Did the Nigerian Government Ban Songs By Davido, Olamide & Others?

There's been reports going around that that five songs by Davido, 9ice and Olamide have been banned in Nigeria.

Sabo Kpade
August 24, 2017

There's beenreports going around that that five songs by Davido, 9ice and Olamide have been banned in Nigeria.

Statements from the National Broadcasting Commission and the country’s Ministry of Health, however, have denied any such ban as widely circulated on social media over the past few days.

“Wo” by Olamide, whose video depicts smoking in public spaces, drew attention from the health ministry, while those said to contain indecent language or lifestyle include Olamide's “Wavy Levels,” Davido's “Fall” and the remix of “If” with R Kelly and “Living Things” by 9ice.

Responding to the news, Olamide claimed to have “no intentions of promoting tobacco to get my people killed.” That statement drew a reply from the ministry who insisted, “we are in the business of public health promotion. It is not in our mandate to ban music,” following a “clear the air” phone conversations between both parties.

The NBC’s head of public affairs, in statements to Nigerian news outlets, denied any such ban. “We only insist that broadcasters exercise a sense of responsibility in the kind of content they allow to go on air,” also stressing that “it is also possible that one of our regional offices advised stations under their jurisdiction about these songs and it is now being misinterpreted as a ban.”

Any such ban, if implemented, could only be restricted to regulated stations, and not at public functions where they will be near impossible to monitor.

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