Protest and Activism in Selected Nigerian Songs

Abstract

Music is an integral part of any society. In Africa, music accompanies almost every event irrespective of its nature. It has also been used as a means of documentation of a people or society’s activity. This research examines the roles of musical artistes who use their songs as a tool for protest and activism against the government. This study is anchored on the theory of relative derivation, which is defined as the perceived lack of resources required to maintain quality life in a society (Longley 2022). This research studied four songs namely: Light up Naija (2010) by Sound Sultan, ‘Monsters you made’ by Burna boy and ‘Jaga jaga reloaded’ by Eedris Abdulkareem. These artistes through their songs decried the social, economic and political problems still prevalent in the society. They sided with the masses, which they are a part of, by protesting and demanding for good governance. They also urge the people to ‘rise up’ as this is the only way they can be heard and not be suppressed. Despite protesting, these artistes also provided solutions to the problem faced by Nigerians. This study concludes that music has been successfully conditioned to feature as a tool of protest and the artiste can take up the role of an activist at any time.

Keywords: Protest, Music, Activism, Nigerian Government, Music Activism.