Popular folk musician Olusegun Akinlolu aka Beautiful Nubia is one artiste who stands out in the Nigerian music industry for his unique style of music. His songs are riddled with messages for the oppressors, the oppressed, the rich, the poor and everybody in the society. In this interesting interview with NaijaDopeReview’s Olalekan Leewas, he discusses among many things, the International politics and Nigerian politics. He also shares his view on the role of women in the society as well as proffering solutions to the many problems faced by the country. Enjoy
NaijaDopeReview (NDR):How did you come about the name “Beautiful Nubia”?
Beautiful Nubia (BN): It’s a 2-part name. “Beautiful” refers to a state of perfection in which one is incapable of hatred and can see beyond face, gender, colour or faith. That is a soul that does not discriminate, a high soul. That’s what I want. “Nubia” is the name of a nation of Africans who ruled the world close to 3000 years ago. I use the name to remind us that we haven’t always been slaves, colonised people or the laggards of the human family. Once people like us ruled the world and we can do it again if we develop that internal beauty.
NDR: What kind of music do you do and why?
BN:We call it folk and roots music because it is built on traditional folk rhythms and reflects the roots of most modern genres of music
NDR:What can you say are the major messages in your songs?
BN: We try to highlight the path to personal and communal rebirth and development.
NDR:What kind of Nigerian society do you want?
BN: One in which everyone has a chance to rise to his/her true potentials irrespective of one’s background or connections. One in which dreams come true, poverty is a thing of the past and there is true, organised development of our people and lives.
NDR:What’s your view on capitalism?
BN:Like everything else, it has both negatives and positives. Its extreme form, as practised in many places around the world including Nigeria, is not good for societal development.
NDR:What’s your ideology about life?
BN:It’s a short trip. Enjoy it to the fullest but leave a trail of happiness for those coming behind. Make your life a seed that you sow in this blessed earth, water its growth all your life until it develops into a mighty tree providing shade and sustenance for those coming after us.
NDR:Your songs feature women a lot as against the belief that the African society is a patriarchal one, what do you think is the place (role) of women in the society?
BN: The women are our mothers, they are the bearers of life and the powers behind most thrones. The ones who make and break. A very powerful but often silent force. The women largely ensure the health and strength of the future because they tend to be the ones mostly charged with raising the next generation. Abused women mostly produce stunted children who become evil leaders. The cycle of abuse simply continues. To have a healthier land, we must ensure that we treat our women right and raise the girl child with as much attention and love as the male child.
NDR:What’s the motivation behind the kind of messages you preach in your music?
BN: My music is a reflection of who I am, the environment in which I grew up, the philosophies and traditional wisdom that I was exposed to as a child and all the knowledge I have picked up in my years of learning and travel.
NDR:You embark on the post colonial journey a bit in some of your songs like “Revolution Time,” “E komo lede” and more, what do you think is the surest way to free ourselves from the yoke of colonialism or neo-colonialism as the case may be?
BN:We have to re-educate our minds and renew the curriculum in our schools so that the children’s minds are fed with the right messages. I call it a “thought revolution”. A total turn around in the way we think and act in response to our socio-political and economic challenges. Many of the answers will be found in tradition, but we must merge that with modern knowledge to create a powerful amalgam

read full interview
http://www.naijadopereview.com/2016/02/11/if-i-were-president-buhari-i-would-slash-my-salary-and-allowances-by-seventy-five-percent-beautiful-nubia/

Interesting... But la click la bend.