‘Make conscious music’ – Eedris Abdulkareem advises Nigerian singers

Veteran Nigerian singer, Eedris Abdulkareem, recently shared his thoughts on the present wave of Nigerian musicians.

He feels that the younger artists are only taking advantage of the hard work of their predecessors for their own financial advantage.

Eedris Abdulkareem stressed in a recent interview with SRTV that singers should value substance above superficiality and use their platforms to highlight important societal issues rather than only promoting lighthearted entertainment.

His worries are a result of his observation that today’s musicians are largely concerned with benefiting from the hard work and legacy of established performers such as himself, rather than making a positive impact.

According to Eedris Abdulkareem, this egocentric strategy ignores the accountability that accompanies their influence.

The “Jaga Jaga” crooner emphasised that the younger generation of singers is blind in their pursuit of self-interest since they don’t think about how their decisions will affect their extended family.

He emphasised to them that although they might be able to flee the nation during emergencies, their loved ones might not be as fortunate.

In his words:

“The younger generation of [Nigerian] musicians are not ready.

“They are just there to capitalise on what we worked for and make money for themselves. They are very selfish people.

“They feel they and their family have Visas to flee the country if crisis arises but they should remember that their extended family members don’t have Visas.

“They will all die here. So, don’t be selfish. Use your music to talk about ills in the society as much as you are using your music to promote frivolities.”