TIME FOR LAGBAJA TO BREAK OUT OF HIS APOLITICAL STANZ AND SING CRITICAL SONGS ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SITUATIONS IN NIGERIA………. Saint Jherico
LAGBAJA CRIES OUT, MY LIFE AND FAMILY IS IN DANGER ……… Emir Smith
The democratic experiment in Nigeria since 1999 has ebulliently validated the position of the legendary late Afro-beat musician, Fela Anikulapo Kuti that “democracy is demonstration of crazy and crazy demonstration”. Electoral campaigns particularly for gubernatorial and presidential candidates are always characterized by crude and base praise singing by chalartans of different hues and status from the academics, to clergymen, traditional leaders, professionals and of-course, the soulless youth and students without raising any thoroughfare campaign issues. The most banal of these ilk are itinerant musicians, in the past, Wasiu Ayinde, (KWAM-1), Pasuma, Saheed Osupa, Tu-face, Obesere….. essentially following the footsteps of the likes of late Barrister, Shina Peters, Salauwa Abeni etc but the audacious stand of the masked musician, Lagbaja who rejected the entreaties of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP Osun State to perform at the campaign rally of its Governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore as expected has been stirring a number hornet nest.
Days after the masked one, Lagbaja rejected the offer to perform at the grand finale of the Osun PDP Governorship election campaign held at Osogbo which was also used to host the President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, friends and associates of the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University graduate turned musician has cried out that their musical shrine is being harassed by a motley of indescribable elements of suspicious characters.Investigations revealed that, “The Motherland” has received too many august visitors in the last one week from the Department of State Security Service (SSS) and Armed Mobile Policemen on the instructions from order from above, they have continuously lay siege for Lagbaja and after a futile attempt to get him to perform for the Osun PDP which is the party that produced the Presidency in charge of the Federal Government, has resorted to harassment and molestation of staffers of his company.
Lagbaja who spoke from the UK said he has been away from Nigeria in the last 41 days owing to performance he had in London and Canada. That he has received threats to his life to either debunk the story published by some major newspapers in the country or face the music.
It is clear the subtle threats and intimidation at the Motherland started hours later after his conversation with his friend of over 15 years who is a close ally of the President, that the PDP National Secretariat have also promised to double his remuneration if he returned home from UK to perform and honour Mr. President in Osun State. The PDP believe his performance will further weaken the notion and belief of the residents of Osun that Omisore killed Bola Ige. He appealed to Nigerians to keep praying for him as he stands for Justice.
Lagbaja bold rejection of the Osun PDP offer and seeming indictment of Senator Omisore that he would not be at peace with his conscience to perform for a person who along with his associates like the current Minister of State for Police Affairs, Adesiyan were cleared by court of law of culpability in the death of one greatest icon of cerebral and principled politics in Nigeria and the then subsisting Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Late, Chief Bola Ige who happens to also be a mentor to the musician, yet, the same Federal Government has never found any one culpable of the gruesome murder. Obviously, the musician, Lagbaja seems to be echoing the apprehension of most Nigerians that Bola Ige was not killed by ghosts or un-identified flying objects (UFO) as some people want the country to believe.
Our interactions with the people believe that the Musician has the right to accept or reject any offer for performance by group of persons and should not be subjected to any form of coercion. The travails of Lagbaja however, only goes to show that most artistes and musicians at such political campaign rallies are are always invited not to add meaningful values to the needs of the people but to serve as tools to harness fascist storm troopers for the parties. Music and its listeners in these rallies play the same trite and failed roles that such elements did for Adolf Hitler. At the end of the rallies the scallywags of society are mobilized not only with funds but arms and ammunitions to unleash terror on the electorates and perceived opponents. Cross section of people condemned the attacks on Lagbaja Motherlan opining that it is consistent with the emerging trends of violence, terror, militarization of society during elections in Nigeria and all men of good conscience nationally and globally should rise up to condemn this trend.
An artiste in the music industry avers that the performance would have brought down the repute of Lagbaja as an international musician, more-so at a point when he has just started singing social songs with his recently released “Mumu” which it is believed, he should improved upon until he attains the status of Bob Marley, Lucky Dube, Fela Anikulapo.
