A faction of the Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group Afenifere, aligned with the late Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu following the ban on Eedris Abdulkareem’s song “Tell Your Papa.” In a statement signed by Acting Chairman Oba Oladipo Olaitan and National Publicity Secretary Justice Faloye, the group described the ban as “a direct attack on freedom of speech, one of the tenets of democratic government.”
Afenifere argued that the song was not offensive but rather a “fair response to the atrocious claims made by the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, on the state of the nation.” The group warned that the “autocratic ban signals a leadership tendency that is disconnected from citizens’ realities, essentially inclined to maintaining autocratic control rather than fostering a milieu of freedom and creativity.”
They further lamented that the ban “destroys the principles of democracy” and is evidence of “increasing disregard for dissenting voices in Nigeria, potentially silencing artists and stifling creativity and the progress we need to move forward as a society.”
Afenifere also highlighted the country’s worsening insecurity, citing over 1,400 deaths and more than 500 kidnappings in the first quarter of 2025. The group called for urgent security reforms, including the establishment of state police and restructuring for true federalism to ensure equity and justice.
