Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has come to the defense of award-winning superstar singer Davido amid heavy backlash from Muslims.
The literary icon lent his voice to the viral video of some aggrieved youths taking to the streets of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to demonstrate their grievances against the music video Davido promoted, which they deemed disrespectful to their religion.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Soyinka gave reasons why Davido shouldn’t apologize to them.
He cited how the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai, had made derogatory comments against Christians in the past but was never asked to apologize.
“There was nothing to apologize about, and that applied equally to El Rufai’s comments at the time. It should come as no surprise that I equally absolutely disagree with Shehu Sani, if indeed, as reported, he has demanded an apology from Davido ok behalf of the Muslim community”.
The literary icon also cited scenes from Whoopi Goldberg’s Sister Act and noted how it wasn’t Davido’s music that lynched Deborah Yakubu, a second-year Christian college student who was killed by a mob of Muslim students in Sokoto last year over alleged blasphemy.
Soyinka advised Nigerians to learn to distinguish practitioners from their objects of devotion.
Davido faces backlash over a controversial music video
It was reported over the weekend that Davido, via his social media pages, had promoted the music video of his new signee, Logos Olori.
However, the video didn’t sit well with many, as some internet users accused him of disrespecting Islamic beliefs and practices.
The controversial music video in question features Logos Olori’s new song titled “Jayelo.”
The video, which was shot in a Mosque-like scene, depicted scenes where some men in white jalabiya were observing prayers.
After the prayers, the men switched to dancing as they recited some Quranic verses and prayed.
The artist, for his part, imitated the Muslim style of praying while perched on the roof of the building.
Many faithful Muslims had deemed the video offensive and had taken to social media to drag him down.
To them, prayer mats hold deep religious significance as they symbolize the sacred act of Salah, a divine connection with the Almighty. As such, any action that could be interpreted as disrespectful or mocking of this holy practice is considered highly offensive.
Some urged Davido to take the video down and apologize, while others expressed their concern over what they perceived as a desecration of sacred elements.
Davido finally bows to pressure and takes down a controversial music video
Following the massive backlash, Davido succumbed to pressure and took down the controversial video.
A check was made on his Twitter page, and I noticed the video had been deleted.
Davido also left a message on the importance of humility, which, he stated, opens doors.
“Humility opens doors”, he tweeted.
