Nigerian rap icon Eedris Abdulkareem has taken a bold swipe at the Federal Government following the ban of his latest track, Tell Your Papa, by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The song, a pointed critique of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, was deemed “offensive” and subsequently barred from airplay nationwide.
Taking to Instagram to express his frustration, Abdulkareem drew a stark comparison between the recent censorship and the 2004 clampdown on his socially charged anthem, Jaga Jaga. He denounced the Tinubu-led administration as “insensitive and vindictive,” accusing it of stifling free speech and suppressing dissent.
“It is obvious that in Nigeria, truth and constructive criticism is always deemed a big crime by the government,” he wrote. Sharing NBC’s directive, he decried what he described as a government desperate to silence truth and transparency. “They are instructing broadcast houses to hide the candle under the table,” he added, questioning why the country continues to stagnate in the face of such suppression.
Abdulkareem’s post concluded with a resonant quote: “The conscience is an open wound, only the truth can heal it.”
