“Poverty the reason behind hate on Mohbad’s father” — Seun Kuti

Nigerian music artist Seun Kuti has come to the defense of the father of late singer Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, amid growing criticism over the hasty burial of his son.

Mohbad tragically passed away at the age of 27 on September 12 and was laid to rest just one day after the incident in Ikorodu, Lagos State.

The swift burial sparked a flurry of comments on social media platforms, with fans and netizens lambasting Mohbad’s father for what they perceived as a lack of proper investigation into the circumstances surrounding the singer’s death.

In response to the critics, Seun Kuti, during an interview with media personality Nedu on ‘The Honest Bunch’ podcast, suggested that poverty was a significant factor in the backlash against Mohbad’s father.

He questioned why any rational father would want to keep his deceased son’s body for an extended period.

Seun Kuti further pointed out that if someone of substantial means, like Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola, had made the same decision to bury their child quickly, it would not have elicited the same negative response from Nigerians.

In such a scenario, people would have paid condolence visits instead, he argued.

He emphasized that the criticism directed at Mohbad’s father was primarily due to his financial status, rather than empathizing with him during this challenging time.

Seun Kuti expressed his viewpoint in Pidgin English, saying,

“In this whole Mohbad issue, poverty is playing a big role. People are saying that Mohbad’s father killed him because he buried him early.

“Who would want to look at his son’s dead body for 2 or 3 days? If it were Otedola’s child who passed away and he buried them overnight, would anyone have anything to say here?

“Instead of consoling the man who just lost his child, we are vilifying him as though he could harm his own son.

“This is someone who has just suffered a heartbreaking loss. You may like the boy more than him, but people have been bullying the young man all these days, and you didn’t say anything.”