-Jesse Voyamba
In response to mounting pressure from Muslim critics, popular Nigerian afrobeats star, David Adeleke, known as Davido, has taken a decisive step by removing the controversial music video of his single, Logos Olori, from his social media platforms.
The 45-second excerpt of Logos Olori’s upcoming song, ‘Jaye Lo,’ was initially shared by Davido on Friday through his Instagram handle as part of the campaign for the song’s official release.
However, the video’s content sparked a wave of controversy, drawing sharp criticism from numerous Muslims, including former aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, Kannywood actor, Ali Nuhu, and other popular Northern artists, who expressed their dissatisfaction with the music superstar.
The controversial scene depicted some men dressed as praying mallams dancing in front of a mosque instead of praying. This act has been deemed offensive by some Muslim devotees.
While many of Davido’s fans defended him, many Muslims considered the video offensive to their religion and requested that it be taken down.
Following the public outcry, the video has now been removed from Davido’s social media pages, including Twitter and Instagram.
Reacting to the development, former President Muhammadu Buhari’s aide, Bashir Ahmad, commended the singer for removing the video and hoped that the offensive scene would also be deleted from the actual footage before its official release.
However, some Muslim faithful are still not satisfied with the removal of the video; they are demanding an unreserved apology from Davido. One Twitter user urged Davido to apologize to Muslims on video and publish it in two national dailies, pledging not to repeat such mistakes in the future.
Amidst the ongoing controversy, some have even decided to cancel Davido, urging fellow Muslims to delete anything related to the afrobeats singer from their phones.
It remains to be seen whether Davido will issue an apology to the Muslim community to address the situation.
