By Daniel Edu
Famed Nigerian musician, Seun Kuti, has criticized those accusing the father of the late Nigerian singer, Mohbad (Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba), regarding the swift burial of his son.
Mohbad tragically passed away at the age of 27 on September 12 and was buried the following day in Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The immediate burial sparked a social media frenzy as fans and internet users criticized Mohbad’s father for not conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death before the burial.
Responding to these criticisms, Seun Kuti, in an interview with media personality Nedu on ‘The Honest Bunch’ podcast, argued that poverty played a significant role in the situation. He questioned why any reasonable father would want to keep his deceased son’s body for an extended period.
Seun Kuti pointed out that if someone of substantial means, such as Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola, had made the same decision, it would not have elicited such backlash from Nigerians. Instead, people would have paid their condolences.
He added that Nigerians were criticizing Mohbad’s father primarily due to his financial status, rather than offering him support during this challenging time.
In his words in Pidgin English, “In the Mohbad issue, poverty is a significant factor. People are saying that Mohbad’s father killed him because he buried him early. Who would want to keep their dead son’s body for 2 or 3 days?
“If it were Otedola’s child who had passed away and he buried them overnight, what would anyone say here? Wouldn’t people be paying him condolence visits at his home?
“Instead of consoling the man, we are portraying him as an evil person who could kill his own son. Someone who has just lost his child. It’s not like you liked the boy more than him, yet people have been bullying the boy all this time, and you said nothing.”
