It would be very unwise for Davido to take counsel of 'atheist' Prof Soyinka - Omokri

Former Presidential aide, Reno Omokri has slammed Professor Wole Soyinka over his statement which advised singer, Davido not to apologise for his 'Jaye Lo' video which has sparked reactions among the Muslim worshippers.

Recall that Davido shared a music video of his signee, Logos Oloro, with the title 'Jaye Lo'. The music video had scenes of some people dressed as Muslims and dancing in front of a Mosque.

This led to a controversy among many Muslims, many of whom condemned Davido for releasing such a video which they find offensive to Muslims.

Several complaints led to the singer, deleting the video after several threats from the Muslims in some states to boycott Davido's music began to circulate.

Reacting to the development, Professor Wole Soyinka in an article noted that the controversial video was not provocative and does not require any apology.

He said, "Dancing in front of a mosque cannot therefore, on its own, be read as an act of provocation or offence but as affirmation of the unified sensibility of the spiritual in human. Let us learn to read it that way. Those who persist in taking offence to bed and serving it up as breakfast should exercise their right of boycotting Davido’s products – no one quarrels with that right. However, it is not a cause for negative and incitive excitation.

No apology is required, none should be offered. Let us stop battening down our heads in the mush of contrived contrition – we know where contrition, apology and restitution remain clamorous in the cause of closure and above all – justice. Such apologies have not been forthcoming. In their place, we have the ascendancy of petulant censorship in the dance and music department. Just where will it end?"

However, taking to his Twitter page, Reno Omokri on his part disagreed with Soyinka as he described him as an atheist.

He said;

"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 the Muslim Ummah.

An elder should be known for putting out fires, not for adding fuel to flames. We need peaceful religious coexistence in Nigeria. We do not need religious rivalry.

#TableShaker"