‘This is America’ parody banned in Nigeria

The groundbreaking video for the Childish Gambino hit “This is America” has already spawned dozens of remixes, mash-ups and comic parodies.

One of the most impressive efforts – a track and video by Nigerian rapper Falz detailing crime and corruption in the West African nation – has been banned by the country’s broadcast regulator.

The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is unhappy about one particular lyric in “This is Nigeria”.

It decided the line “This is Nigeria, everybody be criminal” was too “vulgar” to be allowed on the airwaves.

Despite the ban on radio play the video remains available on YouTube, and has already racked up more than 13 million views. It gained international attention after hip-hop mogul Diddy shared it on social media.

Unmoved by the acclaim, the regulator is adamant the song is “unfit” for Nigeria's music stations.

Falz responded to the ban with a statement: “I am not happy that the NBC is preventing the people from listening to such strong messages that need to be heard,” he said.

“There is a lot going on that needs to be talked about, even though a lot of people may not want to hear the truth.”

Although the rapper and songwriter Falz – whose real is name Folarin Falana – is not known for his socio-political commentary, “This is Nigeria” takes on a wide and impressive range of targets.

Adapting the stark political symbolism of Childish Gambino’s original visuals, there is a nod to alleged corruption inside Nigeria’s Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARs).

As two young men are seized by officials, one is shown to have family members wealthy enough to pay a bribe, while the other is dragged away.

Falz’s version also makes reference to Nigeria’s opioid crisis and alleged sexual assault by Christian pastors.

The video has been criticised by the group Muslim Rights Concern over girls seen dancing while wearing the hijab and the Fulani tribesman shown attacking another man with a machete.

The organisation said Falz’s work was “thoughtless, insensitive and highly provocative” and had “the potential of causing religious crisis of unprecedented dimension”.

It is not the first adaptation of “This is America” to cause controversy since the actor-writer-director-musician Donald Glover released the track under his Childish Gambino moniker back in May.

The actress and comic Nicole Arbour’s “women’s edit” parody was slated for appropriating Glover’s work to joke about problems faced by white women.