Nigerian musicians have used their songs for a long time as a means of protest — questioning authority, uncovering corruption, and giving voice to the voiceless. However, such protest songs have often been in trouble. The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the country’s media regulatory body, has banned or censored several politically oriented songs from the airwaves, citing objections over “objectionable content” and contravening standards of public decency.
NBC recently stopped Eedris Abdulkareem’s latest song, ‘Tell your papa’, from being played. This is because it is a protest song against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his son, Seyi Tinubu.Both Falz and Eedris Abdulkareem dominate the list of songs as they both have two songs each to their names, and it shows that they don’t just sing, but they do sing about societal issues and the government, telling the truth to power.Below are five powerful Nigerian protest songs NBC has censored or banned because they quite directly tackle politics and society:
“Jaga Jaga” – Eedris Abdulkareem (2004)
Eedris Abdulkareem’s “Jaga Jaga” was banned by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in 2004. It was seen as “unpatriotic” and hurtful to Nigeria’s image.
The song unequivocally criticized corruption, poverty, and problems in Nigeria, depicting the country as fragmented and broken. One of the song’s most popular lines reads as follows: “Nigeria jaga jaga / Everything scatter scatter / Poor man dey suffer suffer.” This infuriated then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who complained about it. In spite of the ban, Jaga Jaga also topped the protest song chart and became a rallying cry for frustrated youths in Nigeria.
“This Is Nigeria” – Falz (2018)
NBC banned the 2018 song from Falz and said the song had “vulgar lyrics” and wasn’t suitable for public radio. The precise line quoted was ‘This is Nigeria. Look at how we are living now. Everybody is a criminal.’ After Childish Gambino’s This Is America, Falz trained his lens on Nigerian society, highlighting police brutality, religious hypocrisy, and broken governance. The incendiary imagery and lyrics set off national conversation and an immediate NBC shutdown. Falz was indignant at the ban and called it unjustified, stating that, “There is nothing rude about the lyrics. They address social and political issues that real Nigerians encounter daily.” Falz strongly disagreed with the ban
Falz addressed police brutality (naming SARS), Religious extremism, Corruption, Online fraud, and social inequality in the video and lyrics. The video showed strong imagery, including girls in hijabs dancing with firearms and a man being lynched, to portray real-life events in the country.
“Talk” – Falz (2019)
Critiqued the ruling class and cautioned citizens about political manipulation. Although not formally prohibited, it got little radio and television airplay.
“Brother murda brother / We dey talk am, no be matter / Government na yawa.”Dropped before the 2019 elections, Talk called on Nigerians to hold their leaders accountable. Falz called Talk a “wake-up call” to Nigerians, and especially youths, to get involved in democracy and to vote right. Falz cemented his position as activist artist, but the song soon faded from most mainstream platforms.
“Beasts of No Nation” – Fela Kuti (1989)
Fela Kuti’s “Beasts of No Nation” came out in 1989. The album was banned in Nigeria under the military regimes of the early 1990s for its scathing denunciation of military rule, political oppression, and state brutality. The song lyrics go, “Wetin be this / Army arrangement / Beasts of no nation.” It means that political leaders are referred to as “animals in human skin.” This metaphor indicates that the military elite are violent, corrupt, and inhumane. The song boldly criticized the military leaders of Nigeria, referring to them as “beasts” that did not care about humans or justice.
At a time when free speech was highly restricted, and condemning the government would get one into jail or even worse, the song was viewed as a threat to the authority and image of the state. Afrobeat’s father, Fela Kuti, was never afraid to speak truth to power. Beasts of No Nation was only one of his many songs that got under the skin of Nigeria’s rulers. Despite being released in 1989, the single was massively censored by government-controlled broadcasters throughout the 1990s.
“Tell Your Papa” – Eedris Abdulkareem (2025)
The song was dropped on April 7, 2025, and it specifically criticizes the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The song paints a vivid picture many Nigerians are facing currently. Abdulkareem does not mince words as he uses strong lyrics to tell the president’s son, Seyi Tinubu, to pass a straightforward message to his father:“Tell your papa Seyi / Tell your papa country hard / Tell your papa people dey die… / Too much empty promises / Balablu grammar,” he raps in the politically conscious song.In a memo dated April 9, signed by NBC Coordinating Director of Broadcast Monitoring Susan Obi, the commission pointed to Section 3.1.8 of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code. According to the commission, the song was “objectionable” and contravened the standards of public decency.
