Ó TÓ GẸ VERSUS Ó TÚN YÁ: A REFLECTION ON SELECTED POLITICALLY MOTIVATED MUSIC OF 2019 ELECTIONEERING IN KWARA STATE

Abstract

The 2019 general election in Kwara State seemed to have attracted
attention of all and sundry because of protracted 'almighty
godfatherism political structure' that was pulled down with what most
Kwarans tagged protest votes after several attempts by the electorates.
During the preparation for the election, diverse live musical
performances and assorted recorded music in form of jingles
characterised the political campaigns and rallies; they saturated the
electronic and social media platforms, courtesy of the two leading and
active political parties – All Progressive Congress (APC) and People's
Democratic Party (PDP) otherwise popularly known asÓ tógẹand
Ótúnyárespectively. Since the conclusion of the election and
declaration of results afterwards, it is observed that Music scholars are
yet to examine musical activities of the two political parties, and the
influence of such on the decision of the electorates at the poll. This is
the lacuna this paper intends to fill. The study adopted content analysis
method of research, which was complemented by interview. Similarly,
the study relies on deliberate or purposive sampling to select the
relevant music audio and video for documentation and analysis. Out of
the fifteen (15) songs gotten from media houses and internet sources,
seven (7) were prepared by APC, seven (7) were packaged by PDP, and
the remaining one (1) was sponsored by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC). All the fifteen (15) songs were
documented, translated, notated and analysed. The identified songs
were categorised under six p's – protest, praise, prayer, portent, pan and
pride. Amongst other findings, the study reveals that the two (2) leading
political parties used jingles and live musical performances to eulogise
or satirise their opponent parties/candidates, educate or entice the
electorates, and abuse or revile one another.The study concludes that
musical activities cannot be separated from electioneering. Hence,
political parties are advised to avoid abusive songs or jingles that could
ignite fracas or chaos. They should use musical jingles to project their
party policy and programme for the populace.