Nigerian musicians sing for election

10 young musicians taking turns with lyrical flows and vocal fine tuning at the Chocolate City Music studios in Lagos. Finalist selected from over 400 hopefuls who submitted songs about good governance, inclusive dialogue, and political representation across Nigeria.

On February 16 Nigerians will vote for a president, a race that seems to be greatly skewed by the influence of the youths in the country.

‘Voice 2 Rep’ is a project aimed at mentoring young Nigerian musicians in the form of a competition and help distribute their products, most of which are centered around making Nigeria a better country from all perspective.

Celeste Ojatula, Folk Musician is one of the selected artist

“We have gone through a lot training, they have made us to see a lot of things and I see a lot of difference, I see that it is important to actually always speak out…with whatever tool you have. To me it’s music and I feel that after leaving this place, it is going to be a great difference because the songs that I put out will be more socially conscious”.

“A lot of people have spoken about participation, about governance, about different things and there is no better time to talk about it than now you know, its been four years since our last elections, a lot of things may have been forgotten, it is easier to remember something that happens closest to election period” said Chioma Ogbonna, singer and son writer.

Music has routinely played an important role in Nigerian elections with influential artistes being called on to support candidates through public endorsements or composing campaign anthems. Some like Jude “M.I.” Abaga, Nigerian hip-hop artist think its time to change the lyrics.

“In the past I have supported one or two candidates that I knew personally that I thought were fit for office but right now I think the greater conversation is about you know what the young people need to see in terms of competence in the office and that is the lane I’m in right now”.

Organizers say the competition has no prize money attached to it, but that their primary aim is to give a platform to young musicians who focus on Nigeria’s social development.