Nigerian singer and songwriter, Segun Akinlolu, popularly known as Beautiful Nubia, has spoken against the continuous and deliberate destruction of Nigeria’s natural environment.
During a recent concert, the singer highlighted this issue by criticizing Nigerians for their growing disconnection from nature, questioning the increasing obsession with deforestation.
According to him, a drive down the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway triggered this; the music star lamented the sight of mass tree-cutting, which he described as a “war against nature.”
He said, “I drove on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway today. They are cutting down all the trees,” he lamented, “When Nigerians buy land, they hate trees. Nigerians have a war against trees; we have a war against nature. I don’t know why. Something is wrong with us, and something is really wrong with us, with our brains, that we hate trees. We hate trees. We hate seeing grass.”
Akinlolu, known for using his music as a tool of mass sensitization and social advocacy, blamed the war on nature, on the collective desire to one day own a property. He noted the common Nigerian dream: to acquire land, build a house, and immediately cut down all the trees.
He explained, “When Nigerians buy land, we cut everything, we cement the whole floor. Everybody is dreaming to one day have money, buy land, and build a house cut down all the trees. The first thing you do when you get there? Cut the trees. Cut down all those trees! What is wrong with you? Without the trees, we would all be dead, and we’re getting there very quickly, you wait and see. Wait and see, we are getting there very quickly.”
“Two weeks ago, the trees were still there when you drove on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Today, you are traveling there, and the trees are all gone.” He added.
Born in Ibadan in 1968, Segun started writing songs at age nine. Segun Akinlolu graduated from the University of Ibadan with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in 1992 and worked as a veterinarian for about 8 years. He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma from the Nigeria Institute of Journalism.
He drew his early influence from the traditional culture which was prevalent in the form of oral poetry, theatre, music and folklore. In 1997, he established EniObanke, a music production and marketing company, under which his first album was released in 1997. He is the leader of the Roots Renaissance Band, Nigeria’s foremost contemporary folk and roots music group.
