Afrobeats’ Misogyny Problem Reflects Nigerian Society

Some days ago, a snippet Ruger had posted prompted a maelstrom of public furor. The snippet opens with the lines “If a girl worry me I delete her/ Put her inside the bin bag/ So why won’t she be bitter.” 

The range of criticisms levied against him have accused him of promoting femicide, a crisis that has increasingly blighted Nigeria in recent times. Taken in isolation, the song’s lyrics might suggest literal violence but considered in the context of the succeeding lines, it’s clearly figurative speak for severing ties with the girl in question. He has since followed with a quote tweet where he clarifies his intent: “Put her inside the bin bag just simply means she’s trash. Don’t turn this into what it’s not. Femicide is a very strong word, you idiot [sic]. I don’t support it.” Notwithstanding, his phrasing is still disturbing. The exact verbiage he deploys—“delete her,” “put her inside a bin bag”—is frighteningly graphic, revealing a total disregard for Nigeria’s entrenched femicide crisis. 

Songs typically pass through several hands—producers, A&Rs, and management—before they make it through to the public. In light of this, it becomes especially disturbing that nobody within this pipeline thought to bring up the disturbing nature of the lyrics. Or maybe they did and Ruger dismissed them. 

There’s also the possibility that the whole thing was carefully orchestrated to generate outrage in exchange for some publicity for the song (the snippet on his page has garnered 1.2 million views, as of the time of writing); rage baiting is the term. 

This fiasco is hardly a singular incident and ties into a long history of unflinching misogyny in Afrobeats, stretching back to Fela. In Lady, he disparages feminist ideals, which he dismisses as Western perversions, instead propping up the archetype of the “traditional African woman,” who amongst other things is servile and self-effacing. Odumodublvck, a more contemporary example, has triggered uproars on multiple occasions for his now-typical misogynistic conduct. He has suggested in several tweets that women need to be beaten to keep them in check. His lyrics have also employed several misogynistic tropes. There’s an endless list of this sort of behavior. Misogyny in Afrobeats runs painfully deep. 

It’s easy to view Afrobeats’ sordid disposition towards women as isolated but the reality is that it directly follows from the fog of virulent misogyny that pervades Nigerian society. The reason these artists can consistently step out of line without consequences—they are instead able to parlay the outrage into free publicity—is that as a society, regardless of what the bubble of social media might suggest—we don’t value or respect women. That’s the long and short of it. It’s especially saddening that despite Nigeria’s long-running problem of targeted violence against women—domestic abuse, rape, femicide—these men constantly take the piss on women, seemingly for a gag. But if anything, it’s a call for reflection, on who and where we are as a society. 

Calling out erring artists is a useful first step, but as long as the broader society remains a cauldron of misogyny and sexism. The same issues will persist. Claiming to have a complete solution to Nigeria’s deep-rooted sexist disposition is simply arrogance or perhaps hopeful simplicity. However, a significant portion of the solution comes down to addressing the foundational problem: which is the set of retrogressive beliefs that bears down on Nigerian society. Parents still enforce traditional gender roles, propping up notions of male superiority. In many Nigerian universities, it’s still taken as a given that a woman cannot hold certain leadership positions. Young boys are groomed by adults into seeing women as fundamentally inferior. This is the reality of our society and what shapes the thinking of the average Nigerian man. 

Well-meaning individuals must continue to forcefully condemn misogyny online and offline. It might seem needlessly dovish to suggest being amenable to educating dithering misogynists, but this is key to effecting lasting change. As much as we must be dedicated to condemning misogyny, there should also be targeted efforts towards deradicalizing people, especially teenagers and young adults who are still pliable. Think of it as being an evangelist converting people to your cause. Sexism and misogyny largely stem from retrogressive beliefs and opinions. And so, the real battlefield is not social media but in the minds of people.