Rapper and activist Tobechukwu Melvin Ejiofor, popularly known as Illbliss, has expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s current state, describing the nation as being in “a very dangerous part” of its history.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Real Shareholders podcast, Illbliss pointed to growing insecurity, worsening economic conditions, widespread corruption, and the use of digital tools by the government to control narratives and stifle dissent.
The rapper also revealed that his politically conscious music has faced censorship. He recounted how his 2020 track Country was removed from radio airplay due to its critical tone.
“I had this record in 2020 called ‘Country.’ It was taken off the radio. Before ‘Country,’ I released other conscious songs like, ‘A Different Kind Of War’ and ‘National Cake.’ But OAPs are always saying that they cannot play such songs because they could get fined,” he said.
Illbliss further claimed that the government has expanded its propaganda strategies beyond traditional platforms, now manipulating digital spaces to suppress opposing voices.
“Every now and then, you put out a record and you see like a 100 or more tweets come at you like, ‘Why are you always trying to make a mockery of the country? The country is not as bad as it is.’ And you just know that it is an artificial pushback, perhaps, a digital response to whatever.
“Because I know that propaganda can’t just be on traditional media anymore. Propagandists can have a podcast just to say the government is doing great. And you will see people from our generation sit proudly with their faces showing and say, ‘But this government has created jobs. You can tell.’”
According to him, Nigeria is facing a sophisticated form of control, where even the platforms once thought to empower citizens are being manipulated.
“That is where we are. We are in a very dangerous part of our history where the government is matching our energy.
“We thought we had social media but so much happens on the same social media space and you begin to wonder the government had begun to fund theories of distraction or is this government a lot more advanced now? I mean, look around us.”
