Portable or “Zazu Zeh” is a phrase you must have heard recently even if you aren’t a music lover and, you are not familiar with the artiste.
However, questions about the unruly behavior or influence of this new act in a music industry is already notorious for propagating unsound ideas to listeners.
Despite his negative effects, Habeeb Okikiola, has become one of the vogues of the moment in the entertainment industry for his song ‘Zazu Zeh’ featuring popular singer and rapper, Olamide Adedeji.
The Declining Standard of Nigerian Music
His lyrics, like many others before him, are ambiguous, misleading and questionable. “Poco Tu ah, Poco tu ah meh meh meh, Zeh!” is one of the lines in his song that makes no sense to his fans but they will listen anyway. The song also contains disturbing lyrics such as “Kala, zeh/Daju, Zeh/Wuwa Ika, zeh” and “Emi ni werey olorin” which reference o.
With the trend of Portable amongst other artiste today, where rhythm rather than lyrics sells songs, many have come to argue that the ‘now’ music has declined in standard.
For instance, Olamide’s ‘Story For The Gods’ is one song with beautiful rhythm, but the lyrics glorify rape and abuse of women in its entirety. The talks about getting loaded with local aphrodisiac, a combination of Dongoyaro, Monkey tail (locally brewed gin) and Claro (marijuana), and then going ahead to have a forceful carnal knowledge of a lady.
The Chorus goes thus: ‘Mo ti mu dongoyaro, dongoyaro, Dongoyaro and monkey tail, monkey tail, monkey tail. Elo bami gbe claro, claro o, claro o. I want to do sina (fornication) today, sina today’…
Today, most Nigerian boys no longer wear their trousers normal, they put it at their buttocks and call it sagging. Also, young women are used as sex objects as they display all sorts of pervasiveness such as blatant show of their nakedness whilst doing all manner of dance shaking their buttocks.
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On July 18, 2022, Portable boasted that he’s the founder of the ‘Ajah Boys’ and ‘One Million Boys’ cult groups, which was infamous for terrorising residents in some parts of Lagos State years back.
“Open your ears and listen well, have you heard about Ajah boys, One Million boys? I’m the one who founded it, go and ask,” Portable boasted in the Yoruba language.
The revelations came few days after his apparent duplicity of interests during the recently held election in Osun state. Portable endorsed the re-election bid of Gboyega Oyetola, the governor, and led various campaigns for him in Osogbo, the state capital.
However, the governor lost to Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the polls and shortly after the results of the election were announced, Portable was seen celebrating Adeleke’s victory. His action triggered a chorus of condemnation on social media, with some users calling him out for ditching the APC after collecting money for Oyetola’s campaign.
A day after the Inspector-General of police (IGP), Usman Baba had ordered the Commissioner of Police in Lagos to investigate Portable’s statement and take necessary legal action, the Zazuh chroner retract his claims, saying he doesn’t mean it that way.
Perhaps, as part of attempt to prevent his arrest, on Thursday, July 21 2022, Portable, hurriedly visited the chairman of the Lagos State Park and Garages Management, Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo.
Jungle Justice
Between June 15 and 21, he was clearly seen in a video asking his boys to beat up a man known as “DJ Chicken” (according to the name used in the video).
Portable could be seen conversing with his boys and the victim at the start of the film, and everything appeared to be fine until a few moments later, when Portable asked his boys to beat up the young man before stopping a few minutes later.
Surprisingly, after delivering Jungle Justice to the young man, Portable and his posse went on to broadcast the video on social media.
The Ogun State Police command subsequently ordered the musician to report himself at the nearest police station over the video clip.
In a statement issued by the Command’s spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police said the act was a display of jungle justice.
“The flagrant display of impunity by ‘Portable’ in the viral video is condemnable and if not checked, it will send a wrong signal to the youths who are looking up to him as a role model.
“Jungle justice has no place in our laws and whoever embarked on it must be made to feel the weight of the law, no matter the status of such person”, the PPRO said.
What went wrong?
Great artistes such as Bongus Ikwe, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Christy Essien Igbokwe, Onyeka Onwenu, King Sunny Ade, Osita Osadebe, Ebenezer Obey, Dr. Victor Olaiya, Haruna Ishola, Yusuf Olatunji, Oliver de Coque, Salawa Abeni, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, Felix Liberty, Oritz Wiliki, The Mandators, Mike Okri, Charly Boy, Evelyn Edna Ogolie, Peter Side Otong, Tina Onwudiwe, Stella Monye, Funmi Adams, Blackky and Majek Fashek amongst others never took the part of jungle justice like the madness being displayed by portable.
These legends were not just commended for their musical dexterity, but the lyrical content of their works. It was more of a competition of inspiring and creatively crafted poetic words.
The Aloofness of Government
Major question begging for answers in the minds of many Nigerians is that, as the situation has become so bad now, what will happen in the next 50 years?
Be as it may, will be an understatement to say that government is overlooking the dangers of regulating music content from musicians like portable who promote a life of vagrancy and criminality consciously or unconsciously.
In our society today, many young persons who are involved in international internet fraud today are encouraged by subliminal messages in mainstream music from some artistes who sympathise with these criminals, while more songs are showing disregard for moral support and a larger part of the audience who know no better are mentally reconfigured to live without productive principles.
It is high time government at all levels create policies to stop young people from consuming musical content without discernment, or else, the psychological wellbeing of the future of our society is sure to be compromised and detrimental.
