Pascal Oparada
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, said the reason Nigerian rapper, Eedris Abdulkareem is angry with him is that he ghosted him after he tried to extort money from him during 2019 election and begged the minister to introduce him to prominent people in government.
In a Twitter thread on Saturday, the minister said Eedris contacted him several times during the run-up to the 2019 election. He said the rapper made several attempts to get him to pay to join the Buhari campaign.
Keyamo was reacting to Eedris’ remix of his hit song, Jagajaga reloaded in which he said the minister has joined the cabal.
“Eedris Abdulkareem just released a song, ‘jagajaga reloaded’, where he waxed the following lyrics, “where Festus Keyamo sef? He dons dey chop with cabal o”. I laughed out so loud and even danced to the rhythm too. But there’s a small story behind this poor attempt at blackmail,” he said.
1.) Eedris Abdulkareem just released a song, ‘jagajaga reloaded’, where he waxed the following lyrics, “where Festus Keyamo sef? He don dey chop with cabal o”. I laughed out so loud and even danced to the rhythm too. But there’s a small story behind this poor attempt at blackmail
— Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) April 24, 2021
“In 2018, when I was named the Director of Strategic Communications for the Buhari Campaign Organisation Eedris waxed a song in support of Buhari & wanted to join us, albeit for a fee. He then made desperate efforts to see me through text messages from his phone,”.
He said after meeting with Eedris and told him there was no budget for him, he switched to begging for money to take care of his hotel bill and his ailing mother.
When that did not work, Keyamo said, Eedris solicited his help to meet Attorney General, Abubakar Malami and Chibuike Amaechi, Transportation minister.
He begged me to introduce him to Malami (AGF), Amaechi & the SGF, and to paint a good ‘PR’ for him. He pledged that he was with us in the campaign with his whole ‘body and soul’. But at this point, I knew he was a desperate hustler who could embarrass me, so I ghosted him,” Keyamo said.
Keyamo’s tweet has generated a lot of comments with many people deploying sarcasm to ask the minister to forgive Eedris as he was young when he made the song, in an apparent reference to the embattled minister of communication and digital economy, Ali Isa Pantami who said he held extremist views in the past because he was immature.
Eedris Abdulkareem was a young man who didn't know what he was doing then. This is 2021, he's grown up and matured. Those receipts no longer represent his views. Can you now address the societal issues he raised in the new song?
— FESTUS OGUN (@mrfestusogun) April 25, 2021
Good morning Distingusied @fkeyamo , in Eedris Abdulkareem’s defense, he was a young man in 2018 when he begged to be recruited into the Buhari campaign team, he has grown a lot since then and he has recanted this begging.
He is now is a Reformed Social Justice Warrior. https://t.co/SToDuFOT8z
— Man of Letters. (@Letter_to_Jack) April 25, 2021
Others said it is normal for artists to hustle and try to snug up to politicians during an election period.
