About three weeks ago, Nigeria marked the 25th year of uninterrupted democratic rule. The journey since independence in 1960 to 1999, when the present fourth republic started, wasn't without turbulence. The 39 years were characterized by coups, civil war, and military dictatorships.
The country wasn't progressing the way it was projected to at independence. Many people attributed the slow pace of development to the military, which was at the helm of affairs for the majority of the 39 years. Nigerians were experiencing economic hardships, and the military government, at different times, was not receptive to criticism. Human rights abuses were recorded. The call for the return to democracy reached its peak when the presidential election of June 12, 1993, was annulled for no reason.
The winner of the election, Chief MKO Abiola, was detained for fighting for the mandate given to him by Nigerians. His wife was killed by unknown gunmen while he was still in detention. MKO Abiola later died in detention, and the agitation for a return to democracy heightened.
In 1999, the military succumbed and conducted an election that ushered the country into democratic rule.
The government of Obasanjo was welcomed with a lot of fun. Though some people showed some reservations about his presidency because he is a retired army general and a former head of state, the majority believed coming onboard as a civilian president would bring the desired progress.
Amidst all the expectations, the economic situation of Nigerians didn't improve significantly. There was a little progress for a few years before things went bad. Nigerians were experiencing economic hardships in addition to armed robbery cases and other gun violence. Assassination cases skyrocketed. The Niger Delta region, where crude oil that serves as the major source of foreign exchange for the country is exploited, was on fire from the activities of militants who picked up arms against the state in the guise of liberating their people, who, despite being in custody of the hen laying the golden egg, were neglected by governance.
Nigerians began to criticize the Obasanjo government. Many musicians added their voices to tell the government to change the situation for the better.
A popular rapper, Eedris Abdulkareem, added his voice by releasing a hit song in 2004 titled Nigeria Jagajaga. Jagajaga is a Yoruba language slang used to describe chaos or disorders.
His description of the situation then was perfect, but not for the president and his team. The president particularly came hard on him. Obasanjo told Eedris that it was his father and mother who were jagajaga and not Nigeria.
Instead of acknowledging the problem and searching for a solution, the government went hard on the critics while Nigerians continued to suffer. Obasanjo served his constitutionally allowed two terms and handed them over to a successor in 2007.
The coming of Yar'adua as president was met with high expectations. He was a university teacher before venturing into politics. Being the first university degree holder to emerge president, Nigerians were expecting some changes from the usual style of the previous leaders, who were not as educated as he was. He started well. He put a stop to some security challenges, like militancy in the Niger Delta region. He spent approximately three years as president before he died in office.
The successive presidents that followed couldn't lead the country to prosperity. Terrorism escalated. Banditry blew out of proportion. Instead of lifting more people out of poverty with purposeful leadership, more were sliding below the poverty line. One thing that was common to all the leaders was intolerance toward criticism. Many journalists were persecuted—some eliminated—for exposing the corruption of the government.
20 years after Eedris sang Nigerian jagajaga, things had gone from bad to worse. In 2024, it is undeniably clear that Nigeria of 2004 was far better than now. Eedris Abdulkareem cooked another song to criticize the situation. The song was released a few weeks ago, and it is titled Emilokan.
The current president during his campaign said the word which means that it was his turn to be president. He won the election.
More than a year later, nothing had improved.
Emilokan (it is my turn) has turned to ebilokan (it's time for hunger) in the words of Eedris. Nigeria is currently going through the most severe economic hardships in history.
The situation was well captured by the recent New York Times' report.
Of the numerous roles that music plays in society, one of them is to hold leaders responsible. When the people are happy, it is easily reflected in the songs of their indigenous musicians. The same thing happens when they are not happy.
The response of the leader shouldn't be about going hard on the messenger but reflecting on the message and finding a way to right the wrongs identified. If this had been done to the Nigeria jagajaga of 20 years ago, there wouldn't have been a need for Eedris to sing ebilokan 20 years later.
I salute Eedris Abdulkareem and every other musician globally who is holding leaders across the board responsible for their duty to the people.