Controversial Ibrahim Olawale, better known by his stage name Brymo, a Nigerian musician, has spoken out about his defeat at the All-Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, in response to a social media user petition against his nomination.

The artist, who opposed Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s nominee for president, came under criticism for saying that the drive for Biafra would make an Igbo presidency a “pipe dream.”

An Igbo president will remain a pipe dream as long as prominent Igbolandians continue to discuss Biafra, he tweeted.

Unfazed by the harsh responses his tweets drew, Brymo had in another tweet snarled at Igbos: To hell with it, “F*ck The Ndi Igbo!”

Charles Ogundele, who was incensed by the singer’s constant anti-Igbo remarks, started the petition against Brymo and urged Nigerians to sign it in order to stop the singer from winning at the 2023 AFRIMA.

Almost 47,000 Nigerians signed the petition, which said that Brymo’s disqualification would send a clear message that openly displaying ethnic hatred would not be tolerated.

Brymo later expressed regret for the remarks; the organizers did not disqualify him, but he was denied the honors, which went to Iba One from Mali.

Brymo Talks
In an interview with Cable, Brymo commented on the situation and said that before the petition for his disqualification was started, he was looking forward to receiving the award.

He insisted that a number of different factors combined to cause him to lose the award, not the Southeast fracas.

Before his work was nominated, Brymo declared his retirement from music, which made him ineligible for the honors.

He remarked, “I believe I proclaimed months ago that I was no longer a musician but a sonic artist. It implied that I was no longer qualified for musician prizes.

“But, AFRIMA nominated my piece, “Esan,” so I put all of that behind me and eagerly anticipated the occasion. But in all honesty, I didn’t want it since I’m no longer a vocalist.

There is a category for songwriting, but they shouldn’t nominate musical acts. Even so, I was anticipating it, and suddenly something happened. Talking about Biafra’s leaving and staying brought me into problems.

“As a result, I avoided AFRIMA and refrained from challenging the prize later. The southeast brawl had nothing to do with losing. Just now did everything come together.