Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has cautioned singer Davido against heeding advice from Professor Wole Soyinka, an atheist, who suggested that Davido should not apologize to offended Muslims over a controversial music video by one of his signees.
On July 22, Davido shared a snippet of the music video 'Jaye Lo' by his signee, Logos Olori, on Twitter, and it was met with criticism for allegedly disrespecting the Islamic religion. Northern youths protested and damaged banners featuring Davido's face. Actor Ali Nuhu and Buhari's ex-aide, Bashir Ahmad, also demanded an apology on social media.
Under the mounting pressure, Davido eventually deleted the music video snippet. In response, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka issued a statement defending Davido. He pointed out that others have made derogatory comments about Christianity without facing similar demands for apologies.
In reaction to Soyinka's comments, Reno expressed his disagreement on his Instagram page:
"It would be very unwise for Davido to take the counsel of an atheist like Professor Wole Soyinka, who is telling him he owes no apology to Muslims, over the video for the song jaye lo. This is a man who does not believe in God. How can he then know how people who believe in God feel?
Islam belongs to Muslims, who assert that they received it from God. It is not for an atheist or a Christian or any practitioner of another religion other than Islam to tell them how to feel when their faith is used in ways they disapprove of.
Is this not the same Professor Wole Soyinka who, just two weeks ago, on July 7, 2023, condemned the Emir of Ilorin for stopping an Osun priestess, Yeye Ajesikemi Omolara, from holding an Isese festival in Ilorin and demanded redress for Osun worshippers? So, why is he now against redress for Muslims?
Nigerians need to remember that this is the same Wole Soyinka who, on May 8, 2023, boasted that Peter Obi apologised to him in person over the attacks on his person by Obidients. Yet, he is here counselling Davido not to apologise to Muslims over a video they consider sacrilegious.
Christians have also previously taken offence with movies and music that, in our view, are sacrilegious about the person of our Lord and Saviour. These include the movies The First Temptation of Christ and The Last Temptation of Christ. We collectively boycotted these movies and demanded an apology and their recall. We were also upset when Mallam Nasir El-Rufai made a crude joke about our Lord and Saviour. How will we feel if a Muslim celebrity comes out to say we do not deserve any apology for those movies and jokes?
In Mark 12:31, our Lord told us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Muslims are our neighbours. They joined us in condemning El-Rufai when he made his crude Jesus joke. They united with us in asking him to apologise. Under pressure from both Christians and Muslims, El-Rufai apologised.
Deleting the offending video is a first step for which I commend Davido. Apologising will put the matter to an end and assuage the hurt feelings of Muslims.
An elder should be known for putting out fires, not for adding fuel to flames.