The NBC, in a memo dated April 9, 2025, declared the song “Not To Be Broadcast (NTBB)”, citing Section 3.1.8 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code which prohibits content deemed offensive.
Hip-hop veteran and activist Eedris Abdulkareem has criticized the Federal Government following the National Broadcasting Commission’s (NBC) ban on his latest single, Tell Your Papa.
In a memo dated April 9, 2025, NBC labeled the song “Not To Be Broadcast (NTBB)” under Section 3.1.8 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, citing offensiveness. The directive, signed by Susan Obi, NBC’s Coordinating Director of Broadcast Monitoring, was sent to all broadcast stations.
Abdulkareem responded sharply, calling the action “a clear sign of the Tinubu administration’s intolerance of dissent.”
“It’s obvious that in Nigeria, truth and constructive criticism is always deemed a big crime by the government,” he said.
He described Tell Your Papa as a reflection of “deepening hardship” and “unchecked government excesses.”
The artist, whose 2004 hit Jaga Jaga also faced censorship, added: “The conscience is an open wound—only the truth can heal it.”