Rueben Abati shot himself in the foot,got lazy. making typos , lazy journalism,throwing half baked accusations,painting everyone with the same brush.
(By the way,Naija's media is rubbish,by the way you can tell the junk you will get by the screaming headlines,the rest is hearsay,plagarism and half truths, dont read the papers anymore,waste of money and time)
Anyway Banky gave it back to him right on, was too lazy to read the long letters sha

Paragraph 1: He talks about the abbreviations the “youth” use.Rueben should know that language is not static it is dynamic.
It changes every day and with every generation.
According to the Cambridge handbook of sociocultural  , language is alive and constantly moving about. Language does not solely change through imports from other languages,it also transforms itself from within.
Whole books have been written about the dynamic nature of language, I did read it in my second year in Uni,Mr Abati should know better

Paragraph 3, he talks about about the non meaning of today’s sound, and compared it to the sounds of Nigeria in the 70’s to 80’s.One point I would like to note is that, most songs that he said were meaningful  sound like most commercial jargons that are heard these days…it was sex,and love that sold then, and it still sells now.They are only good for a while but can’t stand the test of time,but take songs of Bob Marley,Bongos Igwe,Victor Uwaifo,I still listen to them till this day, because they are original, they were written by good song writers and the words sounded more often than not like poetry,
A good song transcends generations.
Thirdly he rambled about the dress sense of the hip hop generation.In the 60’s we had the suits and the horn rims and the ball gowns for women, the 20’s we had the flapper gowns and the trench coats and slouch hats.
The 70’s we had the bell bottoms and the tight shirts and we had the fro and short skirts and platforms.
The 80’s was the era of the padded shirts, the Mohawk  and the punk look, the 90’s we had the G funk look, the baggy jeans and plaid shirts and ,the 20000’s we have shorts, the tight shirts and the saggy jeans.
Fashion like music changes…face it it is a fact of life,if you cant accept change, you are better off jumping off the planet.
Rueben Abati,the problem is not with the Nigerian youth, the problem is with you.A whole generation is doing its own thing in its own language and in its own way, and you want it to be a way you understand,
Accept the truth, change is constant, and it is happening every minute
I

that piece pieces wasn't written by Reuben Abati, forgive the print!

shame 2 reuben abati and his generation,they can provide good road,electricity,job,security and cant conduct election in 63 wards. woe onto u all.

Why do Nigeria even need a Revolution? Lately, I have eloquently engaged people on different fora over my musings on the possibility of the Nigerian revolution, and I have finally come to terms with the fact that there will be no revolution in Nigeria. But what else could be required of a nation where one must bribe a worker before he performs the duty he was employed for? What is required of a nation where there is no respect for civil rights, just as there is no respect for our fellow human beings and their freedom of speech? no Democracy, no development. A people who cannot be convinced that those with different social and sexual orientation have a right and dignity to be different and alive, how then do you begin to tell them that they deserve socio-political freedom? A people embedded in 'Up NEPA' mentality, jumping in euphoria when the least of their basic amenity as a citizen is given to them.

Nigeria is surely overdue for a purge, the problem is that Nigerians themselves are too corrupt; they are either too fat to be bothered, or too skinny to lift a plume, and above all, too cowardly to ignite a revolution. If our indocility could not make brave ones like Fela or Soyinka, or even Ribadu take us safely to the promise land, is it our generation filled with a bunch of big-mouthed Philistines that will provide such hero? The revolution i dreamt about is not absolutely about a thirst for blood on the land, but what other DRAMATIC CHANGE will forcibly overthrow, not only to establish a new political system but to transform and re-orientate an entirely corrupt society and social order in favour of a new system that will replace the status quo?

We are SICK and TIRED.

No revolution in a SICK and TIRED nation; Sick Youth with Tired elders,
For the Abatis* and the Bankys*, please do the equation with me. A bunch of self deluded Youth + Disillusioned adults = No space for revolution. 'For record purpose', this piece is might as well be considered as my rejoinder to the article 'A Nation's Identity Crisis' by Reuben Abati in the The Guardian on Sunday, June 21, 2009 and Banky W's response on his blog, June 22, 2009.

I was alerted by a well respected brother about the existence of this article, with all exuberance and eagerness to finally discover the Reuben Abati that my ears are filled with, I read the article over dinner and realised it wasn't an article really worth losing sleep over. It only showed how Nigerians love to reminisce about a synthetic day of yore. I have no patience for that these days. If I want to be generous, I will say 90 percent of our so-called elite elders are a waste of space, a storm in a tea cup. I don't bother with tea cups. If more people, even if they were writers wrote well, and I mean well and not terribly, then we would have something to talk about, so on that note i said goodnight to myself in my cosy hotel room.

The greatest shock came when I realised how much uproar this article has caused amongst the Bankys* of our time, who crept on this article until it became pandemic all over the search engines. I asked myself, is it really worth the energy? but my question came too late, this phenomenon has already taken over Google itself, but to me these debates are really writ-large beer parlour conversations. Since my public banter with Chude Jideonwo of the Future Awards, I have noticed that many of my generation rarely comment on substantive topics that demand actual thinking, because many are incapable of such thought patterns and processes - for quick confirmation, go take a look at an article titled "’BANJ & HIS LIFE OF INFIDELITY", on facebook alone there are 280 comments on it - The pint is not that we are not intelligent, The disaster however is that we just don't think. A thoughtless statement like this article that began by eulogising a colonial heritage and looking for the lost 'eria' in 'naija', will make us pile up like area boys that had just sighted a goods container driving into their territory. Yet, these are our so-called educated class. Give me a break, /Sigh/. What kind of revolution are we waiting for?

The Power of culture.

There will be no revolution in a nation oblivious of the Power of culture,

There will be no revolution in a nation whose inner spirit is not embedded in her cultural values, her inability to understand and appreciate her beliefs and values will lift no feather, to apply them humanly to our daily lives, and to explore the human experience in all its richness. There will be no revolution until our so called elders in high places begin to teach ordinary people that art is valuable, that its not something that the rich have in their own worlds, and that access to the arts it the secret to a high quality and satisfying life, that the human life and the distinctive human potential is empty without these values and virtues.

Standards and values are an integral part of any culture; hence, culture is the bedrock supporting every development, it is a tool for emancipation and holds true for equal rights, responsibility for future generations, freedom of speech, and democracy. Our cultural heritage is generally associated with archives, works of art and monuments. In times of need, music, writings and other works of art can be a beacon of hope and comfort. Monuments and art treasures make a shared past visible and thus strengthen our need for a better future.

Through access to the arts we learn to make choices, learn to criticise, to discriminate between the meritorious and the meretricious, between good and evil. Through them we determine which endeavours are worthy of our best efforts, and ultimately we learn to know ourselves, our humanity socially, culturally as well as individually. In the absence of the knowledge behind the power of culture, there will be no such thing as development or revolution.

However, how much grounds has been in place for A culturally deprived generation such as ours? with no poetry, no theatre, no museum, no art, in short no culture. How much respect does an elder generation earns from the younger, when it refuses to make available its shoulders for the attainment of Babylon, they jealously hold on to the baton, willing to release it only to their children and the children of their rich friends, even when they are not qualified.

So if what we cherish is the money making nation of mediocre standards, isn't it so easy? already the Bankys* of our generation are fulfilling the book with their bad odour music, all in the name of 'commercial strategy', and as long as we the people are stupid enough, not to be able to figure out how much of an apparatus we are to their marketing gimmicks, there will be no freaking revolution. So let's collectively turn our monuments and art treasures into massive beer parlours, and franchise sections of them to some big boys, who are ever willing to love-vendor them into five star discotheques and private parks. Perhaps then we can finally create monumental versions of SWE bar or KOKO lounge crowded with more Abatis* and Bankys*, sparring and ranting over bottles of Gulder, and creating more social talks for our blogs and talk about on our social networks.

Come to think of it, in a nation peopled by a mass oblivious of the power of their own culture, of what importance is there in keeping the National museum then? what is there to preserve in our National theatre? of what use are the numerous art councils and indigenous cultural centres that litters the whole nation? Visit these dust bins that harbours our supposed cultural heritage to see what our heritage and history has been reduced to, then you will understand how much we have mixed up sentiments for patriotism.

MY PEOPLE NO DEY FEAR !
Fela sang, 'My people sef dey fear too much, we fear for the things we no see, ' Well, that was his generation, in this new media era 'we no even fear for the things wey we dey see everyday,' if not ASA will not be compelled to declare that 'there is fire on the mountain and nobody seems to be on the run, '

Noise is an assemblage of unpleasant and discorded voices, it will never turn into a revolutionary voice. Maybe our problem now is even too much information, we are over informed, we grew up hearing our parents ranting over it, our Profs in school teach about this long awaiting revolution, we see it for ourselves on TV; we live with this need for CHANGE on our streets and neighbourhood. Every newspaper talks about it, placards and bill boards advertise it. Most of all, when we log-on to our online tatafo social networks, we are bombarded with status update, notes and articles, our lovers yet bother our eardrums with revolutionary talks, even at comedy shows we laugh about it. Maybe that's why it eventually became a social talk. Our social life is filled with cheap talks about CHANGE that it begin to sound like Zenith Bank advert on CNN -normal thing- it only makes much sense in the first instance, and not when it is over-flogged.

With all these anti-change symptoms living closely with us, we shall continue to walk about with our heads tuck in between our chests. We shall continue to sanctify all the vanity fairs and lies we are fed with everyday, so we can continue to smile and go to our churches and mosques; to give the complete authority of our lives to some clever ones behind closed doors to legislate, and we shall continue to try to make sense of our sufferings and there will be no freaking revolution.

* The use of Abatis and Bankys in this article, does not signify a particular person or an entire generation, but a term i figured exclusively for the representation of a particular sect of two distinct generations in this article.



Qudus ONIKEKU
Yk Projects
www.qudus..com
www.ykprojects.com
+234 8055 276 317

@Krayola, thank you for your response.

I told you that the public never had access to Fela's materials while he was alive, it was seriously monitored because of copy right issue.

But now do you the only music that our new artiste produced that is reasonable are the ones for adverts for telecom firms.

Please please this is not a generational issue, it is a case of excesses, even the black american use music to liberate themselves from oppression, let our artiste set the pace of liberation for their people. Let them no project obscenities and claim they live decently.



I have no case with Fela , he is long gone and we can choose what we want from him.

Presently our TV stations and radio stations are filled with this kind of music, it is as a result of the failure of governemnt that these genres have flourished , if there was standard things may have not gone this bad.

Even americans got content control labelled during the Rock and Roll era.

ALL WE ARE SAYING IS BALANCE should come into place.

I remain ignorant pal

akinnaija:

But now do you the only music that our new artiste produced that is reasonable are the ones for adverts for telecom firms.

That is not true.

akinnaija:

Please please this is not a generational issue, it is a case of excesses,  even the black american use music to liberate themselves from oppression, let our artiste set the pace of liberation for their people. Let them no project obscenities and claim they live decently.

They make what sells. They have tried that (e.g 2face, eldee . . i go yarn etc) before and it got them no where. I think it is clear that people like the music they make now. Why blame the artiste for people's tastes?

akinnaija:
Presently our TV stations  and radio stations are filled with this kind of music, it is as a result of the failure of governemnt that these genres have flourished , if there was standard things may have not gone this bad.

What standards. Your standards are not shared by everybody. How should we decide whose standards to go by?

akinnaija:


ALL WE ARE SAYING IS BALANCE should come into place.

I agree with you. . .But the Public has to support them when they make conscious music, and that is yet to happen. The artistes are trying to make the best out of their situation. who wouldn't?

@akinnaij , Thank God U brought d role of govt in1 dix. What do u think DJ ZEEZ will b doin if he cant do music? where do U tink he's gon get money 2 buy dat Bad Cadillac ride if he dint drop 04 Ka sibe? Point is, leav dis guys alone & let dem get food on deir table d best way dey can, let govt work on improvin d dividends of education so d young 1s can decide where d best fit in and not lured in2 entertainment wen d see d likes of D'banj countin d milloins while deir graduate science uncles still carry deir certs up and down lukin 4 jobs afta 7yrs of graduation. yes we might argue dat som musics are trash in 9ja but so it is in other parts of the world includin d US and mind u, its not just in Hip-Hop so it also exist in other music genre, PLZ don't put any blame on Hip-HOP or my 9ja boys dropin d joints 4 d streets and d clubs, variety is d spice of life so they say so give me my Mode 9 & Common, den giv me Ruggedman & Lil' Wayne, giv me d whole of R. Kelly (Gosple/Bad Man Of R&B, giv me 9ice & Asa, giv me etc, and i gon choose wcheva suite my wateva mood

As this issue has been over flogged and so many comments made, I crave your indulgence if anybody has dealt with one of the main concerns that the "brilliant" Reuben Abati has. This is the issue of the name "Nigeria" and the various derivations that have emerged from it. I do not see this as a problem as the Americans call themselves Yanks or Yankees, Australia is also called OZ and the people called Aussies, New Zealanders call themselves the kiwis South Africans refer to their country as Azania or Seffrica, in Scotland, they call themselves Caledonians, the British call themselves Brits, the list is endless. Abi na lie?

I think Reuben has passed his "sell by date" and should just shut up and confine himself to the dark annals of history. The man does not have a clue and should let the young grow. Change is inevitable and as long as it is positive, Mr. Abati should learn to live with it. Period.

akinnaija:
sorry I had to continue no thanks to PHCN, juice finished on my other laptop, hence I conclude here @FBS , am glad you took time out to respond to my ignorantly typed text. I appreciate some of your point and I must say I learnt one or two things. Thank you. Now I must tell you that, you please understand my point, I only have one single motive in putting up this write up and if I have a national or broader platform to comment I do do the same, which is our artiste have got great power to set us free from the situation we are at the moment and they should think of the greater good of all as against the personal ambition. My point is that they should prick the hearts of the young to stand up for a better Naija not the one of frivolities. I am in Nigeria and in my early 30s , schooled in Unilag comfortable in Abuja. I know what am talking about. I was in Unilag when this whole entertainment revolution started when I was in Unilag, TA , Behind, Teju,IK, Eldee n co, etc were also on campus can you imagine if DJ Azeez sings a song dat informs his fans on the importance of education, he will gain much more than money and fame that ofokasibe begets, I have been to extensive northern corners of this nations and I see boys who can't even write or spell their names singing ofokasibe(funny though) but it shows you the power music has. Please muse the minds towards greater good, the power is in your hands now Naija artiste do what our fathers have failed to do for decades with this great instrument in your hands. Money and fame will fade but influence on lives will remain a legacy. Is any of you guys in Abuja, why don't we arrange an under the tree discussion where we look at issue objectively not on this forum where we try to flaunt our intellectual prowess. Thank you , remember, I am ignorant

@akinnaija i'v read your post and i understand where u are coming from but the point FBS is trying to make which i concur with is that u can't paint all modern naija hip-hop as being too commercial or lacking substance. From your write up u want our artists to be more responsible with their lyrics since they influence so many young people right? but like someone said these artists have to eat so their main objectives is to make commercially viable songs that may not necessarily be deep. i think u are shifting the crucial responsibility of training/raising our youth from parents, teachers etc unto that of our artist. if parents do their job more often than not no child would be influenced negatively by bad songs or controversial musician e.g i and a great number of my generation like fela's music do we all smoke igbo? no! and lets be honest alot of young people from generation to generation prefer music/songs that appeal to instant gratification e.g sex, money flashiness etc the difference being in the level of explicitness and unfortunately our generation has gone over the top in that aspect. in your previous post u highlighted 9ice's lyrics well as meaningless as they might seem u have to appreciate that an artist can't compose songs divorced from his psychological/emotional state. if u r feeling happy its unlikely u will write a sad song. so 9ice's lyrics might be materialistic and ghettoish but thats the point he is in his life right now. how long has he been in the hip-hop game? lets still give him the benefit of time. MJ that we are all paying tribute to sang some party tracks that didn't make much sense(thriller, bad, beat it) but with time got more socially conscious with his songs. if u listened to some of tupacs songs one would think he was only just a misogynist and gangster but listen to 'dear mama' and u'll realise this is a deep brother. so in conclusion i think naija hip-hop as imperfect as it is should be cut some slack. yes critize/correct CONSTRUCTIVELY and not just blame all of our youth problems on hip-hop.

My 2 kobos

[center]We hold no pretensions
Only Jah hold us to attention
The Naija identity
The new reality[/center]

[email]Bros and Sis, I will pretend to be reuben Abati, and I want to use this medium to apologize! I goofed, Really I gooofed, next time I will be do my research well before talking, and Banky W, thanks for correcting me with patience, the same we should do for an erring father, and Eldee you no try oh, Make sure say you too no goof Oh, You no say I dey media,

r.abati:

[email]Bros and Sis, I will pretend to be reuben Abati, and I want to use this medium to apologize! I goofed, Really I gooofed, next time I will be do my research well before talking, and Banky W, thanks for correcting me with patience, the same we should do for an erring father, and Eldee you no try oh, Make sure say you too no goof Oh, You no say I dey media,

if ure reuben Abati then am sorry but that looks cowardly!!!
accept ur mistakes and say soryy

Hi all,
You can find my view on this issue on my blog. http://defatigue..com/2009/06/dr-reuben-abati-vs-nigerian-youths.html. Cheers.
Rule Number 1: Do no evil, see no evil.

Opinions are like butt holes, everybody has one. Before you expose yours, ensure it's "clean".

I love (good) entertainment, however, I think that many 9ja artistes were probably "driven" to the business more by hunger than actual talents. Watching them on screen most times, i just get ashamed on their behalf. But, that's for the 9ja entertainers.

As for Mr Abati, isn't he the same fella that features (well, used to feature, cos I don't watch anymore) on Patitos' Gang? Hmmn! Ain't he 'posed to be some kinda intellectual, alongside with P. Utomi, who, btw, has been filling my facebook with a whole lotta B.S?!

I think 9ja's issues are hydra-headed, More reason why that old man (Awolowo, R.I.P tho) should NOT have blocked our (BIAFRA) shipments of supplies during that war, *reminiscing, bitterly*

defatigue:

Hi all,
You can find my view on this issue on my blog. http://defatigue..com/2009/06/dr-reuben-abati-vs-nigerian-youths.html. Cheers.
Rule Number 1: Do no evil, see no evil.

if its that important post it and dont tell us to go to your blog

find the reply rooftop Mc's posted to reuben abati, a copy was sent to gaurdian, let watch if they would publish it


MR. RUEBEN ABATI, YOU ARE WRONG … SIR!Share
Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 10:26pm


I heard sir, about your ‘infamous’ write-up which naturally incensed me for the reasons that I am in the cadre you address – the new Nigerian youth, and more precisely, I was one of the acts singled out for your scorching spotlight. Still, I had to verify by reading it for myself, and I can barely walk straight for the endless inaccuracies I repeatedly stumbled over just to make my way to your concluding full stop.


Amongst many of my infuriated colleagues’ responses, I also read Banky W’s (Or would you rather I call him Bankole Wellington) and decided there was little else to say. That’s why I wrote – to say the little unsaid but first, sir, forgive my sending a message to someone else on a letter addressed to you but I can’t contain myself - Shout out, Banky. Your article was tight. Even though I always regarded you as an intelligent lyricist, I never imagined it extended to a polemical write-up like the letter addressed to the same subject. How about a column or article in a national daily, hm? More streams of income. Lol (im bringing out the english i only use n special occasions or like my friends kleva and kenny would say when i want to impress a girl)

Again, Mr. Abati, my apologies. Kindly take a walk with me to the Rooftop from where I will show you horizons you can only view from this height. We start with semantics, where you took an issue with ‘naming.’

I don’t what Lord Lugard and his Misuss where thinking (or drinking) when they named us Nigeria (Niger- area) but I know all nations have their ‘pet monikers’ however prestigious the national name is to the citizenry or how highly held the persons who conceived the names are. Great Britain’s most popular sobriquet, one of many, is the Scepter’d Isle, famously coined by Shakespeare; the Irish fondly call their land the Emerald Isle, and who doesn’t know Yankee?

The nickname is a natural staple of culture. It is an abnormal stagnation of culture for ‘pet names’ not to be born. It would slim any dictionary by half. Language is dynamic, and ordinary men alike with nobles conceive terms by the day. Everyone (Respectfully sir, that includes you) and everything has one – Money: whether we call it Cheddar in the Bronx or Kishi in the streets of Lagos; technology – Laptops are lappy, and the computer stronghold of USA is fondly called ‘Silicon Valley’; even education – Ivy League for the most revered schools. Enough said there. Just proving that your disdain for nicknaming is in fact … strange and incongruent with what is natural.

This generation of Nigerian youths, the one in the ‘eye of your storm’ has unarguably birthed a more patriotic force than any seen since the Naira was neck and neck with the Dollar. Starting from the late nineties, a movement we now label ‘proudly Naija’ was born, a movement that saw the gradual shift from patronizing foreign material to our local commodities. And that, without any urging by the establishment which established SAP (Structural Adjustment Programme), an initiative that failed to do what ‘we’ have started without pomp and circumstance – turn national attention away from ‘everything abroad.’ Today, while the economy groans under misrule, the Nigerian youth has found a more lucrative environment for self-expression. Areas like Ajegunle have swapped their grim reputation for the renown of a hotbed of talent with the long string of socially conscious acts from there, giving Ajegunle the funky epithet, AJ City. Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, international superstars, competed to adorn us in the nineties but now, before we, Nigerian artistes, leave the shores of Nigeria, we hurry Lord Nackson, SoJo, Wilson, Muyiwa Osindero and Babugee, (Who by the way, is owned by Sonny Okosuns’ daughter, her father too guilty of using a stage name), to mention some of the many new tailors and designers, to finish our local garments, so that while abroad, we may proudly showcase the progressive Nigerian youth.

I mentioned the economy. Imagine sir, being a social commentator, and therefore one who is observant of economic trends, the number of would-be armed-robbers, destitutes, burglars and dependants, there’d be on the streets if many weren’t making music beats for D’Banj and Tu-Face; garbing top actresses and musicians in the attire they wear; providing lights, sound, security and camera for the numerous events that hold each week; writing on pop culture for the varied youth magazines. A lot of artists’ managers, Personal Assistants, Publicists, clothiers, et al would either be scrambling to leave Nigeria for ‘great outside’ or turn to inglorious alternatives.

You touched a personal nerve when you mentioned La Gi Mo, a song composed by my partner and me.

First sir, I am pained you didn’t listen to the song. You were like one of the six blind men of Hindustan, who, unable to see what an elephant looked like simply held on to a part and rigidly asserted what they felt. The man who touched the large ear said an elephant is a fan, the one who had the tail called it a snake, and you took away our Chorus and labeled the song bad. It is not in my place to tell you, Chairman of Guardian’s Editorial Board, that journalism is about ‘news’ not ‘bias’ for facts are sacred, comments, free. You did not verify by research what would have taken less than the four minutes to listen to. And that sir, makes me suspect of every issue on which you comment because if your emotions dictate your point of view, your journalistic objectivity has been compromised, making nonsense of the lofty office you hold.

In a summary, La Gi Mo is a plea to God for humility through chastisement. Musicians are poets, and creative license permits us to express ourselves as we deem best so I shouldn’t defend the choice or theme of my song insofar as its not libelous or injurious to another. La Gi Mo is in English, sir, for easy listening and comprehension should you choose to repent of your position, and give the tune a try. The CDs are a hundred and fifty (Naira, if you’re buying in Nigeria) and they’re anywhere music is sold.

Professor Wole Soyinka, in an astonishing feat of humility, admitted that he hailed from a Wasted Generation. With deference to Wole Soyinka, I disagree. That generation gave us Soyinka and Achebe and Bola Ige and Dapo Adelugba and Fela to mention some. Yes, the good guys were unable to save Nigeria from the rot but in their music and literature and oration, we found hope and strength to run with.

Your generation, sir, and I mean this respectfully, is the one terribly verging on wasted. We do not begrudge your slow and inept pace with the baton of development. We are however intolerant of you judging ours. You see, we’d be better if you improved on what earlier generations passed to you. But we met you stagnant. Your generation, that is. So, sir, to say we have an identity crisis? To blame the decadence of society on us? To place the blame for the moral decay of Nigeria on us?

YOU ARE WRONG SIR!

However wise a child is, he cannot see from the highest rooftop what the elders can from the ground. You are older so you can teach us. We expect that you will mentor and coach us into what we ought be rather than condemn us for where we took ourselves.

Look at us sir. We are organizing great Award shows, buying our own houses (Home and abroad), providing employment, bringing mental and emotional salve to people by our creative output, and importantly, establishing Nigeria as a global entertainment force. Young people who left the shores are returning – D’ Banj came in from England, El Dee and Banky W from the United States, Weird also from the Sceptre’d Isle, and many more are coming.

Sir, we had no model in you. No Prophets heralded us, no Blue Print was laid for us, and the baton handed our generation by yours, was a faded and worn-out bar, but still, we created a picture inside and gave flesh to it on the outside. Am I saying there aren’t immoral elements among us? No sir. I’m saying, state your premise and make your case, based on verified facts. Again sir, the journalistic maxim – facts are SACRED, comments FREE. Comments, though opinions, should however be based on informed insight, and yours was all emotion, no objectivity.

Thank you for your time sir. Eku ise ile ise yin o ni jo no o

Whats all this stuff all the artistes want to reply
Haba, just to show how good they are?

Banky, being the first that replied is ok!
His reply was beautiful, he politely insulted the man but eldee's reply was openly insulting.

Well, looking at the man's (Abati) write up well will show us he was just trying to be funny but of course got more than he bargained for.

@ other artistes, Banky own don drive home the point, make una no reply again haba, the guy talked for all and not himself. In fact, i just became Banky's fan.

Enuf has been said abt the brilliant piece by Reuben Abati.I just want to do brief analysis on d reply from Banky,Eldee and the Roof Top MC in order of the time they replied.
Starting With Banky,I think Banky was right on point,he addressed issues rather than attack d writer,he was calm & showed a gud command of his knowledge of 9ja Music.Well done
Now To Eldee,His style of writing was crude & was full of anger & unneccessary attackz on d person of d writer,he dwelled more on d defensive rather than stating d obvious(most of our music these dayz lack content).My 17yr cousin wil do better dan dat.
Now my Favorite was The RoofTOP mc's,it was Sarcastic filled with humor and allowed for a fresh breath afta so much steam frm Eldee,i enjoyed his mix of humor & intellectualism.And he gave a very good dozes of respect to d writer for it's worth dat write up was't to vilify d artistes but to point out gray areas and make corrections.Like they say,"Naija!, Oops! Sorry! Uncle Reuben,Nigeria for Life, Hahahahaha

cooldud62*:

Whats all this stuff all the artistes want to reply
Haba, just to show how good they are?

Banky, being the first that replied is ok!
His reply was beautiful, he politely insulted the man but eldee's reply was openly insulting.

Well, looking at the man's (Abati) write up well will show us he was just trying to be funny but of course got more than he bargained for.

@ other artistes, Banky own don drive home the point, make una no reply again haba, the guy talked for all and not himself. In fact, i just became Banky's fan.

The Dude touched almost everyone in our generation so what do you expect? He stepped on the cobra's tail so I dont think he can escape the venom, dont feel pity for him. All musicians can reply, they need to put him/them where they belong

Rooftop's reply too is on point

demowo:


Professor Wole Soyinka, in an astonishing feat of humility, admitted that he hailed from a Wasted Generation. With deference to Wole Soyinka, I disagree. That generation gave us Soyinka and Achebe and Bola Ige and Dapo Adelugba and Fela to mention some. Yes, the good guys were unable to save Nigeria from the rot but in their music and literature and oration, we found hope and strength to run with.

Wole's generation has great people too but if he feels it's wasted then he has his reason. And if their generation has failed then we must learn from their mistakes and make things better. People like Wole will always be mentors in that generation but people like Abati? Bad example!!!!!!

Enuf has been said abt the brilliant piece by Reuben Abati.I just want to do brief analysis on d reply from Banky,Eldee and the Roof Top MC in order of the time they replied.
Starting With Banky,I think Banky was right on point,he addressed issues rather than attack d writer,he was calm & showed a gud command of his knowledge of 9ja Music.Well done
Now To Eldee,His style of writing was crude & was full of anger & unneccessary attackz on d person of d writer,he dwelled more on d defensive rather than stating d obvious(most of our music these dayz lack content).My 17yr cousin wil do better dan dat.
Now my Favorite was The RoofTOP mc's,it was Sarcastic filled with humor and allowed for a fresh breath afta so much steam frm Eldee,i enjoyed his mix of humor & intellectualism.And he gave a very good dozes of respect to d writer for it's worth dat write up was't to vilify d artistes but to point out gray areas and make corrections.Like they say,"Naija!, Oops! Sorry! Uncle Reuben,Nigeria for Life, Hahahahaha

no, it is 9ja for life

Mr. (uninformed journalist) Abati: " O ni she ru e mo " (you wont do the type again) lol! See how small boys just finish you. Baba agbaya! The least Abati's generation can do is give props to the generation that they gave nothing. They got free education we got nothing, they got reasonable housing we got nothing, they got good jobs immediately after school we got unempployment. Mr Abati's generation is a failure and with his recent article, i consider Abati himself a personification of the failure of his generation and a failure to his family and profession. The least a good journalist should do is proper research. What a shame that he is on an editorial board. He should resign honorably (or perhaps dis-honorably) but then again his generation never resigns, they hold on to power for as long as they can.
To all the young people in the house 35yrs and below this is a clarion call. We need to overthrow this devious generation that has failed us for sooooo long. Not only by our music but also in business, politics, economy and every facet of NAIJA ( yes i repeat it N-A-I-J-A) life. The future is OUR'S.

LAMI for president 2019!!!

Melamie, sharp guy! (abi na girl?)

after readin reuben's trash i just wondered if was so bored he didn't know what to write he decided to write on a topic he had no knowledge about. i mean the dude is clearly sick in the brains.

Guyz make Una cool off with d way una dey spit Vernom on d Man.Yes!He goofed in d way he indiscriminately & totally condemned the revolution in our music industry.But I think we all re makin dsame mistake lyk he did,throwing away d baby with d bathwater,We re reigning abuses on d man & his generation without analyzing the very important issues he raised.Me for instance find it hard to listen to a steady stream of naija's current hits on radio cos realy most of em re just shit loads of vulgarism,vain & meaningless dog's breakfast overridden by very gud sounds.Articles lyk Mr Abati's only seek to correct dis state of madnes dat evry1 is ovaluking,to be honest,amisdt d success only a very few stand out but I wont name names lyk Mr Abati did.It's time these record companies & lable employed some division of labour,most of d evergreens where not written by d singerz or rapperz.Evry1 can't be Neyo or Rkelly,it wil be 9ce to take d success further datz wat Mr Abati is saying.Enuf of all dese "ti won si konga" shit.

I am not sure we realy get the message that Reuben Abati's article is sending to us. I dont think it is about the music and their meaninglessness. While he might have been very direct in his satiristic report, the message is realy about social change and the issue of identity crisis. He talked about of our impatience in getting things done and the social change towards rhythms rather than lyrics. Infact meaningless music have been embraced by the society for some time now. Remember Obesere, KWAM1, Pasuma etc.

Music and the musicians in my opinion are just examples of how the society has changed. He did recognised the success of the artistes and their global reckoning; hence our response should be directed towards the social change and not the criticism of the musicians. The question is 'is the society changing in the right direction or not'? Even without the music, wouldn't we change in that same direction anyway?

I actually thing Eldee's response was not appropriate, especially coming from a biassed respondent. We need to read the opinion of the public who are expected to be neutral like me.

I am not sure we really get the message that Reuben Abati's article is sending to us. I don't think it is about the music and their meaninglessness.  While he might have been very direct in his satiristic report, the message is rreallyabout social change and the issue of identity crisis. He talked about of our impatience in getting things done and the social change towards rhythms rather than lyrics. Infact meaningless music have been embraced by the society for some time now. Remember Obesere, KWAM1, Pasuma etc.

Music and the musicians in my opinion are just examples of how the society has changed. He did recognised the success of the artistes and their global reckoning; hence our response should be directed towards the social change and not the criticism of the musicians. The question should be 'is the society changing in the right direction or not? Even without the music, wouldn't we change in that same direction anyway?

I actually think Eldee's response was not appropriate, especially coming from popular artiste. We need to read the opinion of the public who are expected to be neutral,, like me!

Mr Abatis article was not sending any message, all he did was air out his uninformed opinion. You guys need to stop making excuses for the guy. He is incompetent. Only in Nigeria would he still have a job without him or the newspaper issuing a public apology. WTF type of journalism is that? And then you say eldee's reply was rude. . .did u read Rueben's article?

All this "respect people because they are old and important" is just some bullshit mentality. Anybody wey no respect me (or himself/ herself), i no send am, him fit go die. How can someone, a respected journalist, write such nonsense in a National newspaper and get away with it? If na for here people go dey front of Guardian office till they sack the idiot. Nonsense. Incompetent "editor".  panderer.

Reuben Abati is a consumate writer no doubt and his articles are a must read for someone who is interested in not just current affairs, but general issues as affecting the polity. I have followed him right from my junior secondary school (JSS) to date and will still continue to do that. Before I continue it will be important I state here that I am just about thirty years old.

Uncle Reuben's article on the above subject is simply trying to let our musicians know that while they are trying their best to educate and entertain the public, they should simply try and correct some of the areas that he pointed out as their deficiency departments. If you go to churches today, especially the ones we refer to as Orthodox churches the hymns the sing every sunday were written centuries ago and we still sing them and the messages they convey still apply to our lives. Whats more? A music should be sustainable. By this I mean it should be pleasing and loved today today and still sells tomorrow.

One of the importance of music is to rejuvenate and awaken our spirits. I can count, right on my finger tips how many of such music that can encourage someone in dispair, disappointed, depressed, History has it that a man called David, by playing an instrument and singing, can make a mad king normal again. But some of the music our guys are doing today will simply drive a normal human mad. I dont know how many of our musicians that can play musical instruments which ordinarily should be a yardstick to bear that name - musician.

The Issue of quality, skills, character,sense and other features that  make up a sound music  are in the decline. A musician of today sees his ability to sing as a a license misbehave,  display thugery tendencies and use drugs. I dont know how mwny of our musicians that a parent will allow his/her child to have as a role model.

On the issue of names mutation, may be we should just say that we are in the era of "senmuthic" (I derived that from the  words senseless mutation so of names). We copy every thing. From the way prisonners in America dress to the way a mad man dresses on the street of Europe not minding our peculiar weather.
We are known not to take corrections and that was why I think Banky decided to lash out at Uncle Reuben.  Why should we not sit down and ask ourselve as musician such questions as; what can we do to correct this anormaly? is there a way we can at least stop critics from having enough points to blast us? I know the good usicians from their performances and lyrics who I know are ashamed of some of their supposedly called professional colleagues.
We are aware that the good ones abound. But I will decline to name names so that I will not be seen as fronting or promoting someone.
Therefore, Banky W. and friends lets see how we can take this music indutry to a height our children can safely and proudly say " my dad or mum sang that song".

I welcome  uncle Reuben's words. They are constructive and inspiring. We need to find a balance between western and our world.

Madu Okechukwu Emmanuel.