Jaye Lo video: Wole Soyinka backs Davido as protest breaks out in northern Nigeria

Renowned Nigerian playwright and Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has come out in support of singer Davido, urging him not to apologize for the controversial video he posted on his social media pages.

The video in question showed a scene from his signee, Logos Olori’s music video ‘Jaye Lo,’ featuring people praying and dancing in front of a mosque. This sparked heavy criticism for the singer, with many Muslims demanding a public apology from him.

Despite eventually taking down the video due to the pressure, Davido has refused to issue an apology. This decision further fueled the demands from certain sections of the Muslim community, leading to public demonstrations in Maiduguri, where a group of Muslim youths burnt a large banner of the singer in protest.

However, in a statement released on Tuesday, Prof. Wole Soyinka asserted that Davido owes no apology to the Muslim community. He cited an instance where 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,” Soyinka stated. He expressed his strong disagreement with Shehu Sani, who reportedly demanded an apology from Davido on behalf of the Muslim community.

Furthermore, Prof. Soyinka emphasized that it was crucial to distinguish between Davido’s music video and the tragic incident that occurred in Sokoto last year. The incident involved the lynching of Deborah Yakubu, a second-year Christian college student, by a mob of Muslim students over alleged blasphemy.