Azeez Adeshina Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, a popular musician has had more than one finger pointing towards him over the demise of a fellow musician Ireoluwa Oladimeji Ayoba a.k.a Mohbad who passed away about three weeks ago in rather controversial circumstances. Naira Marley, who just returned the country from a foreign trip , has faced scrutiny in the court of public opinion after the singer passed away. But Marley, in breaking his silence on the matter, said he was outside the country even before the singer died, saying he had no hand in the death. He noted that he would return to the country and help the police and other authorities in getting to the root of the matter. He has retured and has gone to tell the police what he knows about the sad incident. Mohbad was a member of Marley’s record label until September of 2022. Following his death on September 12, 2023, there were speculations linking Marley and his associate Sammy Larry to the harassment and eventual death of Mohbad.
There have been allegations that since he left Marley’s record label he has been bullied and harassed for leaving his label, and followed by making life unbearable for him. The incident has brought to the fore some well-guarded ways of cultism in professional circles. Be it in music, movies and other professions, some senior colleagues seem to hold the key to unlock newer colleagues a highway to ascendancy in the profession. One comedian once told the story of his continued abode on the sidelines of the industry, in spite of his talent, until a free show exposed him to show organisers who revealed that senior colleagues in the industry never recommended him for any slot. When he finally began to make rounds in shows, he still came to closed doors in pursuit of sponsorship because sponsors would still seek the endorsement to older colleagues in the trade. In the hey days of Nollywood, producers, who paid the bills, held sway. They determined whose face was seen in movies and what such people earned. At a point they published a list of artistes who they had banished from getting roles because their charges were through the roof, yet it was their faces and professionalism in delivery that made people want to see the movies. It became a recurrence of the seeming perpetual battle between talent and money. Those whose fat wallets brought the talent to public attention felt they had to take a bulk of the income because they foot the bill. That age long conflict between talent and money also reared its ugly head in the hey days of such superstars as King Sunny Ade. The details play no real illustrative role, the point being that the exploration in the creative industry, in this case music, goes back to the beginnings. Mohbad, left the record label of Naira Marley, and seemed to have incurred the label owner’s wrath’
The forgoing is an expose on the underhand things that happen in the creative industry. If you are not in the good books of the powers that be in the industry, the tendency would be for you to languish on the side lines. About two years ago, I read a novel by a novel written by a London based Nigerian and wondered why she seemed to be in the backwaters in an industry where her equals such as Chimamanda Adichie and Chika Unigwe are grabbing the headlines. She may not have contacted the movers and shakers in the industry or chosen to ignore them to her own peril. There has been a continued battle between talent and money. In the hey days of Nollywood, producers who funded the movies were the cultic controllers of the industry. They determin who got what role in the movies. At some point they released a list of A class actors who would not get roles in in movies because their charges were over the roof. Ironically those acters were the faces that drove people to want to see the movies. But the producers who paid the bills felt they should earn the real money because talent without funding would not see the light of day. But I am overwhelmed that when these artistes get their own labels they give their fellow artistes the short end of the stich as they also got before making a headway. It is largely said that Mohbad fell out with Naira Marley because he pulled out of the later’s label, giving birth to professional rivalry.
Rivalry has no permanent abode in the in the music industry. There have been recent unconfirmed reports that a certain Cement manufacturer has crashed the price of the building material to get back at a business rival who almost ran him out of business in the past. Such business strategy is age long. Those who engage it know the intricacies. it is far better than snuffing life out of a rival. It is just as well that Naira Marly has returned to the country and opted to help the police in the investigation, to prove his innocence. His cooperation would unravel the suspicion of professional cults in some sectors. Mohbad’s has brought attention to underhand practices in the industry. The investigation may save upcoming people being suffocated by bullies in their industry. The sun will rise again in the creative industry when talent and creativity would take a proper place. Before now talent needed right connections and industry god fathers to thrive. Godfatherism, a concept once confined to political circles, have spread its tentacles across board. Circumstances surrounding the demise of Mohbad would certainly expose a lot.