Rabat – American Nigerian singer David Adedeji Adeleke Oon, known by his stage name Davido, sparked outrage among the Muslim community in Nigeria for a promotional music video deemed insulting to Islam and Muslims.
The trailer video shows a group of men wearing traditional clothes as they were praying in a mosque-like venue.
Seconds after, the same men are seen dancing and singing.
The video sparked outrage, but also divided opinions between the artist’s fans and those who opposed the use of religion and religious imagery in his music video.
Former President Muhammad Buhari’s aide Bashir Ahmed was one of the commentators angry with Davido’s song, describing it as “hurtful” and “disrespectful.”
“There are many reasons why every Muslim finds this content absolutely disrespectful, hurtful, and offensive @davido. I assume you all know that we Muslims don’t mix our religion with jokes in any way, especially Salah (prayer), which is sacred and the second of the five pillars or Islam,” he said.
Many Muslims joined Bashir in condemning Davido’s decision to use Muslim prayer in his music video.
A Twitter user stressed that Muslims will “never tolerate such disrespects,” adding that Islam “teaches us how to respect each other’s religion.”
“[Either Davido comes out and apologizes] or we will forever be waiting for his foot here in the North,” they wrote.
Others, however, have publicly expressed support for Davido, saying that there is “nothing wrong with his music video.”
“With all due respect to We Muslims, Islam & Yoruba Muslims, I see absolutely nothing wrong with the music video of Davido signee, Logos Olori. The song “Jaye Ola,” didn’t use any negative words against the religion, thus, I think the attãck on Gov Adeleke & Davido is misplaced,” one Twitter user expressed.
Nigeria has a population of over 230 million people. The population is nearly evenly split between Muslims and Christians. Around 50% of the population are Muslims, while Christians account for 46% of the total population.
