By: Ayobami Owolabi
ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – Veteran rapper Eedris Abdulkareem has alleged that he was offered a massive bribe to continue criticising the current administration — an offer he says he firmly rejected.
In a video shared on social media on Friday, the outspoken rapper said someone claiming to be a senator reached out to him with a proposition to back his activism and viral protest track Tell Your Papa.
“So I got a call from one criminal who claimed to be a honourable; he didn’t even allow me to hear his name. After claiming to be a honourable, at the end of the call when I asked him what his name was, he claimed to be a senator,” he said.
According to Abdulkareem, the caller claimed he had attended a meeting with Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu, and some government officials.
“He told me that he was in a meeting yesterday with Seyi (a son to President Bola Tinubu), and some government officials. He said, ‘They are going to call you and bribe you, don’t listen to them, we are going to be sponsoring you underground’. I then asked him, ‘who told you that I need anything’?”
He added that the caller promised him N200 million to ignore any future offers from government officials.
“Immediately I heard his voice, I knew he was sent by them. So, I told him I was not interested. He said, ‘We will give you N200m, don’t even listen to them’. So, I asked him, the video I shot, was it you who sponsored me underground? You guys should go and rest somewhere, I am not interested. Thieves, may God punish all of you. It’s me that you guys want to record for caricature; you people are insane. I have prepared for you people a long time ago,” he declared.
The controversial song Tell Your Papa was recently banned by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on Thursday, April 10.
However, the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN) criticised the move, arguing that it may end up amplifying the message.
In a separate reaction, Media Rights Agenda also slammed the ban. Its Programme Officer, Ayomide Eweje, described the NBC’s action as a “blatant abuse of regulatory power,” accusing the commission of acting more like a propaganda tool than an independent media regulator.
