NOBEL Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has shared his thoughts on the controversial music video released by afrobeat singer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido.

As reported by The ICIR, Davido was condemned by some Muslims for sharing a video of his signee, Olamilekan Taiwo, known as Logos Olori. The video featured persons dressed as Muslims, praying and dancing in front of a mosque.

However, as stated in a subsequent report by The ICIR, Davido took down the video from all his social media pages due to the criticism and pressure he faced from Muslims.

Soyinka reacted to the matter on Tuesday, July 25, in a piece titled “Davido’s Letter.” In the letter, he insisted that no apology was necessary, and urged the singer against extending one.

“No apology is required, none should be offered. Let us stop battening down our heads in the mush of contrived contrition – we know where contrition, apology and restitution remain clamorous in the cause of closure and above all – justice. Such apologies have not been forthcoming. In their place, we have the ascendancy of petulant censorship in the dance and music department. Just where will it end?” Soyinka wrote.

He noted that he had not seen the video, adding that he would appreciate it if anyone could make the material available for a debate.

“I have not seen the Davido supported video clip and would greatly appreciate if someone would make it available so we all can debate, objectively, the merits and demerits of positions taken over this recent product of the musician.”

He further added that he “insists on the right of the artiste to deploy dance in a religious setting as a fundamental given”.

“Such deployment is universal heritage, most especially applicable in the case of Islam where a plot of land, even without the physical structure, can be turned, in the twinkling of an eye, into a sacral space for believers to gather and worship in between mundane pursuits.

“Dancing in front of a mosque cannot therefore, on its own, be read as an act of provocation or offence but as affirmation of the unified sensibility of the spiritual in human. Let us learn to read it that way. Those who persist in taking offence to bed and serving it up as breakfast should exercise their right of boycotting Davido’s products – no one quarrels with that right”, the Nobel laureate added.

On Friday, July 21, Davido, the chief executive of Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), took to his social media to share a teaser of his signee’s latest music video titled, Jaye Lo.

In the video, Davido’s signed, Logos Olori was seen dressed in a white jalabia and cap alongside other men. While he was seated at the roof top, the other men were in front of the building praying and dancing on mats.

As a result, Davido faced criticism from Muslims, who mounted pressure on him to delete the video due to its perceived disrespect towards the Islamic religion. Eventually, the Afrobeat star yielded to the calls and took down the video.