Eedris Abdulkareem explains what happened when Obasanjo heard his song “Jagajaga”

Veteran Nigerian singer Eedris Abdulkareem has shared a story about his past encounter with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his controversial song “Nigeria Jagajaga.”

Recounting the experience, Eedris said it started unexpectedly when he received a call while he was asleep.

“I was sleeping one day and I received a call from someone saying, ‘Put on your TV, Obasanjo is talking about you.’ I was like, really? What did I do?” he said.

According to him, when he turned on the television, he heard the President reacting to his music.

“I was hearing Obasanjo say that he loves songs like ‘If you push me I will push you,’ he loves songs like ‘He go better,’ but there is one stupid boy that sang ‘Nigeria Jagajaga,’ it’s his father and his mother that are Jagajaga,” Eedris recalled.

Despite the criticism, the singer said he felt satisfied that his message had reached the country’s leadership.

“I was so happy that my message got to the President,” he added.

Months later, events took an unexpected turn when Obasanjo traveled to Europe with some governors in search of foreign investors. Around the same time, Eedris said a German ambassador invited him to perform at an event the President was scheduled to attend.

“My friend, a German ambassador, reached out to me and said, ‘Eedris, I want you to come and perform at one of the events where your President is coming.’ I said, ‘Great,’ and entered Europe too,” he said.

At the event, things took a dramatic twist when his song was played.

“It was my time to perform. The MC announced that a talented musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, will be coming on stage. Before I got to the stage, the DJ had started playing my song ‘Jagajaga,’” he recounted.

Eedris said the former President initially did not recognize the track.

“At that moment, OBJ didn’t even know it was ‘Jagajaga.’ He had started shaking his body and dancing to it,” he said.

However, the mood quickly changed once Obasanjo realized what was playing.

“Few minutes later, it dawned on him that the song being played was the same ‘Nigeria Jagajaga’ song he had once rebuked. He said, ‘Eeeeh,’ got upset immediately and travelled back to Nigeria without finishing his foreign investors assignment,” Eedris added.

The singer described the moment as ironic, noting how a song that once drew criticism from the President later created an unexpected and awkward encounter abroad.