By JOSUHA OLOMU

Praise-singing in Nigeria’s political space has evolved from traditional hyping and local drumming into a highly commercialised enterprise involving professional singers and music bands.

In the past, conventional praise-singing in politics has always relied on traditional-leaning praise acts, including performances by ‘Fuji’ or Jùjú artistes and Hausa folk idioms.

Artistes praise-sing with psychological theatrics to sway public support and elevate political figures.

Singers in northern Nigeria are also known to use satire and ‘Zambo’, sharp, witty, or mocking verses, to attack political rivals and shape voter perceptions.

Traveling troupes also compose lyrical odes praising candidates or critiquing opponents during election cycles, functioning as vital instruments for voter mobilisation.

However, with the emergence of social media platforms, Nigerian artistes are now transforming political praise-singing into a commercial and cultural industry known as “politainment,” where catchy tunes and live performances are used to amplify and showcase activities of politicians.

Although music has always been intertwined with political campaigns in Nigeria, the growing trend of “politainment” has seen musicians playing more prominent roles in lending vibes to political rallies nationwide, turning campaign grounds into concert arenas.

Beside political campaigns, where singers use their popularity to sway electorate sentiment, politicians increasingly employed artistes for image laundering and or vilification of oppositions.

Modern political campaigns now increasingly blend political messaging with viral Afrobeats and hip-hop rhythms to target younger demographics online.

In recent times, popular political praise singers and musicians in Nigeria span different cultural regions, performing campaign tunes, rally anthems, and personalised tracks for political actors.

Some of them include the Alheri Group, a prominent northern musical group, Singer Dauda Kahutu, popularly known as “Rarara,” Mamman Shara and Fuji veteran King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1).

Others include Wasiu Alabi Pasuma and Saheed Osupa, popular Fuji artistes who have historically recorded political campaign songs and endorsed or performed for prominent office-seekers.

Although not full-time praise singers, mainstream stars like Wizkid, Davido and others have actively gone on campaign trails and recorded public endorsements for family members or allied political candidates.

In the fourth republic, a former Enugu State governor, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, deployed the Ebeano Band Boys to market his programmes and canvass for his second term in office.

Mrs Oby Nwofor sang the iconic ‘Ochichi ka kwa mma’, na-onye odolu-anya’ (leadership is better with those with capacity), and the band continued to render the song in praise and exultation of Nnamani.

In Zamfara State, Prince Mk Baagi made a name through the song, Sun kira ruwa, ya nzu ga ruwa anata dukansu through which he praised Gov. Dauda Lawal’s efforts in defying insecurity to provide development in the state.

Meanwhile, many Nigerian artistes who embraced political praise-singing , especially in recent years, have become very popular and financially successful.

The most prominent example of a musician who became massively popular specifically by singing the praises of politicians is “Rarara”.

He gained immense popularity and influence in Northern Nigeria by composing dedicated praise and campaign tracks for major political figures, most notably former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu.

Others include Oluwabamidele Adeeko, popularly known as Sensational Bamidele, a highlife artiste and leader of the popular Wike Band.

The Port Harcourt-based gospel singer and his live band became widely known for performing at public events, project commissioning ceremonies, and political gatherings during Nyesom Wike’s tenure as Rivers State governor.

Wike, now FCT minister, has often been associated with viral videos featuring live bands, political allies, and supporters singing praises, often led by Sensational Bamidele and his team.

Some of the band’s hits include “As e dey pain dem, e go dey sweet us”, “Wike na bigi man”, and “Wike pepper them”.

The band gained widespread attention recently when it got a public promise of pay rise from the FCT minister during the commissioning of a road project executed by a Chinese construction firm in Abuja.

In a viral video, the lead singer humorously delivered a mimicked performance in “Chinese” during the commissioning of the project, and an elated Wike promised them a pay rise for doing their job well.

However, the political praise-sing trend has frequently sparked fierce national debates over artist morality and societal accountability, with opinions clashing over whether musicians should promote politicians or demand better governance from them.

Some public commentators and entertainment industry stakeholders who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, said political praise singing by popular Nigerian artistes was a distraction from critical national issues.

According to them, the trend and the thrills that come with it often make artistes and citizens settle for short-term financial gains and excitement rather than demanding long-term systemic change..

Mr Emmanuel Luka, a cleric and good leadership advocate, said voters who dance to good music during elections often get blindfolded to issue-based campaigns.

“The culture is bad because it numbs public consciousness and lowers expectations of leadership because many people, especially the GenZ,will see elections as entertainment,” he said.

A human right activist, Dauda Ibrahim said ;” Politicians don’t rate their praise singers much because they know they are looking for what to eat .They fear and respect critics more”.

MC Mike,an Abuja based songwriter and showbiz promoter flayed professional singers who were using their craft to promote political leaders and their programmes.

“Fans will always lose respect for talented artistes who use their platform to whitewash the failures of political officeholders just to make money.

“True leadership doesn’t need drummers. Music performances will only bring temporary enjoyment and happiness to people,” he said

However, an Abuja-based singer, who merely identified himself as Richie, said there was nothing wrong if anybody, including political leaders, choose to employ the services of a musician as long as he is paying for it.

The singer is into business, so if he is being paid for doing praise-singing or political campaigns, I don’t see anything wrong with it.

“Personally I will accept such offer and use the money to pay my bills, help my family and even others,”he said. (NAN)