an insensitivity that adds even more doubt to their already tenuous commitment to ending police brutality and effecting lasting police reforms.

.@dennisadepeter is a staff writer at the NATIVE

ICYMI: THE FIGHT TO #ENDSARS IS REALLY A FIGHT TO FIX THE NIGERIAN SYSTEM

What Nigeria’s Proposed Social Media Bill Means For The Internet and Free Speech

Posted on by The Native

Once again, the Social Media Bill is being discussed in the Nigerian House of Assembly following the month-long #EndSARS protests that swept the nation. During the protests, we noted that there was uneven attention being paid to the coverage of the gross human rights injustices taking place around the country by local press due to several warnings from the National Broadcasting Commission.

For many of us, social media became the quickest and fastest way to disseminate information about the protests and call our leaders out for their failures. The young Nigerians raising their fists and placards on the streets would make plans on our social media timelines and logistics would promptly be arranged. It was also where we witnessed the atrocities that took place on the 20th of October and it’s also how we are learning about the true events taking place in Oyigbo, Rivers State. Last week, footage from the Lagos state House of Assembly revealed members who were displeased in how young Nigerians and social influencers had begun using social media. The likes of Desmond Elliot and Mojisola Alli-Macaulay called for stricter sanctions on social media because of the widespread dissemination of unverified information they believe was spread during a time of national crisis.

 

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This footage is worrying for many reasons. For one, the problem with the bill is the idea of who gets to decide what constitutes as false information and manipulations. First introduced back on November 9th, 2019, the bill titled ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill 2019’ was sponsored by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, representing Niger East senatorial district, with the aim of regulating the menace of hate speech and fake news. Within the ambits of the bill, it is a punishable offense for an individual to transmit a false statement as fact, with prejudice to Nigerian society whether you’re within or outside of Nigeria. This also covers the health and safety of the country’s citizens, influences the outcome of an election in Nigeria, amongst many other things.

The punishment for this crime is “a fine not exceeding N300, 000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both”. Many analysts are concerned that this bill, and rightly so as should it be passed through the Senate, it would greatly infringe on people’s human rights to freedom of expression. For many young Nigerians, there is a shared understanding that this could be used by our government as a tool for internet censorship, raising concerns that the bill’s true intentions may be to stifle political commentary and anti-government scrutiny in light of cases against journalists and publications like Premium Times. During the protests, we watched in real-time how atrocities were committed, from the viral video of the politician at Abule Egba who fired into a crowd of protesters when he was denied audience to DJ Switch’s harrowing Instagram Live videos at the Lekki toll gate on the night of the massacre. We also watched how the Nigerian Army has been on a “fake news” spree, branding things we witnessed via Instagram Live as fake news, showing us just how easy it is for those inc charge to bury what social media is able to unearth in real-time. Till today, none of these offenders have been prosecuted for their crimes.

The Nigerian government is more concerned with silencing free speech online than on protecting their citizens. Many other African countries have done this in the past, for example, countries like Zimbabwe, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have forced internet shutdowns in the last year, and Tanzania, Uganda, and a host of North African countries have stringent subsisting rules relating to use of social media and digital publishing.

Earlier in the year, a public hearing held on the 10th of March at the National Assembly saw most speakers, ranging from civil groups, government agencies, and average citizens, on the day in opposition to the bill, highlighting the fact that the bill could be abused by authorities, essentially violating the Human rights of average Nigerians. Speaking at a public hearing, the executive chairman of the National Communications Commission (NCC) noted that the bill gives unconscionable power to the Police to be the judge and jury of proper internet content. The NCC and the broadcasting organisation of Nigeria (BON), amongst others, agreed that most of the bill’s provisions were already captured in previous legislations such as the Cyber Crimes Act of 2015. Speaking further Sa’a Ibrahim, chairman of BON, remarked that the bill is “undefined and misleading”, adding that its purpose was not necessary.

In the aftermath of the protests, more leaders from around the country have been calling for the adoption of more stringent rules on internet usage in the country. Today, news that the Northern leaders were in support of the federal government’s quest to censor social media reached us and many young Nigerians are not too pleased. Many leaders in the North shared that the #EndSARS protests had become “subversive action” intended to divide Nigeria and shared that unfiltered checks on social media had led to the devastating spread of fake news. We were reminded once again that the battle is far from over until the focus of our leaders is on the rampant loss of Nigerian lives and not on social media reputations. Evidently, many are feeling the heat of the continued international exposure.

It has become clear that our leaders see our demands for better on social media as an affront to their elderly age and status, a key marker of the gerontocratic Nigerian system that seems to have built the political sphere. While we agree it’s important for us to take a definitive stand on fake news and hate speech, especially in a culturally diverse country such as Nigeria, we must ensure that the principles of free speech and open discourse remain sacrosanct. Nevertheless, conversations such as these are vital to entrenching the values of democracy in our society. The bill has passed through its second screening, and with increasing support from state leaders, it likely is likely to become law and potentially resurface down the line.

There is an online petition against the social media bill with close to 100,000 signatures. The target is 150,000, and you can sign the petition here.

Featured Image Credits: Web/ NATIVE
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.@tamimak_ Is a Staff Writer at The NATIVE

ICYMI: COULD THE WEST AFRICAN ‘ECO’ PROVIDE A LIFELINE FOR NIGERIA’S ECONOMY?

Lagos-based journalist, Pelumi Onifade was killed while in police custody

Posted on by The Native

The month of October may finally be over, but the battle for better governance from our leaders and accountability from our armed forces is still ongoing. This week, we’ve learnt about the atrocious attacks taking place in Oyigbo, Rivers State, and the chilling news of yet-to-be concluded judicial panels taking place in several states and it seems that victory is far from being declared. Young Nigerians are still dying en mass for demanding better from their country and we are all collectively tired of the disturbing daily news cycle.

Today, another young Nigerian has been attacked and killed while detained in police custody. It was reported today by his family that 20-year-old journalist Pelumi Onifade was killed while working with Gboa TV as a journalist covering the unrest that took place in the Oko Oba area of Agege on October 24. He was whisked away when members of a task force led by Yinka Egbeyemi descended on the scene and attacked and detained several people at the site.

According to a Twitter thread containing details of what led up to Pelumi’s death, here is an account of what happened:

“On October 24th, there was a crowd in a compound at Oko-oba, Agege. Onifade Pelumi and his colleague were sent as media personnel to know what exactly was going on in that area. Pelumi conducted interviews with residents of the area. During the interview Taskforce Officers came with cutlasses, throwing bottles and shooting live bullets as they attack the crowd. Out of fear, the crowd including Onifade Pelumi ran for their lives. In a short while, his colleague saw that Pelumi Onifade had already been injured and was being carried by 4 Taskforce Officers into their Van(Black Maria). His colleague tried to defend him by showing his ID Card and making them understand that he was putting on a GBOAH TV jacket, they threatened him with a cutlass and cocked their Gun at him.

A thorough search was conducted from Police Stations to Prisons all over Lagos state for 4days (Saturday 24th to Tuesday 27th) after which a ‘Missing Person’ Graphics was shared across all social media platforms to aid the search of Onifade Pelumi which went viral. That same evening of Tuesday 27th of October, the head of Taskforce Lagos State called, saying he saw the post, and they agreed to meet on Wednesday the 28th of October at the State Headquarters, Ikeja. After the meeting with the task force, the officer that led the squad said that they arrested 5 people at the Ministry of Agriculture Abattoir, Oko-Oba, Agege, but 1 person died and they have dumped his corpse at Ikorodu Mortuary. They scheduled a meeting for Thursday to confirm if his name was on the list of those arrested. If not they will go to the mortuary at Ikorodu to confirm. Due to the public holiday on Thursday the appointment was rescheduled for Friday. On Friday Morning they got to Ikorodu and behold it was Pelumi Onifade’s Corpse”.

The family of Pelumi Onifade are now calling for justice for their late son and requesting that his corpse be released to them after they had been denied the request, according to reports by the family on Sahara Reporters. We must remember to speak up and account for all Nigerian lives. His death is a reminder that the battle isn’t over till the lives of the average Nigerian citizen matters to our leaders and those charged to protect us. May he Rest in Peace. Follow #JusticeForPelumi here.

Featured image credits/PelumiOnifade

Tami is available here @tamimak_

ICYMI: Here’s how to help the family of late tech designer, Oke Obi-Enadhuze

The Grammys rename ‘Best World Music Album’ category

Posted on by The Native

In June, the Recording Academy announced several notable changes to the rules and guidelines for the Grammy Awards. The changes included the renaming of several categories, with Best Urban Contemporary Album being renamed to Best Progressive r&b Album, and Best Rap/Sung Performance will now be regarded as Best Melodic Rap performance. These changes were made in order to reflect a commitment to constantly reform the awards and following criticism over the years that the academy has remained stuck in its ways.

The academy has now recently announced that the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album has been renamed to Best Global Music Album. The change was announced yesterday in a statement, with the academy stating that the change was pushed to better show cultural sensitivity. “As we continue to embrace a truly global mindset, we update our language to reflect a more appropriate categorization that seeks to engage and celebrate the current scope of music around the world”, the statement read.

According to the academy, discussions with artists, ethnomusicologists and linguists around the world helped to spur the decision for the update, with the change symbolising “a departure from the connotations of colonialism, folk and ‘non-American’ that the former term embodied”. Since the ‘90s, “World Music” has been heavily criticised for being a gentrified, catch-all term for every style of music from around the world that isn’t familiar to western audiences. As laudable as a name change is, it doesn’t seem like there are any changes to the guidelines for nominations to the category, meaning that nominees will still remain wildly disparate –music-wise – unlike other categories which have more specific sonic requirements.

Best World Music Album was created in 1991 and first awarded in 1992, with a brief split into Best Traditional World Music Album and Best Contemporary World Music Album between 2004 and 2011. Earlier this year, legendary Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo made history as the most awarded artist in the category. Ms. Kidjo picked up a gramophone for last year’s ‘Celia’, edging out Burna Boy’s ‘African Giant’, amongst others, to increase her tally to four wins.

Nominations for the next Grammys are expected to be announced later this month, including those for Best Global Music Album, and we’re eagerly awaiting the list.

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Let me know your favourite the Cavemen songs @dennisadepeter

ICYMI: THE GRAMMYS HASN’T BEEN THE ‘BIGGEST NIGHT IN MUSIC’ FOR A WHILE

#EndSARS: Why we need to be vigilant while judicial panels carry out their duties

Posted on by The Native

Nearly a week ago, the Lagos state judicial panel of enquiry had its first public sitting. Only a week before, the panel had been set up and inaugurated by the Lagos State Governor, Jide Sanwo-Olu, in accordance with one of the demands made young Nigerians seeking to end police brutality. In the middle of the protests, Nigeria’s vice president, Yemi Osibanjo, announced that all 36 states in the country were to form panels to look into allegations of police brutality, especially those perpetrated by officers of the infamous, “disbanded” unit, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

So far, multiple states, including Anambra, Edo, Kaduna, Ondo and more, have already set their panels up and initiated enquiries. These panels are aimed at ensuring survivors and families of fatal victims of police brutality are compensated, and police officers who abused their powers are held accountable and duly prosecuted. To make sure that this means of justice is effective, young Nigerians are keeping a keen eye on the proceedings of panels across the country. With Lagos, however, the scrutiny is much more amplified, largely due to the murder of peaceful protesters at the Lekki tollgate by soldiers of the Nigerian military, on October 20, 2020.

As the most publicised act of state-sanction brutality against unarmed civilians—a trend that had been pervasive in protests all over the country—the Lekki massacre has spurred the Nigerian youth populace into asking essential questions, to ensure the truths of that night are fully revealed and all the culprits behind this heinous act are held accountable. Between the Lagos state government, the Nigerian army and the federal government, there has been a commitment to muddying up the details of their role in the massacre, initially employing a simultaneous approach of silence and denial. In the last week, though, subsequent events have shown that their cover-up efforts aren’t as concerted, and the seams are unravelling.

During an interview with CNN, the governor finally admitted that soldiers were indeed at the protest grounds, as has been evidenced by some eyewitness’ footage. The next day, the Nigerian army admitted its presence, following initial outright denial, saying that there were there on orders from the Lagos state government but also claiming that their presence did not bring about any carnage. The Lagos state judicial panel was initially formed to deal with claims of police brutality, however, its duty has been expanded to include the events of October 20, 2020.

At its second sitting on Friday, the panel took first steps into its enquiry of the Lekki massacre. In a real time Twitter thread of happenings on the day, entrepreneur and filmmaker Editi Effiong gave virtual onlookers an insight into proceedings. A representative of the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) was sworn-in to testify in front of the panel, and the unidentified man confirmed that the company has footage of the massacre. Shortly after, the LCC asked for an adjournment, citing the absence of their preferred counsel, which eventually led to the decision of the panel to visit the tollgate.

At the tollgate, the LCC MD took members of the panel and those present through the premises, showing damages sustained from alleged hoodlum attacks, which led to the destruction of electrical and electronic equipment. Mr. Effiong pointed out the suspiciousness of these damages, citing that the billboards mounted atop the tollbooths were somehow intact. Later that day, Arise TV reported that the judicial panel and members of the press were denied entry into the Military hospital in Ikoyi. They had shown up to look into allegations that dead bodies were carried away by soldiers on the night of the massacre, and even after identifying themselves as a state-backed panel, the soldiers still refused to allow entry.

To further the extent to which the Nigerian army is willing to undermine the judicial panel, deputy director of Army public relations, Major Osoba Olaniyi recently told Punch that it is not the duty of the panel to invite the Army to answer any questions, stating that it would only appear based on the same directive from the state government. Shortly before its inauguration, the Lagos state governor detailed the terms of reference for the judicial panel, stating that they have “the powers to compel and summon witnesses to appear before it”. Judging by how its reaction to the panel’s ongoing investigation, it appears that the army is content with flouting the mandate given to the panel, even though the President has announced his backing of the Lagos panel and the powers bestowed on it.

The panel has adjourned its investigation into the Lekki massacre till Tuesday (November 3), however, it has continued to receive and look into complaints from victims of police brutality. In the two days of proceedings that predominantly featured complaints, heart-breaking stories were shared by survivors, including a woman who spent 22 days in SARS custody and lost a 2-month pregnancy in the process, and middle-aged man who was held and severely tortured for 47 days by SARS operatives.

According to the terms of reference, the judicial panel reserves the right to listen and take evidence from survivors and families of victims, determine compensation and immediately issue a check, determine officers responsible for abuse and recommend for prosecution, and make recommendations to the government on police reforms. Considering the scope of their obligation, the Lagos judicial panel, as well as panels of enquiries and restitution across the 36 states shoulder a great responsibility, even though panels have, historically speaking, never led to any real, lasting change in Nigeria.

During the period when physical protests were sustained, many government officials and prominent political figures called for the Nigerian youth to get off the street in order to engage in dialogue with the government and give some time to allow for an implementation of demands. With reports of soldiers brutalising unarmed civilians from Lagos to Jos and Oyigbo to Ibadan, as well as rumours of SARS operatives resurfacing, it seems like we were right in our scepticism that the government is taking the fight against police brutality serious.

Regardless, we shouldn’t let our somewhat justified lack of faith rob us of being vigilant, especially with regards to the judicial panels of inquiries and restitution. Not only is it an avenue for compensation and to further drive for justice, it’s also a way to make sure we’re doing our due diligence through the channel allegedly, fully accepted by the government. For now, our best move is to stay woke, because if there’s anything the government has shown, it’s that they won’t hesitate to pull wool over our eyes if we collectively blink, even if it’s for one second.

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Send me resources in the fight against police brutality @dennisadepeter

ICYMI: BURNA BOY’S “20 10 20” IS A STUNNING TRIBUTE TO VICTIMS OF THE LEKKI MASSACRE

We spoke to residents about the unrest in Oyigbo, Rivers State

Posted on by The Native

Two minutes before our scheduled phone conversation, Princess, 21 was firmly reminded of the horrors of her present reality, when gunshots rang deafeningly through the afternoon air. The loud bangs sent her and her family panicking and frantically seeking out shelter even inside their own home. Her hometown, Oyigbo was bleeding, but it seemed to her as though no one was paying any attention to the atrocities committed by Nigerian armed forces in the name of carrying out the government’s mandate.

This past month, coming across footage or images of dead bodies on social media has become increasingly common. Given that local media houses are banned from covering the #EndSARS protests in a way that would embarrass the government, social media has become the prime hub for disseminating information about the fight for a better Nigeria across a range of states. For many of us, social media is our only way of discovering the evils that the government consistently dish out to its citizens, however, for Princess, coming face-to-face with death has become a common occurrence in her hometown.

For the past week, Oyigbo, a satellite town in Rivers State has been under a 24-hour curfew by the incumbent state governor Wike who promptly put it in place following the death of three police officers in the state and the destruction of state property including a number of police stations. The curfew was announced indefinitely on the 21st of October, a day after the brutal killing of young Nigerians who waved their flags and staged a sit-in at the Lekki toll gate, Mushin, Alausa, and other parts of Lagos. Princess tells me, “Ever since the Lekki massacre, the governor imposed a curfew in parts of Rivers state and no one is allowed to go outside even for essential travel and services”. While she’s aware that the two occurrences happened independently from each other, she believes that they certainly do inform each other as in each time, military forces were discharged to step in and ensure peace and stability, however, they responded with more state-sanctioned violence on those who they have been charged to protect.

According to reports, the growing unrest in the area is said to have been caused by the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) who allegedly hijacked the ongoing #EndSARS protests in order to carry out destruction and damage. But Princess was not too convinced that things happened as national media is currently reporting it. To her, the alleged attacks from the IPOB was said to have been carried out in the night with no official investigation conducted to find out the real culprits. The IPOB seemed to have been unfairly proscribed involvement in these crimes by the governor and judging by the deteriorating social contract between the government and the people, it’s not hard to see why she has trust issues. 

“They just claimed the IPOB did it but it’s like how did you know?  The same thing happened in Lagos and a couple of other states but we saw this evidence of these ‘hoodlums’ being sponsored by the state so what is to say that this is not the case currently?”

The government’s response to the unrest caused was to deploy armed forces to ensure compliance with the 24-hour curfew however rather than carry out this task in good faith to the residents of the town, there have been reports that the army has been going door to door and harassing and killing people. Those who dare to venture outside their homes are either killed, flogged, harassed, or attacked by armed officers in the area despite residents complaints about the lack of food, water, and other amenities. Princess tells me that she and her family are just managing the resources that they have stored at home, each of them too afraid to take the risk and step out of their front door, in case they run into an army officer on a bad day.

“My family and I are just here and things are very expensive at the moment,” Princess shares. Given that many residents of Oyigbo are forced to spend the past few weeks indoors, those who venture out for food soon find that the prices have been staked considerably high since the 24-hour curfew was put in place. And that’s not all, Princess says there has not been a glimpse of electricity in the area since the curfew began and many are forced to stay indoors disconnected and cut off from the news cycle.  Princess shares her disapproval for the government’s methods saying, “It does not make sense to impose a 24-hour curfew on people without prior notice”. Many residents of Oyigbo are visibly angry and many are fighting for their lives, choosing either to risk being caught on the streets when in search of urgent amenities by soldiers or opting to sustain starvation to preserve their lives.

The violence from armed forces in the area is also meted to residents based on their gender. Princess tells me that women are not shot or attacked on the spot by the military officers but face a different kind of harassment from them. “When they see women, they don’t shoot at them but they make them sit on the bare floor and they are harassed and humiliated by the soldiers,” she tells me in horror. This is a common occurrence that seems to be getting more attention in recent times, as over the weekend viral footage of a woman being flogged by military officers for dressing indecently made the rounds through social media. We cannot turn a blind eye to the ways in which violence and oppression is used as a tool to humble women who dare to live unconventionally from the country’s puritanical views.

For now, Princess’ only wish is that more coverage on the atrocious killings taking place in Oyigbo will be televised for Nigerians to see both home and abroad. The government backlash from the #EndSARS protests have been felt all across the country, from banning the youth from engaging in peaceful demonstrations to threatening to enforce the social media bill, we are feeling the wrath of demanding better from our elected officials who unfortunately being told to do their job as a sign of disrespect. But Princess’s experience and that of many residents in Oyigbo show that the ongoing fight to end bad governance and state-sanctioned violence in the armed forces is one that must include every Nigerian and not just those who live in affluent parts of the country alone. None of us are free until all of us are free, and that won’t happen until members of the armed forces are not weaponised and controlled by those in power to enact their heinous deeds.

More attention needs to be paid to communities on the margins which are endlessly torn apart by the presence of heavy security forces in the area starting with Oyigbo where Nigerians are currently being killed and attacked in cold blood. And with the growing tensions caused by those who wish to spur tribalistic propaganda, we must ensure that no one is killed for the tribe they originate from.

Featured image credits/TodayFM

ICYMI: Here’s how some young Nigerians are making it through these tough times

The dangers of Western interference in Nigeria

Posted on by The Native

Last week Thursday, a Member of Parliament for the UK’s Labour Party, Kate Osamor revealed truth to the rumour that the UK government had been funding Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, the infamous SARS unit guilty of perpetrating heinous violent crimes, including serial murders, extortion, physical abuse and more. Tweeting a letter signed by Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, Osamor revealed that, though Duddridge originally denied the rumours on October 19, British officials were indeed providing training and equipment to SARS between the years of 2016 and 2020. During this period, the Nigerian government had announced the reformation of SARS five times, owing to the plethora of violent crimes the Nigerian people have long since been reporting against the corrupt unit.

The Independent, a British newspaper, also reported that the England and Wales’ College of Policing trained Nigerian security officers in financial and economic crime, last year. They sought to improve standards “however this did not involve public order training,” a spokesperson of the College told The Independent. Perhaps this is an excuse for them, as to why they shouldn’t be held accountable for the crimes perpetrated by SARS, but the reality is, police ought to be trained in public order, regardless of their unit, because their underlying duty, which trumps everything, is their duty to the public.

 

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Whether SARS was funded with nefarious intent is yet to be known, regardless, it shows a clear disregard for Nigerian lives that for over four years, the British Government can fund and train such a corrupt policing agency with no sense of responsibility for how their support is being used. The College of Policing have a track record for giving abusive police forces in foreign countries training, coming under fire for their support of the Hong Kong Police Force during their ongoing protests.

We know from the Black Lives Matter movement that stirred up over the summer that police units in the West are corrupt, that they abuse their power and they target individuals about whom thy have a prejudice, just like we have in Nigeria. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that their training does not alleviate these issues – in fact, the hatefulness that swims in their blue waters is likely to be translated into their training, inadvertently condoning the violent acts so many of our brothers and sisters have died as a result of.

Similar can be said for their governments. Though the West purport to be the epitome of democracy, their systems of governance remain prejudice and oppressive, driven mostly by capitalistic intent. In this vein, there are many dangers that arise from Western interference in Nigeria – as exemplified by the suspicious funding of SARS by the UK government – warning us of the potential cost our cries for the international community to act, over the last few weeks, may bear, most especially calls for sanctions against Nigerian officials.

On October 20, 2020 the world watched as the Nigerian Army opened fire on Lagos citizens who were exercising their right to protest at the Lekki Toll Gate. With cameras being taken down, streetlights and the billboard (an alternative source of light) being switched off, covering the area in a blanket of darkness, this attack on the innocent protestors presents as a calculated act of state-sanctioned violence. As we watched live reports shared through social media, many of us who felt powerless rushed to find ways to hold our government accountable for their crimes against our human rights, looking for penalties that would encourage the government to treat its citizens better. These are the aims of international sanctions, and why the Nigerian people began sharing and signing petitions to for the UK to implement targeted sanctions at Nigerian government officials.

Unfortunately, sanctions are not the kind-hearted corrective tool Western powers would have us believe. In fact, sanctions have historically had rather terrible effects on countries, leading to more civil unrest, rises in poverty, strains on medical resources and ultimately, as a result of these factors and more, exacerbated loss of life. Sanctions are a complicated weapon, and now that the petition calling for sanctions to be implemented against Nigeria’s government personnel is to be debated in UK Parliament, we must look closely at the implications this could have and tease out the potential ways in which these sanctions could have a positive impact and direct our government toward change.

Sanctions are a foreign policy tool to exact punishment on a state or individuals/entities within a state, with the hope that the individual(s) or state(s) upon which the sanction has been placed will alter their behaviour in order to be relieved of the sanction.

There are many different types of sanctions that can be levelled. Economic sanctions, which we commonly refer to as simply ‘sanctions’, include trade restrictions (embargoes, tariffs, quotas) asset freezing or seizure, travel bans and also removal of embassies, as well as other diplomatic sanctions. Sanctions can be exacted on whole countries, or particular businesses or individuals (targeted sanctions), by individual countries (unilateral) or by a group or bloc of countries, such as the UN or the EU (multilateral). In the case of the petition that was most popularly spread across social media, garnering over 200,000 signatures, the proposed was a unilateral sanction from the UK onto Nigerian government officials.

The United Kingdom’s sanctions list is maintained by HM Treasury, and it is a list comprised of the UN sanctions list, the EU sanctions list (although post-Brexit this becomes unclear), and Britain’s own sanctions list. In accordance with the sanctions policy in the UK, banks and financial institutions, are barred from transaction with states and non-state entities on the UK sanctions list and British citizens can also be subject to HM Treasury Sanctions. What this means is that, if targeted sanctions are implemented against Nigerian leaders from the UK, they will be barred from doing business in the UK, disrupting their trade and travel – even if these restrictions are not also part of the sanctions – regardless of whether or not they are citizens of the UK.

However, it must be noted that unilateral sanctions may be bypassed through the use of a third party country with allegiances to the targeted country. If the UK does enact sanctions against Nigeria, trade with other countries may be a way for the government to get out of serious damage, depending on the nature of the sanctions. In this case though, extraterritorial sanctions may be placed on these third party countries or entities for helping the originally sanctioned state bypass their sanctions. For example, because international transactions are routed through US banks, the US have the means to confiscate or block or freeze transactions made by or to the sanctioned state from other third party countries. More often than not, America also threatens to sanction these other countries’ banks, and because US banks are so powerful in terms of their global financial dominance, they can get away with it.

As well as the petition to the UK, there were also calls for the United Nations to intervene and place sanctions on Nigeria. The Security Council – the crisis-management body of the UN – are responsible for sanction resolutions, which “must pass the fifteen-member council by a majority vote and without a veto from any of the five permanent members: the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).  The most commonly used sanctions by the UN are embargoes (specifically arms embargoes), asset freezes and travel bans. However, according to the CFR, enforcement of UN sanctions are weak, as the UN does not have their own means of enforcing sanctions, which leaves the job to the member states, who might not be incentivised to lend their resources to enforcing the sanctions. This means that if the UN Security Council does agree to place sanctions on Nigeria, or members of the Nigerian government, for their human rights abuses, unless individual states are interested in punishing Nigeria, sanctions might not be an effective way of getting our leaders to listen to their people.

Across the world, success rate of sanctions are typically low. Many countries have recorded that despite the increased economic hardship the sanctions have brought about, policies and governance hardly changes, leaving a worse of state of affairs for the people, without any positive change. One of the most recent examples that was cited in great frequency in the early hours of that Wednesday morning, following the massacre, is Iran. During this COVID-19 period, sanctions on financial transactions from the United States were held directly responsible for the distressingly high death toll of Iranians from COVID-19. In February, Iran was reported to have the largest number of deaths relating to COVID-19, outside of China, particularly worrying considering their comparatively small population of just over 80 million. According to Iranian health ministry spokesperson, Kianush Jahanpur, “for sure, our death tolls would have been lower if the US sanctions were not enforced and had not caused a delay in treatments.”

With the US sanctioning the import of goods, receiving medical goods has been a challenge for Iran, long before the coronavirus, however the situation worsened this year, as borders with neighbouring countries – Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey – were closed, isolating Iran even more from importation. Similarly, in Haiti – where sanctions were imposed by the US following the 1991 coup that booted the less than year old, President Aristide – medical supplies, as well as food and other essential welfare goods, grew into scarcity, and this had a most pointed impact on children. “According to one report released by international public health experts at Harvard University, up to 1000 Haitian children were dying every month,” write Robin Davis, Onyesonwu Chatoyer, and Nancy Wright, in their detailed explanation of The Devastating Human Cost of Sanctions. Writing for Hood communist, the article goes on to proclaim:

“Sanctions are designed to exact the maximum human cost from a particular nation in order to force that nation to do the bidding of US and Western imperialism.”

From cases such as Iran, Haiti, Cuba (the longest lasting trade embargo, which is widely condemned), Zimbabwe (where President Mugabe and his inner circle were given a travel ban by the US in 2013), we can glean that sanctions are an ineffective tool when looking to encourage policy reform. In fact, the very people for whom the sanctioning states claim to be imposing the sanctions for, wind up as collateral damage in a political cockfight, based primarily upon greed and control and not for the betterment of human life. It is unlikely that we see sanctions placed upon Nigeria, because it geopolitically doesn’t make sense, at the moment – whilst this might be for the best, it shows the self-sustaining attitude our world leaders have to governance. Ultimately, sanctions are yet another method by which the West reproduce their global dominance. Western States bear the most geopolitical power; their use of sanctions as a default response to international affairs shows their perceived superiority and the effects of these sanctions evidences their disproportionate, undeserved hegemony – in particular the US, who use sanctions rather liberally.

Bad governance is rife globally. We are suffering from it at an alarming rate in Nigeria already, inviting Western leaders into the picture will continue to have adverse effect. From the UK funding SARS to global testimonies of the human cost of sanctions, the evidence is there: the white man is NOT our saviour, nor our friend.

Featured Image Credits: Hood Communist

ICYMI: WE WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT THE LEKKI TOLL GATE

We spoke to some Wizkid Fans about ‘Made in Lagos’

Posted on by The Native

After years of promises and extended-release dates, Wizkid’s long-awaited 4th studio album, ‘Made in Lagos’ is finally here, and all faith seems to have been restored in the Starboy. Though it’s been a long time coming, Wizkid FC have received the album with open arms, ready to forgive him for the unhealthy back-and-forth over the years, and even on the night of release when we had to wait an extra hour which was filled with doubt about whether we were getting the project or not. It goes without saying that the FC have been through a lot in the past few years, from postponed album dates to controversies in his dating life, Wizkid has undoubtedly kept many of us on our toes.

Through the thick and the thin, however, fans have remained loyal to their Starboy, and without the FC, it’s hard to imagine Wizkid’s position at the top. Their very existence has been invaluable to Wizkid’s career over the last few years, and they have shown up in numbers in the past,  offering a kind of adulation that many afropop stars have never enjoyed. A few years ago, a stan group like the FC would have been hard to come by but the musical landscape in afropop has evolved so much since 2010 when the ‘Superstar’ singer first caught our attention. Since then, we’ve seen the rise of P Square’s ‘Omoges’ Korede Bello’s ‘Bellovers’, Burna Boy’s ‘Outsiders’, Naira Marley’s ‘Marlians’, but none of them have come close to the fervour with which members of Wizkid FC operate. 

In 2016, the Weeknd released his third studio album ‘Starboy’, and social media was awash with angry FC fans who flew to the aid of their beloved star. Wizkid had donned the nickname long before The Weeknd and the FC believed a line had been crossed. That was the first time we really saw the force of the FC in action, and another instance that springs to mind is when No Signal hosted an epic clash battle between Wizkid and Vybz Kartel. Many people back at home and in the diaspora had tuned in for the clash assuming that it would be a fair battle for the winner but Wizkid FC proved yet again that they would fight for their Starboy. Wizkid came out successful in every round of the clash, even at times where the opposition should have been the clear winner. With their numbers far too numerous to overpower, they are quickly turning into the most notorious stan group on this side of the world. Similar to Nicki Minaj’s ‘Barbz’ or Beyoncé’s ‘Bey Hive’, Wizkid FC have taken on a life of their own and have now written themselves into the history of Starboy. 

And the praise is entirely warranted. Back in 2016, when afropop was still in the nascent stages of its global takeover, Wizkid featured on Drake’s groovy release “One Dance”, a key moment that saw the beginning of more intercontinental collaborations. A year later, he became the first African artist to headline a show at the Royal Albert-Hall, a market of afropop’s continued growth. Wizkid had come to represent more than his music, he had come to represent his hometown Ojuelegba and in extension the Nigerian people and a beacon of hope that dreams can come true. It wouldn’t be too far off to call him one of the country’s best musical exports and he’s come to be seen as such by those at home and abroad given that he’s the youngest African artist to bag a Grammy nod. 

In so many ways, Wizkid has attained great feats throughout his career and this has in turn afforded Wizkid FC the voice to be large and loud on the internet because the work speaks for itself. Many of the FC cannot even believe that ‘Made in Lagos’ is even here today, taking to social media to express their feelings about the new album as they listen to it. The result has been deeply satisfying, a meeting of hearts and minds deeply connected to experiencing an album collectively for the first time. To this end, The NATIVE spoke with 8 die-hard Wizkid FC members about how they feel about what feels like the most defining moment of Starboy’s career. Here’s how they feel. 

@TayoAFC

Top 3: “Blessed”, “Reckless” & “Sweet One”

What was your first impression of MIL on first listen? Did it live up to your expectations?

It was beautiful! The intro immediately caught my attention, as he counted his blessings and looked back on all he has achieved so far. The album exceeded my expectations mainly because I had been worried about the sound of Wizkid’s music transitioning over the years. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there were few instances where he had been criticised of becoming too relaxed, which led to a more chilled and calm sound. So personally, I needed an album with the right balance to convince me this was simply part of his growth. You have to understand I became a “Wizkid FC” member in the “Pakurumo” era, where his songs had faster beats and the energy you could feel was that of an artist who still had a lot to prove. Although he is calm on MIL, you get a “this is why I’ve been top dog for a decade” energy from him which I loved about the album.

Do you think pre-released singles gave a good feel of the entire project?

Not completely to be honest. I wasn’t a big fan of “Smile” when it was released as a single, as the album is called Made In Lagos and a single which had a reggae fusion sound wasn’t something I initially understood. The next single “No Stress” followed, and this made me more positive for what to expect on the album. On this song, he gave the streets lyrics in Yoruba and local pidgin and balanced it with the perfect melody for the guys and ladies. And now I see how both songs fit into the album as a whole – you appreciate the fact his talent was made in Lagos with some influence from other regions.

Comparing this body of work to the first 3, what do you think makes this one stand out?

His growth. The fact that each of his 4 albums don’t sound the same shows he has always developed as an artist, and I feel Sounds From The Other Side, his third album was a risk he took which has now paid off. His first album, Superstar where he touched on his early beginnings with a lot of energy, showed he had no problems being the centre of attention. The period of his second album, Ayo, was when he could not release a bad song if he tried. The general theme of that album was around celebrating his life, and “Jaiye Jaiye” and “Ojuelegba” are perfect examples. His international audience was already growing, and maybe that was a factor in why he took the risk and tried a new sound. As some Wizkid FC members like to say, “he was ahead of his time” and this created a scenario where he had different sets of fans who had a preference for what type of Wizkid they were getting. And this is what makes MIL stand out for me, as his growth as an artist over the years created the perfect balance for both old and new Wizkid fans to enjoy the album as one.

@kvng_saad

Top 3: “Blessed”, “Sweet One”, “Piece Of Me”

What was your first impression of MIL on first listen? Did it live up to your expectations?

First of all, MIL is a great body of work that shows how Wizkid has evolved as a person and as an Artist. This is a different kind of vibe from his previous albums, it gives you a feel good sound and relaxed vibes and I definitely love it.

Yes. In fact, it exceeded my expectations and I’m glad it did.

Do you think pre-released singles gave a good feel of the entire project?

Yeah, the pre-released singles gave the direction of the album and what to expect from it, not the normal party jams and dancehall vibes but a very relaxed and calm one, and I must say it’s really nice and commendable.

Comparing this body of work to the first 3, what do you think makes this one stand out?

Comparing MIL to other body of his work, this one stands out because it shows how Wizkid has grown as an artist and it reflects in his lyrics.

@TheGreyHunter

Top 3: “Long Time”, “Blessed”, “Sweet One”

What was your first impression of MIL on first listen? Did it live up to your expectations?

My first impression after listening to MIL was “growfffff, what a man, what an icon, what a versatile king”. This was 12:17am just after Apple notified me that my pre-ordered album has been added. It exceeded my expectations. I knew “Pakuromo wiz” had hung his boots after he released Soundman (which is the best ep from Naij btw). I thought “okay babe,5-6 sweet slow tunes max go get replay value and I go use bias cushion my wizgenda”,  but my GOAT said “don’t worry my g, no stress” jams choke bustaidddd!

Do you think pre-released singles gave a good feel of the entire project?

Honestly, I think the first two songs that were lead singles didn’t prepare me for this level of brilliance, they were good, even better on the album but not even the best from MiL. Only Wiz can do that!

Comparing this body of work to the first 3, what do you think makes this one stand out?

In comparison with first 3 albums, I’ve got bias for “Superstar”. It’s the first album I used my own monies to buy, I also bought it for people and shared on Twitter that year. It’s surreal seeing someone like you from ‘lere morph into a global art and force. This is standing out because he’s once again proven that the throne he ascended since 2010 is still his even after hiatus, and the tunes to get on these thrones aren’t one style for all but different Wiz for everyone.

@omobankole1

Top 3: “Piece Of Me”, “Essence”, “Blessed” 

What was your first impression of MIL on first listen? Did it live up to your expectations?

My first impression was the divergence of a new sound from Wiz, so smooth and thrilling. It definitely exceeded my expectations.

Do you think pre-released singles gave a good feel of the entire project?

I saw this great sound coming, not from pre-released singles from MIL but from Soundman EP. It absolutely showed a new Wiz and I’m delighted to welcome the sound.

Comparing this body of work to the first 3, what do you think makes this one stand out?

Well to me I love all 4 albums equally. It really shows the versatility of Wizkid changing sound with ease. If you listen to all 4 albums and the Soundman, you will notice the change of sounds across his music, it really shows how far Wiz gonna go in delivering better music.

@K0yinsola

Top 3: “True Love”, “Blessed”, “Sweet One”

What was your first impression of MIL on first listen? Did it live up to your expectations?

It sounds silly but my first listen was so sporadic. 30 seconds of each track here and there to prepare myself for what was coming. I think I even started in the middle of the album. I was so anxious because Wizkid is not the most forthcoming in interviews about his music and his direction so I wasn’t sure what to expect. On my first proper listen, it surpassed my expectations. I couldn’t get passed ‘Blessed’ for a while because it sounded so good but once I did, the whole album really blew my mind,

Do you think pre-released singles gave a good feel of the entire project while we were waiting?

When Wizkid dropped Smile in July, it was so different to anything he had ever previously done. It didn’t sound like any of his singles before or any singles from his other albums so I knew we were getting a completely new era of Wizkid. What this era was, I wasn’t so sure of at the time. Fast forward a couple of months, we got No Stress. I think this was an instant hit everywhere. You still can’t open an Instagram story without hearing ‘I got a pretty pretty lady wey no like no stress’. But again, this was so different to Smile so I was still unsure as to what direction MIL was going in. One thing was definitely clear though, Wizkid was going to be in his grown man melodic bag on this album.

Comparing this body of work to the first 3, what do you think makes this one stand out?

I think each album perfectly sums up not just the times that they were released in, but also the different stages of Wizkid’s career. Listening to Superstar retrospectively, you can hear the rawness of a young boy from Surulere who is driven and hungry for success. Every song was a HIT back to back *Olamide voice*. He had a lot to prove being a newbie in the game.’Ayo’ takes on a slightly more mature approach and this shows on songs like Ojuelegba and J’aiye J’aiye. This was Wizkid’s final release under EME and at some points in the album you can still hear the young man finding his sound and his feet in the industry.SFTOS, my favourite album pre MIL came before it’s time. I truly believe that SFTOS walked so MIL could fly. SFTOS had so many amazing and experimental songs(Nobody and Sexy being two of my favs) but I think it came before it’s time. Afrobeats has slowed down a lot recently and is more so about the craft, lyricism, instrumentals, etc which is why I think MIL shines and has been so well received. Wizkid sounds so confident on every single song. He’s bringing that 30+ energy that we all love to see. This is the music we all know Wizkid loves and wants to be making.

Words by Tami Makinde, Interview by Damilola Animashaun

ICYMI: A 1-listen review of Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos’

Review: Tems’ ‘For Broken Ears’

On “The Key”, the final song on her debut EP, ‘For Broken Ears’, Tems delivers her most powerful message which easily surmises the space she now occupies in the new vanguard of Afropop stars. Singing loudly atop a groovy mix of airy synths and vivid percussion patterns, she musters the words “their chains they cannot hold me” just as the song is about to fade out. But her lyrics, simple as they may seem, are a triumphant declaration of the fervour with which she operates having been delivering at the top of her game for the past two years. It’s hard to imagine that she’s only just offering up her debut but the 7-track offering makes for a potent and unforgettable entrance.

 

With ‘For Broken Ears’, Tems adds another string to her bag of therapeutic sounds. Infact, it’s possible that you couldn’t build a person more suited to offer emotional comfort through music. The NATIVE 004 cover star has had to constantly redfine herself her whole life. After struggling with depression while growing up, Tems found it hard betting on herself and her musical abilities. After school, she joined a digital marketing firm in Lekki putting music on hold for one more time. But in 2018, while reading her devotional, Tems got a divine message that would catapult her into superstardom. Two years later, she’s one of the brightest stars in the country with a voice that commands listeners to evaluate personal truths. Tems is the “girl on fire”.

 

‘For Broken Ears’ as the title suggests is a remedy for those among us who may feel broken right now. Hearts and minds are in need of healing, but Tems’ voice is the remedy our ears didn’t know they needed up till now. Her moody blend of afropop and r&b lends itself delectably to the listeners ear. The 7-track piece delves through a range of themes–loss, love, success, regret, longing, power with ease, but with each song, Tems peels back another layer, revealing an unshakeable confidence that is firmly rooted in who she is as a person. She’s singing about her own experiences but the relatability is striking. She could easily be the voice of an old friend with her assertive, lucid storytelling. In an industry as notoriously impossible as music this gives her a serious edge. When Tems released ‘For Broken Ears’ over a month ago, she could not have imagined that the next few weeks would be shrouded in so much pain and violence. But her music speaks firmly to our current reality as a people. When she sings “this is the peace that you cannot buy/finding the way, when you cannot see” on “Damages”, I can easily see the lyric sitting firmly amongst the minds of young people in Nigeria who are currently fighting for a better future. For over two weeks, young Nigerians have been protesting against the rogue police unit SARS but also against the corrupt excesses of the government that have plagued the country for decades. In just a few days, we’ve watched young Nigerians find a new strength in themselves that not many people thought existed. For many years, our contributions in the political world were undermined and reduced as a result of our ages, but this time around, young Nigerians have audaciously carved out a space to speak about the issues that affect them directly and that is due in a large part to social media. “Damages” for me, represents our collective message. Tems sings passionately about an unrequited lover, armed with new eyes she sings about her experiences when she was a “baby girl”. While she demands to be treated better so also do we demand better from our government. She sings “no more damages now” telling a past lover that she’s done with them, moving on to better things. For Nigerians, we’re contesting a systemic evil that needs to be rooted out from its damaged core. We want real change, and Tems through her music offesr a world where change is possible when you know what you’re worth.

 

In this moment, music that speaks to the core of our experiences as Nigerian people has given many of us a sense of hope and peace for the future. Protest grounds were ringing triumphantly with afopop sounds like Davido’s boiseterous new single “Fem” or Eedris Abdulkareem’s “Jaga Jaga” because of their relatable lyrics which radically condem the actions of many of our common oppressors. Both songs were prime afrop cuts, buoyant, lively and replete with instant quotables. But now, two weeks gone, since we gathered on major highways with our End SARS placards to shout, demand, and sing with unified voices, our fates are once again resigned. With the state-wide curfews and the ensuing unrest lingering on our roads from last week’s attack, our ears are hungry for a different type of sound. A sound that artists like Tems and her contemporaries like Omah Lay and Tay Iwar champion in their music. Cloaked in afropop’s rhythmic pulse, these artists are making music which lends itself easily to the melancholic hours we’re spending indoors consuming a tumultuous news cycle. But while Omah Lay and Tay Iwar are more concerned with matters of the heart, Tems continuously melds a myriad of genres into music that is thematically bound to deep introspection. The greatest example of this is on the album opener “Interference” where Tems finds her voice. She sings “If you thought I was distrubed before/baby boy I’m going to disturb you now” over soft keys, before delving into a spit-along confession that finds her shedding the shame and reproach of the past. She seems to be singing about a lover but her unbridled confidence draws parallels with the defiance of strong women who will stop at nothing to effect change. It brings to mind the invaluable contribution of organisations like the Feminist Coalition who have left their foot on our leaders necks, knowing Nigeria’s patriachial society, but working to speak up about women’s rights at a time where we need them the most.

 

Right from her debut single “Mr Rebel”, Tems has shown her determination to flout society’s perception of the Nigerian woman. With a magnetic voice, she quickly cemented her place as the self-professed “leading vibe” and the prized leader of the reber gang, a title which she wields with ease. “Try Me”, her third solo single, and arguably one of the most decisive numbers from a female African artist is a fiery anthem of triumph but as she grows and widens her arsenal, Tems isn’t shedding the experimental hallmarks of her earlier singles. With ‘For Broken Ears’, she’s navigating her current reality anchored with the lessons from her past. On the groovy standout “Free Mind”, she mulls over thoughts of escapism trying to navigate life with a clouded mind. But on “Higher”, we see her coming to terms with reality. “Help me understand/why you made the war that we’re fighting now” she sings, as though armed with the prescient knowledge of the questions that currently linger on many lips. Elsewhere on “Ice T”, she sings with jaded detachment about her capabilities, delivering a poignatic message for all who are paying close attention. While on the surface she may be singing about about making flavoured “ice-t” out of lemons, on a deeper level, what she’s really saying is to own your confidence and starpower in face of criticism, reproach, fear, you name it. Judging by her steady incline over the past the past year, it’s clear that Tems is one you can trust for nuanced advice–and lyrics–to navigate our new normal.

 

Listen to ‘For Broken Ears’ below.

 

NATIVE Premiere: JELEEL! and Prettyboy D-O are speaking up against their oppressors in their video for “Sinner”

Posted on by The Native

Revolution has seemed like a constant feature for this year as we’ve seen more people speaking up against issues of injustice and oppression. Despite the social distancing laws of the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans responded to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer by going out to protest against police brutality and racial discrimination. The Black Lives Matter protests hit a nerve with young Nigerians who could also relate to being profiled, harassed, and killed by the police and very soon after, protests have also broken out in Nigeria, calling for an end to SARS, #EndSARS.

America-based Fresh Meat alum, JELEEL! took inspiration from the racial discrimination he experienced in America for his latest project, ‘Generation Z’. He released the tape while the BLM protests were still ongoing and offered the 6 tracks as a balm for healing the trauma of the time. Though young Nigerians had not gotten into full protest mode when the tape was released in July, JELEEL! had the foresight to team up with his Nigerian brother in arms, Prettyboy D-O for the rebellious anthem, “Sinner”. The two are now sharing the energetic video for the track that encourages young people to get active and use their voice and strength to fight for equality and a complete overhaul of the systems that were built to oppress us.

Given the present politically charged climate where the Nigerian government is refusing to take responsibility for the killing of peaceful protesters while also seeking ways to censor the voice of the youth, the timing could not be better. The leadership of Nigeria has failed young people and as they continue to antagonise us, music can serve as fuel for our activism and also amplify the issue of injustice we’re experiencing. Prettyboy D-O’s fans are already familiar with his penchant for calling out the system from songs like “Chop Elbow”, a protest song with a hostile dance to match. Pairing him with JELEEL!—who loves to rage and rip his shirt—for a protest song seems like a match made in heaven with very violent prospects that are fitting for the current times.

The video opens with JELEEL break dancing with other dancers, all dressed in black leather outfits. JELEEL! is known for his unorthodox vocals and on “Sinner”, it gives the song an edgy quality as he seems to scream the lyrics; “In the fight ima ride with a sinner. One more time for the time they killed us”. We watch him as he dances then sing into a ball of fire that he carries in his hands. Prettyboy D-O makes his appearance standing next to a burning trash can that conveys the riotous them of the song. He performs his verse with the aggressive energy we’ve come to expect from him. However, instead of violence for violence sake, he outlines the oppression that has shaped his aggressive wold view; “Tell me why they want to come and block my progress/ that’s the reason why pretty no dey look face.” In this context, his rage isn’t only menacing, it’s also heartbreaking.

 

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it’s getting spooky….👹👻

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Although the video aims to trigger rage against oppression, it also looks beyond the grim as we see several shots of JELEEL! smiling at an attractive muse and hugging Prettyboy D-O as if to push onwards against ignorance and hatred. Together, they celebrate black love and creating art in the face of the powers oppressing us. The NATIVE spoke with JELEEL for the premiere and he told us;

“I know this is a difficult time right now and I’m praying we all get through this and Nigeria changes for the better.”

See the video for JELEEL! and Prettyboy D-O’s “Sinner” below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagran/jeleeel
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You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him @debola_abimbolu

ICYMI: JELEEL! has a lot to say on his latest EP, ‘Generation Z’

Rap Song of the Week: Shakez seethes with righteous anger on “Blood on the Flag”

Posted on by The Native

In 1965, Nina Simone recorded a cover of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”, one of the greatest protests songs against racism. Accompanied by sombre piano chords, Nina Simone’s rendition is painfully bare, imbuing the poetic and powerful lyrics on racially motivated lynching with a layer of mournful passion. Nearly five decades later, Kanye West sampled the classic song on “Blood on the Leaves”, a standout off his 2013 album, ‘Yeezus’, where he ranted about the complications that can be effected by the colliding effect of fame and shaky relationships.

Kanye’s song was rightly lauded upon release, but it glaringly deviated from the subject matter of its sample material—which isn’t wrong in itself. Nigerian rapper Shakez Baba has just released a cover of “Blood on the Leaves”, and he takes the context of Nina Simone’s “Strange Fruit” into account, retooling it into an excellent, impassioned rap song that recollects perhaps the most gruesome case of state-sanctioned cruelty, during the nationwide demonstrations against police brutality in Nigeria.

“Blood on the Flag”, as it is titled, directly references one of the agonising images that flooded social media timelines, when soldiers of the Nigerian military viciously attacked peaceful protesters at the Lekki-Victoria Island tollgate on October 20, 2020. On the evening when soldiers shot at these unarmed civilians at point blank range, the picture of a man carrying a gunshot victim in a Nigerian flag heavily sullied by blood quickly became symbolic. Shakez’s song is a reminder of that moment and the unfortunate aftermath of events that unfollowed.

Although there aren’t any noticeable changes to the beat from Kanye’s song, it’s clear that Shakez taps into the aggrieved spirit of Nina Simone’s “Strange Fruit”, as he seethes with a righteous anger that’s evident in his incensed cadence and candid raps. In the opening bars, he rips at perennial and grossly inept Nigerian government system, held in place by cruel, corrupt and incapable leaders, and has fostered an unconducive society for the larger portion of the Nigerian youth populace. He accuses these “leaders” of being so vested in personal profits and self-preservation, that they’re so insensitive, and even disgusted, by young people simply demanding their right to live without fear of being harassed, physically abused and possibly killed by those actually meant to “serve and protect” them.

“Turn police to criminals and hired guns/and then they take they guns and go and point at us/ vicious cycle until we come undone”, he raps with a fair share of annoyance in his voice. But it’s the very next sequence of lines that cuts the deepest: “We protest because police harass us/they send soldiers to use us for target practice/four hours heads up for evasive tactics”. Shakez recounts the events of the Lekki massacre, immortalising the gruesome event we all witnessed and letting it be known that the truth will not be buried by the powers that be.

Shakez is not the only artist speaking this particular truth to indelible power. Late last night, Burna Boy dropped “20 10 20”, phenomenally conjuring and conveying the emotions being felt by millions of concerned individuals. Shakez’s voice isn’t as singularly powerful as Burna’s, but it doesn’t need to be, due to the emotional gravitas already loaded into the sample choice behind his cover’s beat. “Blood on the Flag” is a great example of how sampling helps in putting the past in conversation with the present, Shakez is able to transpose the pain Nina Simone put on wax 55years ago, and put within the context of a current struggle.

In his essay, “Cosmic Anger: #EndSARS & the Making of a Movement”, writer Joshua Segun-Lean explains that the scope of our ongoing fight against police brutality means that “we are inheritors of Haiti’s revolution, whether we choose to be or not, and we are dependent on the movement for Black Lives in America as we are on the movement against Gender-Based Violence in Namibia.” Tackling a situation that’s this endemic situates us within the larger fight to permanently end Black suffering all over the world, and it’s the reason a song that was recorded during the civil rights fight in America can serve as the perfect backbone for raps about police brutality in Nigeria.

With the high-handed reactions from the government, there’s clearly still a lot of work to be done before a rogue unit of the police force is disbanded, and by extension, sweeping positive change in Nigeria’s government system. As Shakez bellows at the end of “Blood on the Flag”, we need to “Stay mad, stay woke, 2023 come out and vote”.

Listen to “Blood on the Flag” here.

Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Shakez Baba

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Let me know your favourite the Cavemen songs @dennisadepeter

ICYMI: WE WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT THE LEKKI TOLL GATE

NATIVE Exclusive: In conversation with DJ Switch

Posted on by The Native

Tuesday 20th October 2020 is a date that will never be forgotten in Nigeria. 20.10.2020 will always be remembered as the day the Nigerian military opened fire against peaceful protesters, in a calculated attack against the Nigerian youth fighting for their right to life, peacefully exercising their right to demonstrate. Initially denied by the Nigerian Armed Forces (who took nearly one week to accept responsibility), we are experiencing in real time, the efforts of an authoritarian government to rewrite history, omitting the devastating state-sanctioned killings that occurred at the Lekki Toll Gate Plaza, as well as other areas in Lagos State.

When Governor Sanwo-Olu announced, with finality, that no fatalities had been recorded after the ‘incident’; when Major General John Eneche capitalised off the few fake images being circulated to unequivocally state that his analysts have deemed the videos of the massacre photoshopped; when President Buhari failed to commiserate the lives lost that Tuesday, in his delayed Presidential address on Thursday, our leadership was making a violent, obvious play at gaslighting the nation. But the world was watching. With over 150,000 viewers tuned into DJ Switch’s Instagram Live Feed that night, the room for doubt is slim; the #LekkiMassacre happened, it cannot be denied and will not be erased.

After a few days of rest, letting the people know that she is safe, DJ Switch took to Instagram once again, to clear up several of the rumours that had been spread in the aftermath of the traumatising military shootings.  DJ Switch has become a beacon of truth in this period that has been deliberately shrouded in confusion and uncertainty. She has used her platform to share the reality of those protesters who were victim to the military’s attack and will forever be remembered as one of the key figures in Nigeria’s 60th anniversary revolution.

 

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Just months earlier, DJ Switch was making headlines for completely opposing reason, gaining attention her unforgettable set at the Big Brother House Party. Still fresh off the “humongous” platform that helped multiply opportunities for the DJ cum musical artist, DJ Switch was excitedly “waiting for a plan, because a plan needs to be put in place,” she told me back then, explaining that the next stages in her career are to be carefully structured by her new, more professional management, before “we’ll kick start all over again.” Suffice it to say, this was not part of the plan. At such a crucial turn in her career, DJ Switch set aside professional ambitions in order to fight for justice; fight for a better country for her fellow Nigerians and our generations to come. Literally putting her body on the line, DJ Switch, like all the other protestors across the country, risked her life to fight for a better Nigeria and has rightfully become one of the most highly respected public figures of our time – a rare feat given how quickly celebrities are proving their false alliances (cough cough, Desmond Elliot).

Praising DJ Switch for her bravery and courage, young Nigerians throughout the internet have promised to stan forever – to unequivocally support all the work that she puts out in the future. A soldier that put her life on the line for us, we owe Switch that much, and the first step in becoming a stan is cluing yourself in to everything there is to possibly know about the artist – which is where we come in. In the wake of her Big Brother set, NATIVE caught up with DJ Switch, to hear all about the woman behind one of the most talked about performances in Nigeria this year. Spanning over a decade, DJ Switch’s career is full of ups and downs, has been entrusted to local and foreign labels, and a true testament to her resolute character.

Obianuju Catherine Udeh was “born with it” – as cliché as that might sound. After graduating from the University of Port Harcourt with a Geology degree, Udeh found herself working in the lucrative oil and gas industry, but with music flowing through her veins, DJ Switch was always destined to hang up her corporate pumps in pursuit of her passion. Her first taste of success followed soon after. In 2009, along with the five other member of the sextet Da Pulse, DJ Switch bagged her first of two talent competition wins – Da Pulse emerged victors at the 2009 Star Quest competition. A year later, the group was touring the country as international superstars, boasting a Busta Rhymes remix to their hit single, “Sote”. But considering the financial burden of having to feed six mouths with offers that could hardly even take care of one solo act, Da Pulse disbanded after an unfortunately fleeting success. For most of her band mates, that was the end of the road, but for Switch, that was the beginning of her most lucrative chapter yet, she tells me, “I started really focusing on the DJ part of my talent.”

Still, her chops as a performing artist weren’t forgotten. In 2013, DJ Switch scored her second talent competition win, this time on Glo X-Factor. Following this win, and the promise of a Sony Music deal, DJ Switch entered into her most active year as a recording artist, releasing quintessential afro-pop dance tracks that are definitive of the time in which she was working. A 2014 record such as “Baby O”, played into the wedding music aesthetic that was beginning to rise – at a time where Don Jazzy’s Mavin were at their peak, mixing in traditional praise music with contemporary love songs – whilst the more dance-inclined number “Koma”, produced by E Kelly, encourages listeners to let loose, and women to tap into their sexiness. Similarly carnal, came “My Body” – still in 2014 – where DJ Switch narrated the pleasures of being wanted, and wanting something in return. However, with Sony or X-Factor (or whoever is to blame for her X-Factor prize not being delivered in full) her 2014 reign was contrasted with infrequent (yet consistent) releases, as Switch juggled a very active DJ career alongside her role as a recording artist.

Her 2016 appearance alongside Patoranking on “Bad Man” was accompanied by a Best Female DJ win at the City People Awards that same year. Her role as a DJ on ‘Dance with Peter’ – a dancing competition pioneered by P-Square’s Peter Okoye – culminated in a recording contract to Okoye’s P-Classic Records in 2017. Releasing a couple of singles last year, DJ Switch’s 2020 record, “Oluwa” perfectly illustrates where her career went to in the aftermath her memorable Big Brother DJ set: despite people taking advantage of her and thinking they can control her, DJ Switch’s hustle is paying off. Currently working through the pain and trauma of the Lagos Massacre, which she experienced first-hand, if there is one thing our conversation, two months ago, made clear, it is that DJ Switch is never backing down, not in her career and certainly not in the fight for what is right.

Read a summary of our chat below:

On her childhood music inspirations

I listened to music at a very early age. Y’know Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Brenda Fassie, Fela, Bob Marley, Lucky Dube and the rest, Michael Jackson. These were guys that I watched a lot, and I fell in love with. 

On choosing to focus on DJing

Deciding to make DJing like a primary thing was not intentional – It’s just a natural thing that happened. I love music so much and I’ve been working my hardest to get my content out there; so, whatever I can get my hands on that will produce music, I’m usually very excited about it. I wouldn’t say I intentionally chose DJing but it’s just like the natural thing that happened along the way. 

On her approach to music

The way I like to think about music, I like to think about music like I’m having a conversation with someone. I don’t just play music. I like to listen to it and find elements of the music that would really heighten your feelings, and you know, have a conversation with you. Even when I have conversations, the most irrelevant conversation, I’m turning it into some sort of sound.

On the growth of Nigerian music

I feel very proud to still be alive [within the Nigerian music scene] at this point, you know. Looking at the music space in Nigeria or in Africa, music has definitely improved. The quality of the music, the production quality, as well, has improved. Our music has already gone global, so it’s not like we’re trying to go global – the spotlight is on Africa right now – on afrobeats, and our style, our slangs and all that stuff. So, I’m very very proud to still be able to say “hey, I exist in a time frame where our music has exploded this much.” 

And it has impacted me; it’s made me more expressive, it’s made me free… The music has really improved and I can find different things in our songs to work with. Back then, our songs used to be really like mumbo jumbo of various stuff and sounds, just packed with a lot going on. [There were] very few songs you could find that you could really tear down.

On gender relations within the music industry

It was the way of the world unfortunately, that women were not allowed to do a lot of things. But just as everything is changing, you know, women are CEOs now, women can vote, in certain countries, women can drive, just as things are changing it’s also changed in the music industry as well. So, I wouldn’t say it’s exactly where it should be, which it like on an equal stance, but, there’s progress, and who doesn’t like progress? As long as women continue to be at the top of their game, they continue to put out great content, not mediocre content, there is no excuse, you know what I mean?

Of course, I believe – not speaking for all women – but I believe most women have experienced some sort of treatment or some sort of disregard or lack of support, but it’s not the same today – [the dynamics are] really improving – we’ve got a lot of men that are more aware and exposed. You know, we also have a cultural issue here, in this part of the world, where some people still don’t understand why women are out ‘til 5,6,7 in the morning and they say they’re at some club DJing. There’s still some sort of cultural block that people have, there’s [still] this perception that some people, in this part of the world, have that women shouldn’t be out that late, women shouldn’t be in that field. So hopefully, time will change things and Africa will be more exposed. Time will tell. 

On this tweet

Yeah, you know, sometimes I work with people who just appreciate who I am and then sometimes I meet people who don’t get it. But um, I don’t blame anyone. Everyone speaks from a place of experience, and so I don’t judge anyone based off of what they said.

So I had met a promoter who was very interested in my work and said ‘you know if you do this then I would do that for you’. I didn’t turn him down immediately because [he didn’t] understand it, I wanted to get his perspective and where he was coming from. I also wanted to ask my fans and then show it to him, [so we can] all come to a middle ground and see how to make this work. Because at the end of the day, everybody really just wants to grow. 

If someone is an expert in their field, he’s a promoter, I should listen to what he’s saying and what he’s driving at, ok? And at the same time, because I am a creative, I also need to be comfortable enough to be able to create. So how do we find a middle ground, where I’m still comfortable and you can still do your job. So I always try to find a middle ground because people have different expertise.

On Da Pulse break-up

Let’s say you want to charge a fee for performance and you’re a band, you need to consider how many people are in that band, you need consider everything you need to do, you also need to consider your standing or your appeasement to be able to have that negotiating power. And, even though we had a hit song, and we had featured Busta Rhymes on it, we were still a new group. So, all of the offers we got were really poor and it couldn’t have taken care of any of us, even if we were [solo acts], like separated, talk less of being together. So, the break up was as a result of finances. We did not have money, we were broke, ok? Everyone had to go home and look for something to do. I didn’t leave, I stayed here in Lagos, I kept on pushing. Of course, being a solo act, has to be definitely more money than being in a group. So, money usually is the motive for most groups breaking up. Or love, usually one of the two. 

On her 2014 run, post X-Factor

In this business, the more you churn out stuff the more people get engaged. If people forget about you for a moment, they jump onto the next person, that’s just how it is. I put out the best content that I could put out at the time, did the type of promotion that I could do. [But] I didn’t quite get to where I wanted to be at, because then again, there’s also the bias, there’s also the ‘who did you come with?’ Certain people can speak for you and then automatically things will start working out, but if you don’t have certain people speaking for you, either because you don’t have a relationship with them or maybe they just don’t know you or they don’t… I don’t know, but basically that can affect your growth. But the thing with me is, I’ve never given up. I just come out, I pop out and I do what I can do at the time. 

On the Sony disappointment

It broke my heart, by I don’t really want to go into what happened. I would say it was a case of two elephants fighting and the grass suffered. That’s the best I can do on the subject.I don’t want to go into it, I don’t wanna talk about it. It’s in the past and that’s that. 

On her personality

I’ve always been comfortable in my skin, I’ve been comfortable with the way I am. If I do something else that I’m not comfortable with I will not be productive. I know that about myself.

[Also] I’m actually very shy. I think people don’t know that. I’m a very shy person, I’m a loner, I don’t have many friends; more than half the time when I’m hanging out with them, I’m barely talking, I’m just watching people. If left alone, I’d be in my studio and just playing music, you know? I’m always avoiding confrontation as much as possible. But the thing is, once I get into a creative space, I think I try to put out everything that’s in my mind. I guess that’s probably where the name Switch came from.

 

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On her legacy

Greatness. That’s just it.

I want to be able to put something together where I can impact people’s lives, in similar fields as mine, and really teach them how to be the best versions of themselves, how not to be regular, how not to be mediocre, how not to follow the trends. You may have a bunch of people do something the same way and it works, but how about you just do what you want to do? But make sure that you’re the best at what you want to do. People may not understand it, because it’s what you want to do, but you might be pleasantly surprised. I was pleasantly surprised. I will tell you something real quick, when I was playing the [Big Brother Naija] show, twice I wanted to do some funky stuff. In my mind I was like “I dunno, are they gonna get it?” Cos I don’t want to lose the attention of people, my job is to make sure I keep you engaged and I keep you happy, right? And I said to myself, “you know what, you do you.” And the one thing – and I only did one thing, really – I did was the thing that was talked about the most. I think people talked about it so much that they missed some other cool stuff in there but when people started getting the mix that I put out online, people saw other stuff in there. So, I did me and it made me different.

I want to leave that level of greatness, I really wanna achieve the height of my abilities and then take it a notch up. And then when I do die I want people to say that was one of a kind. 

Featured Image Credits: Everyevery

ICYMI: DJ SWITCH SHARES HER ACCOUNT OF THE LEKKI TOLLGATE MASSACRE

Tiwa Savage’s video for Naira Marley-assisted “Ole” combines Goth and guerrilla

Posted on by The Native

It might seem like a lifetime ago, considering the tumultuous events of the past few weeks, but Tiwa Savage’s latest studio album, ‘Celia’, only came out about two months back. Undoubtedly her best full-length release, the project showed us a much more confident artist who’s broadened her topical horizons, taking into account the social causes she’s become increasingly vocal about recently.

 

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Following “Koroba”, a delightful screed at the hypocrisy that runs rampant in Nigerian society, the singer has handpicked the Naira Marley-assisted “Ole” as the latest single off ‘Celia’. On the Rexxie-produced standout, Tiwa Savage expresses her intolerance for being owed money, even threatening violence against debtors. “Because say I quiet no mean say I be fool”, she warns. Naira Marley chips in with a stellar verse, taking a swipe at perennial debtors and their penchant for always looking for ways to escape paying off their debt. With the title translating to thief, and the addition of a soundbite from an infamous incident from earlier this year, “Ole” is also cleverly linked with Nigeria’s corrupt ruling class, who have always shied away from accountability and continue to loot the country’s coffers with reckless abandon.

The newly released music video for “Ole” embellishes the rebellious nature of Tiwa and Naira’s lyrical performance, combining Goth elements, style-wise, and guerrilla visual aesthetics. Dressed in all black at a dingy location, the singers and their animated entourage cut a delightfully menacing competitions, taunting men and women who represent the typical, corrupt Nigerian politician. In its opening seconds, Tiwa dedicates the video to “Every single life lost to injustice in Nigeria”, a noble intentions that is matched by its execution, considering the shoddy handling and gas-lighting reaction by the government to our calls for an end to police brutality.

Watch “Ole” here.

Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Tiwa Savage

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Let me know your favourite the Cavemen songs @dennisadepeter

ICYMI: TIWA SAVAGE’S “DANGEROUS LOVE” AND “KOROBA” MAKE CHART HISTORY

Best New Music: Burna Boy’s “20 10 20” is a stunning tribute

Posted on by The Native

It’s been over a week since one of the gravest crimes against humanity we have witnessed as a generation occurred and yet no one has come forward to take responsibility for the crime. Over the past week, we have listened to live witness accounts of what happened at the toll gate when armed forces descended upon the location where many brave young Nigerians were sitting with their flags and placards raised and none of the recounts have been easy to sit through. Collectively, as young people in Nigeria, we are traumatised and to make it worse, continue to be endlessly gaslit by leaders who have shown that they have no qualms erasing or revising the events of October 20 as we know it.

But young Nigerians are making sure that last Tuesday is etched into the memories of the entire world, who have now amped up the pressure they are placing on the Nigerian government by staging protests in cities all over the world from Indonesia to Mississauga. The pressure seems to be working in some way and we couldn’t be more happier. During the week, the Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu admitted for the first time in an interview with CNN that judging from the footage gathered from the scene, it appeared that armed forces were responsible for the shooting. The Army later confirmed they were indeed deployed by the state governor to make sure the curfew was being enforced, but till now no one has been charged or prosecuted for the 38 lives reportedly lost that night, Amnesty International says.

 

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In Loving memory, and with the utmost respect 20 10 20 NEVER FORGET 🙏🏾👼🏾🇳🇬

A post shared by Burna Boy (@burnaboygram) on

To this end, Burna Boy has also been using his platform to call out the injustices taking place in our country. A few days ago, he was on the BET stage with Chris Martins delivering a moving performance of “Monsters You Made” which was dedicated to the victims of police brutality. And now, he has now released a tribute to the victims and survivors of last Tuesday’s tragic killings in an aptly titled number called “20 10 20”. Opening up with soft guitar strings, Burna Boy uses his platform to inform listeners about the brutal attacks that night but also as an avenue to call out the government for their involvement in the crimes and their wanton disregard for the lives of those they govern and lead.

Singing “Let’s talk about my government/You carry army go kill many youth for Lekki” he audaciously confronts the facts as confirmed from eye witness accounts like that of Dj Switch’s. He lists out everyone who is complicit in the cover-up of last week’s attacks, from the Chief Commander, to the army, and even the President and the Governor. It’s clear that Burna Boy is just as angry as we are, and he doesn’t hesitate to show it as he reigns a myriad of curses on them. “Make all the dead body disturb you for your dream” he sings with a resigned tone, vowing that our leaders must face punishment somehow for the blood now on their hands.

Burna Boy also confronts the system. He sings, “You don turn our graduates to common beggars, all the book them go no matter” delving into the failure of the system which has been rendered useless by our leaders after years of increasing decay. The #EndSARS protests were more than just disbanding a rogue police unit, they were also about confronting more structural and systemic issues that have gotten our country to this point. He also confronts the nepotism in our employment sector, “cause you no go get job if you no know godfather” he sings, highlighting just how difficult it is for the average Nigerian with no connections or opportunity for nepotism to secure a decent job after graduating from university.

For Burna Boy, there is no excuse that can vindicate any of our leaders from the brutal killings on the 20th of October. As the song is about to fade out, he sings “When we cry for justice, them kill my people/Walahi for all of you, their lives are on you” driving his message home further as the song segues into familiar soundbites from the videos circulating of last week’s attacks. We hear audible gunshots ringing as protesters flee from the scene of the attack and try to cower for safety. We also hear Dj Switch’s voice as she addresses her Instagram Live from the toll gate showing the bodies of those who had been injured and those who had unfortunately passed away. So the song ends with a firm reminder that October 20th actually happened, and there are many amongst us who may never heal from what they saw.

With “20 10 20”, the lives of those we lost at the toll gate are seen and honoured despite the government’s lack of dedication to round up and apprehend those responsible for unjustly killing Nigerian citizens. It’s the perfect tribute for a very disheartening event that rocked the nation and Burna Boy has ensured that their lives are never forgotten.

RIP to the brave Nigerians who lost their lives on 20-10-20.

Listen to “20 10 20” below.

Featured image credits/201020

Tami is available here @tamimak_

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A 1-listen review of Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos’

Posted on by The Native

For the past three years, Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos’ has been mythical moment in the making. Less than a year after his 2017 major label debut, ‘Sounds from the Other Side’, the afropop juggernaut announced the title of his following LP, setting the stage for a scenic rollout marked with its fair share of false starts. Somehow, the FC (as the singer’s Stan base is often referred to) and scores of afropop faithful have kept hope alive, even as Wizkid flouted rumoured release dates on several occasions.

Between the unwitting anxiety effected by the trickle of loose singles and our collective will to manifest ‘Made In Lagos’ into being, it sometimes felt like the album was a figment of our imaginations. When Wiz surprisingly pulled out ‘Soundman, Vol. 1’ last December, he was clearly pulling a fast one, temporarily tempering the anxiousness of the main event. With each following hint that ‘MIL’ was indeed coming soon, there was a justified amount of scepticism, until the release of two brilliant singles—the H.E.R-assisted “Smile” and “No Stress”—and the announcement of an initially confirmed album release date, October 15, 2020.

In solidarity with the demonstrations against police brutality in Nigeria, a cause Wizkid has been vocal about, the singer pushed the album back to November 22nd. Due to an impending leak, ‘MIL’ has been brought forward to tonight, which isn’t necessarily ideal, but very much welcome all the same. So, here we are, finally: it’s actually real. We at The NATIVE were privileged to get an early listen of the highly anticipated project a couple of weeks ago and we confirmed that it was indeed real and actually finally on the way. The expectations are as high as they’ve ever been for the singer born Ayodeji Balogun, however, if there’s one thing I love about 1-listen reviews, it’s that it forces you to contend with what’s in front of you, not what you think it should be.

The time for guessing is over, it’s time to get into what Wiz has been stitching together for years. Cometh the hour, cometh the man (and if you stick with us, there might be even more on the way). In usual 1-listen review fashion, we penned our thoughts with no skips, no rewinds and no fast-forwards. Every song has received real-time reaction.

“Reckless”

This opening has upped my anxiety. That drop has me excited, Wizkid sounds so casually invincible. My headphones might be a little too loud but I’m too hyped to take my hands off this keyboard. Wizkid is talking that prosperity talk, deservedly so. “I go do anything for my family yeah”, Baba Bolu with the family man lyrics. Wizkid is a melody god, fuck. It might scan as a stale detail, but we need to appreciate it every time we can. This is me officially throwing out a Wizkid reggaeton album into the universe. I wish I had producer credits close to me, but whoever made this beat laced it appropriate. These horns are amazing, those piano riffs are immaculate and the bounce is just perfect. Great intro, let’s go!

“Ginger” (feat. Burna Boy)

Burna! Man, I’m hype. If they’re going to do this back-and-forth thing the whole time, I’m all for it. Reduced the volume a bit, this bounce has so much sauce. Wiz has settled into his salacious bag, his voice has gotten huskier and it’s selling that lothario appeal perfectly. “I’ve been making money, living reckless”. God, when? Afropop is the greatest genre of music, please listen to this bounce, you guys. It’s that perfect intersection between club-ready and isolated chilling with a romantic partner. My guy relegated Burna to the hook, I’m not even remotely mad. Sounds like a keeper.

“Longtime” (feat. Skepta)

Wiz and Skep, part two, streets been waiting. Skep has finessed the trademark Afropop bounce, he sounds so comfortable. I couldn’t find a quotable off rip, but that was a solid opening. Wizkid knows how to jump into a song, his presence is conspicuous without being disruptive. “Love wey I get for you pass any money” is the sort of line I’d imagine a KPMG employee texting Cuppy. This bounce tracks back to ‘SFTOS’, very afro-Caribbean and in tune with what’s fashionable in Nigerian pop music, which makes me wonder what made many people revile that album. I’ll have to revisit this.

“Mighty Whine”

A Wizkid song titled “Mighty Whine” is probably a little too on the nose, but I like the way this is going so far. The reverb on those drums are sticking out positively, I need to know who mixes Wizkid’s vocals, the person has helped create a perfect and recognisable aesthetic. Somehow, “Girl, I no come here to dim your light” stuck out to me, I like the line. Wizkid has been singing from a place of ease for the past few years, it’s obvious he’s been living the sort of enjoyment-filled, stress-free life one can only afford on a very deep bank balance. I really like this song, I see it as a fan favourite and even a potential big single.

“Blessed” (feat. Damian Marley)

Wizkid loves his horns, a lot. P2J definitely produced this, his drums have this recognisable character—e.g. “Anybody”. Damian Marley sounds so comfortable on this. “I do what make me happy and nobody can deny me that I’m blessed” is such a wonderful, wholesome flex. I’m not the most avid Damian Marley fan, but this is one of the rare times I’ve heard him this laidback, I really love it. For the umpteenth time, Wizkid knows how to inhabit a song with a casual authority. “The life wey I live so crazy, I pray say Jah go protect me” is an honest prayer. Wizkid should be the ambassador for living a life without any unnecessary problems. Is that Efya with the background vocals? Maybe, maybe not. This is a keeper.

“Smile” (feat. H.E.R)

The lead single. I liked this song when I first heard it, I didn’t feel like it was anything too special until I saw that heart-warming video that featured Wiz’s kids, beautiful Yoruba women and Suya. H.E.R is a feature killer, she knows how to match and elevate a pre-existing mood, just listen to “Slow Down” and “The Lay Down” as prime examples. She did a really great job on this, and shout-out to her for amplifying our fight against police brutality on Saturday Night Live. That bass guitar riff is redunkulous—it’s not a real word, but it’s an apt description. Yeah, this is a great hook, I see why so many people were gushing positively when this came out. Jam, definitely a keeper.

“Piece of Me” (feat. Ella Mai)

Guitars evoke beauty, man. This drum pattern is slightly unorthodox, one of the many details that has kept this album musically dynamic. I’ll take more r&b Wizkid, every day and twice on Friday nights. Ella Mai’s voice is so rich in warmth, it sounds like snuggling in the arms of a faithful, loving partner. I love how Wizkid has used these features, they’re working in favour of the song structures and keeping the album from feeling cluttered. “Piece of Me” is more of a deep cut, but I won’t be surprised if it picks up in the diaspora. Another good record.

“No Stress”

This was the better of the two singles if you ask me. This guitar riff shimmers perfectly, and the drums are boisterous enough to make sure things are firmly sensual. Wizkid is great at plainly singing what he does to his women and the effect he has on them, generally. Remember when he sang about the audacity of fellatio in a tricycle, which was as funny as it was very catchy. The sort of confidence Wizkid sings with on this song only comes from knowing you’ve snatched a person’s soul—I’m assuming, kinda. This is a great sex playlist song, it’s blatant but it’s just so good. Keeper, forever.

“True Love” (feat. Tay Iwar & Projexx)

This is much folksy than what I’ve been hearing, it sounds like a nice change of pace. Featuring Tay Iwar on a song about true love is interesting, the guy mostly sings about the jagged edges and complicatedness of romance. His voice is an absolute delight, though, it’s soft enough to convey the Utopia of true love. “Na me and you go dey till sunrise” is a very Wizkid line, he’s very plain with his intentions. Tay is very much anchoring this song, but somehow you can feel that it’s a Wizkid song. You can’t fuck up a good bass guitar riff, this beat is really good. That’s Projexx, Wiz is putting guys on. Man, dancehall guys are capital-E explicit, damn. I remember those jokes after the FC made sure Wiz cleaned out Vybz Kartel at that infamous No Signal battle, those were really good times.

“Sweet One”

This organ is giving me church vibes, wedding vibes to be specific. Yeah, this is a primary example of “afro-r&b”, I really like how simultaneously mellow and bouncy it is. Wizkid sings the way Messi plays at his best, fluid and easily mesmerising. “The money dey my mind, but my loving pass this life” made me roll my eyes a bit, not in disgust though. “I wanna hear you say my name” is trademark Wiz, he’s always down to make sure there’s enough carnal to match or even outweigh the heartfelt. These horns are gorgeous. Will revisit this, sounds like a solid deep cut.

“Essence” (feat. Tems)

‘MIL’ has barely lagged, I’ve been consistently entertained. Tems! Jesus! This woman has a great voice, it takes me by surprise nearly every time. Her singing makes it so easy to fall into whatever she’s saying, damn. Wizkid makes love songs sound refreshing, he has a million of them but somehow he never sounds like he’s threading in place—more like it’s a function of what he really enjoys singing about. That vibrating guitar riff is giving me life, this beat is wonderful. At the start of today, I didn’t know I was going to hear Tems and Wizkid trading melodies, this is the highlight of my day so far. Keeper!

“Roma” (feat. Terri)

This is giving me “Joro” vibes, very Igbo folk indebted. Blaqjerzee has mastered this corner of afropop. Terri has one of the best debuts of this year, quote me anywhere. I’m guessing this is their first song together since “Soco”, and it’s on Wizkid’s album, which must be nice validation for Terri’s growth as an artist and Wiz’s ear as a mentor. I remember when Terri was looked at as a redux of his boss, he’s turning that perception around really nicely. I’m not that crazy about this song, but I really like that he’s putting in a strong showing on this song.

“Gyrate”

Penultimate song. London tag, one of my favourites from the past year-plus. “I dey my corner, I dey my lane” is one of the statements you could aptly use in describing Wizkid. This beat is colourful, London is one of the more intriguing maximalist producers around so I’d expect nothing less. Wizkid is hailing the hustlers, a man of the people. “Gyrate” is not exactly spectacular but it’s a good song, not sure how much I’ll be spinning it.

“Grace”

There’s some sheen to these keys, pretty much emblematic of how expensive this album has sounded throughout. Rags to riches Wizkid is always so affecting, remember “Ojuelegba”? Well, this isn’t that but I like how reflective and celebratory it is. “Dem no fit to run my race” is a strong declaration. This second verse is really good, it’s as honest as Wizkid gets, even if it’s not exactly specific. “Say we want no stress, we thank God for life” is a reiteration of this album’s central idea. These keys are gorgeous, the drums are solemnly joyful, and “Grace” is a befitting closer for one of the most anticipated albums of our lives.

Final Thoughts

If there’s anything ‘Made In Lagos’ reinforces, it’s that Wizkid is living THE life. This is an album loaded with plush moments from top to bottom, an overt representation of a man who’s living the life of a king—he has multiple women on call, he’s got big bank, and he’s comfortably taking care of those around him. He’s far removed from the days he was pre-empting himself as a superstar, and he’s no longer at the point where he’s aiming to stretch his ubiquity all over the continent and across the world. This is an artist who’s undoubtedly an international brand, one who’s enjoying the spoils of being one of African music’s greatest exports.

As much as ‘MIL’ roots Wizkid back to his humble beginnings, it’s mostly a nod in service of conveying the stress-free life he now lives. Between instant standouts like “Blessed” and “Grace”, the singer expresses his focus on relishing his blessings and taking life at his own pace. Considering how carefree, yet somewhat measured, he’s shown himself to be on social media, this central message isn’t entirely novel, but it clearly translates into a self-assured and highly enjoyable album.

This is fourteen tracks of sumptuous melodies, light-hearted themes, great features that work wonderfully well within the scope of the album, and consistently phenomenal production. Due to its standing as one of the most awaited afropop albums in recent memory, deliberations as to the quality of ‘Made In Lagos’ will fill pop culture discuss and clog the timeline in coming days, but the one thing I can say with some level of certainty is that, this album doesn’t break form with who we know Wizkid is: One of the most effortlessly skilled artists contemporary afropop has ever seen.

Listen to ‘Made In Lagos’ here.

Dennis is a staff writer at the NATIVE. Let me know your favourite the Cavemen songs @dennisadepeter

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