Veteran Fuji artiste, Alhaji Sefiu Alao, has attributed the circulation of songs that promote profanity and vulgarity to the lack of censorship in the Nigerian music industry.
Alao, also known as Baba Oko, Agbara Orin, stated this on Thursday at the unveiling of Saheed Ojubanire, as the new media manager/publicist to the Fuji Cadoso Organisation in Abeokuta.
He decried the lack of censorship which has led to the proliferation of songs that promote vulgarity and profanity, adding that censorship will go a long way to regulate what is being projected by musicians.
“When you play my songs, some people might tell you they don’t want. But put let them play some of these hip-hop songs, they will start dancing and displaying.
“The artiste who notices that this brand of my music is what people are enjoying at the moment, will you now ask him to delve into another genre.
“Even if he goes witty to sing about proverbs, it will get to a time where he will go back to those abusive songs.
“In hip-hop, there are those who sing reasonable songs and there are those who sing nonsense. They even try to confuse us sometimes because when we sing well, people aren’t buying as they should. But the people are now enlightened to select and listen to the reasonable songs from some of us.
“Besides, there’s no censor board that regulates our music as they do for theatre practitioners. There should be regulation for the music industry too.
“The regulators will listen to vet whatever piece is to be released. At that time, those who sing bad songs will sit tight and everyone’s music will sell because God has ordained them to succeed and not just what comes out of their mouths.
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“Censorship will help modify whatever vulgarity you want to include in your music and the message will still be passed to the listeners. Things shouldn’t be said in its raw forms, such that children can’t sing along freely at home without getting reprimanded by their parents or guardians.
“Censorship will curb all of the bad songs churned out. And then, strict punishment should be created and meted on defaulters.”
When asked about the beauty of musicians joining ranks with politicians to campaign during elections, Alao said: “I see politics as a game. It is a gamble. Today you win, tomorrow you lose. But politicians see it as a do-or-die affair. It is not right for musicians.
“Since we started singing for them, we know what we have seen.
“Politics will bring you lots of enemies and foes. As a musician, you don’t need the enemies and foes that politics make you have.
“What you need is for everyone to love you and enjoy your music.
“When the government you performed for leaves power, the new government that comes in will spite you and use all of their resources to fight you as a musician.
“What people didn’t know is that most of the songs one will sing for politicians are not composed by the musicians, they are sometimes composed by the politicians.
“But they use the mouth of the musicians to project it. Yet, they don’t pay enough to make you prosperous. You only get few benefits from associating with them. People will say, you’re working for a governor or politician, so they will not want to cross you.”
He said the choice of Ojubanire, a freelance journalist or more 15 years experience with City People Magazine came at a time where lots of fake news are rampant on the social media and people do not know which to believe or dismiss as fake news.
“So, this means proper information management by a brand like our own is key in this kind of time. Therefore, by having our own designated media man, we believe every story, before being published by reputable media organisations like yours can be verified through our media office. That is he structure we are putting in place today,” Alao added.
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