On music in Nigeria

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THE confusion over whether certain music albums by some Nigerian artistes were banned or not should cause Nigerians to ponder about recent developments in the industry.

The Nigerian music industry is no doubt a great contributor to our Gross Domestic Product. It is booming and that is something to celebrate.

Most of the songs churned out by our young and wealthy musicians leave a sour taste in the mouth. They glorify fraud, s3xual deviance, hard drugs, gambling and other vices.  It is almost as if music is synonymous with criminality.

The songs give the impression that money is everything and that it is a crime to be poor. They also encourage the get-rich-quick syndrome.

Sadly, our youths not only think that these songs are cool, they have in fact memorised them. They also try as much as possible to copy the artistes’ hairstyles and manner of dressing.

If, as William Shakespeare said, music is the food of the soul, we had better be careful about the kind of music that our young ones  are exposed to.

We should not embrace music that will jeopardise our souls.

Of course, we are in modern times and so cannot avoid modern music.  But we can at least ensure that we patronise only those kinds of music that pass useful messages even while the beat may be fast.

On the other hand, the regulatory agencies need to be alive to their responsibilities.

They need to wield the big stick where necesary. They need to be proactive; they can hold sensitisation meetings with these artistes if necessary.

Written by: Oluwafunke Adebayo, Ibadan, Oyo State