Nigerian musician Ahmed Ololade, popularly called Asake, has received backlash from Nigerians over the release of his brand-new music video.
Despite being loved by many for his melodic tones and danceable songs, the release of his latest music video, titled 'Only Me', has earned the Grammy Award nominee backlash from Nigerians.
Renowned for his hit songs, Asake, the Afrobeats Superstar is famous for his love for depicting Christianity in a 'condescending' manner.
In the music video directed by TG. Omori, Asake, and some video vixens can be seen dressed in priestly regalia, spraying money, and speaking profanities while some others dance 'possessed' on the floor.
As some Nigerians noted, social media influencer Solomon Buchi expressed distaste for Asake's choice of props and has taken to social media to vent.
In a statement on X, Buchi described Asake's action as "disrespectful" and wondered why Christians still listen to his songs.
Buchi wrote, "Asake keeps disrespecting the Christian faith in his music videos.
"Dramatizing the Eucharist, robed up in priestly regalia for a music video that has no connection with Christianity, is disrespectful.
"In his Bandana video, he depicts black goats trooping into the church with cloven tongues of fire above weird men.
"Asake, I think, is a Muslim. Why doesn't he go above and beyond to embarrass his Muslim faith in the same way?
"Why do Christians even listen to these musicians who bluntly disrespect Christianity?"
Reacting to the music video, a man simply identified as Jay Dee noted that if the Muslim faith was depicted in such a manner, it would have started a "civil war".
He said, "Firstly, he took goats to a church. Now this? Ordinary someone dancing in front of the mosque, there was a civil war; they wanted Davido's head for promoting his artist, who was also a Muslim. Asake should know when to stop."
Victor Ekezie argued that "Any musician that wants to trend will just use Christianity in a Mediocre way. He should go and try this nonsense with the religion of peace."
Janet Adewum on X, said, "He should try it with his religion and stop disrespecting Christianity. They can't take what they dish out."
"If it were a Christian doing something anti-Muslim, Northern Nigerians would have gone on a killing spree," another Nigerian argued.
In his reaction, Austin opined that such condescending attitudes towards Christianity happen because Christians are "weak".
He urged Christians to "stand up for Christendom and condemn what is wrong."
He said, "I say it anywhere and at any time. Christianity is very weak. Very weak, so weak that the people are weak. Can a Christian do this in place of a Muslim prayer?
"When I talk about weakness, I mean standing for what is right in Christendom and condemning what is wrong. Let them know what we stand for. We, Christians, know that speaking in any form or shape against Islam is blasphemy, which leads to death. Why can't we make such?"
For Oluwadara Wisdom, he slammed the 'lonely at the top' crooner for speaking profanities against Christian figures while praising Islam.
Speaking in Pidgin, he said, "Naso e talk, say 'Orimolade gbemidebe' the respectful Saint Orimolade. These guys are ridiculing Christianity; he said, 'Lola anabi Muhammad' giving his religion respect."
Ikenna Okolo noted that "If a Christian portrays Islam in their music like this, that's enough to cause riots and religious outbursts in certain areas of Nigeria."
Patrick o Bayern urged the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, to bring the YBNL signee to order.
"He should be brought to necessary rebuke.
"You cannot ridicule the faith of millions. And you cannot say that God will fight for himself. That's a hypocritical and insincere approach.
"He should be charged and arrested if possible. Don't allow trampling of the Christian faith," he said.
Calling the video "unacceptable", Ken Musa Ehi called for the director of the video to be criticized as well when he said, "It is unacceptable, but before then, you need to drag the music director first because he is the one who initiated this concept.
"Whenever you want to shoot a music video, the artist sends the song to the video director. He listens and looks for a concept that fits in with the music; if he doesn't have one, he will ask the artist if he has anything in mind or if he has his concept; that is how it works in most cases."
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