Nigeria, Ghana and the Music Conflict

Recently, Davido, the Nigerian Afrobeats superstar, rewarded a Ghanaian fan, Ananzo, who was seen miming a song from Davido’s latest album 5ive, with $5000. The incident brought to mind the acumen of music superstars, whether from Nigeria or Ghana.

The gift is a show of intelligence because it plays down the feud between ordinary Ghanaians and Nigerians regarding which of the West African nations is musically superior. While this feud lasts, I have watched closely the opinions of the artists regarding the matter. Despite the fussing and fighting at the bottom, you never hear an artist, be they Burner Boy, Davido or Stoneboy, joining the argument –they stay mature. Instead, one hears them talking good of the nations. Burner Boy once said, “When I want quiet time, I prefer to go to Ghana because they have many such places.” But even Davido's gift of $5000 to Ananzo is just another demonstration of wisdom that should be seen from celebrities.  

At the peak of the international feud, some Ghanaian “influencers” did just the contrary, telling Ghanaian music fans that it amounts to stupidity for any Ghanaian fan to support Nigerian music when Nigerians aren’t supporting their own music. Their counterparts on the Nigerian side responded with a barrage of insults.

While the Nigerian response is condemnable, there is also the need to inform their Ghanaian counterparts on how music success works. At the level of nations, music success works like a relay race. Every country has its turn. At some point, it was the South Africans. At another, it was the Congolese. Now, it is the turn of the Nigerians. A Ghanaian turn will surely come.

I always ask Ghanaians whether their music receives rave reviews in every nation except Nigeria. If Ghanaian music is currently making waves around the world, except in Nigeria, then the Nigerians are truly acting in a way that can be considered malicious. If that is not the case, then those Ghanaians need to have a rethink.

The current Ghanaian President, John Mahama, once talked of how he stayed with his step-mum in Ofa, Nigeria, for a few years while fleeing political persecution from his country and how he has come to consider Nigeria his second home. Just imagine what goes through the mind of the President when he hears common people going for each other’s jugular over issues of superiority.  

While receiving former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the White House, the American President, George Bush, referred to Britain as the only country that is truly America’s friend. After hearing this, I started searching to see which country is truly Nigeria’s friend. There is none other than Ghana.

Mohbad: The Difficulty of a Guilty Verdict

Mohbad. Creit: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/

Everyone expects Naira Marley, the Nigerian Afrobeat sensation and CEO of Marlian Records, ending up on the gallows or at least spend the rest of his life or a greater part of it in jail.  This follows the sudden death of Mohbad, an artist signed to Marlian Records, a music recording label owned by Naira Marley. Mohbad died in a mysterious situation at a prime age of twenty seven.

By now, everyone knows Mohbad had reported that Marlian Records tried to end his life, following a visit he made to Naira Marley’s house. Months later, he died. Right now, the prime suspect is Marley and his close associates, one of which is a guy named Sam Larry.

The point now is that, when Mohbad died, there was no physical harm done to him –no gun shot, no stab, no gore... What is suspected is that he performed somewhere in Lagos where juju could have been used to end his life. But also, an ear infection is suspected. The law works only in the real world, but not in the realm of spirits. So, the possibility of juju as the cause of his death will definitely be thrown away. If however, the prosecution lawyer can prove that Marley is responsible for the ear infection or link Marley to other evidences that could come to the surface in the course of the investigation, then Marley would have to pay for it. 

Surprisingly, there are protests globally for justice –we never knew he was that famous. However, in death he became extremely famous. Another shocking part of his story is the fact that he has a song that talks about his death and the rumors in the aftermath.

Some media stations –radio and TV– have banned airing of Marley’s music, concluding that Naira Marley is responsible for Mohbad’s death. Among them are MTV Base and Sound City. I don’t expect that from huge organizations such as these. At most, they could have just kept quiet but prefer not to play the songs pending the outcome of the verdict that is sure to last for months, if not years.

Anyone can be responsible, assuming it is a case of killing in cold blood. It could be the Marlian Record team, but it could be someone totally unconnected to these guys. Sometimes, when you pronounce that someone is after your life, some other enemies could take advantage of the circumstance and strike, knowing the law wouldn’t look in their direction.  But it could be Marley and his team, using people who are close to the target to get him, using, perhaps, a biological weapon like an ear infection. But it could be a poison on a meal Mohbad was served. As a recording label, Marlian Records has a lot of money and could deploy that to search for advance approaches anywhere around the world.

Naira Marley understands the place of evidence in judicial processes. When he was arrested for saying that internet fraud is not really a crime, he was eventually released and went on to sing a song with a line that says, “Am I a Yahoo boy? No evidence.”   So, the prosecution has a tall mountain to climb in order to nail Marley as the man who ordered the killing of his former record company signee.