Nigeria: Seun Olota calls for peace in new song

The song, titled ‘Alafia’ (peace), is a response to a series of events, starting with the Arab Spring in 2011 and the recent attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa.

“We began performing the song in 2015 with my band, a team that has a drive, vision for humanity and making music for the soul,” Olota said. “We did a live stage recording of ‘Alafia’ in 2015 followed by a studio recording in 2017, but afterwards the song was left in the coffers because the tracks to accompany it in the 2018 Why Worry album were still undergoing editing.

“We call for society as a whole to act now, particularly those who feel somehow detached through privilege and comfort. Young people need to be engaged otherwise their energy might be turned into a negative force due to frustration. The song advises all listeners that there are no wrongs, no rights but a humanity bound by the duty of care to achieve and maintain peaceful co-existence in this world.”

Olota added: “We cannot afford to add one more disturbances or unrests to what we already have globally. Syria is still wallowing in conflict, Libya has not recovered, Yemen, Iraq, Rwanda, South Sudan and Afghanistan continue counting their losses from unrests. Will this take us to a full-blown war that no one knows where it will end, or remember the beginning?”

The song also challenges leaders who hold on to power for decades. ‘Alafia’ was ironically released on 6 September when former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe died. Mugabe has been at the helm of the country’s leadership for 37 years.