Last 12 months’s Open Letter to Barry Showkey was written within the spirit of counsel. It was an attraction to restraint, humility, and peace—a reminder that Fuji music, as a dwelling tradition, survives on unity and respect somewhat than fixed inner warfare. That letter urged reflection. What adopted, sadly, has made silence unattainable.
In latest days, a voice word attributed to Barry Showkey and directed at Saheed Osupa has circulated extensively inside Fuji circles and past. By a number of accounts, the message didn’t emerge from any seen dispute. It adopted what was reportedly a routine New Year greeting. Yet, virtually instantly, the tone descended right into a barrage of curses, insults, and excessive allegations—some extending to Osupa’s household and youngsters, others invoking dying, fetish practices, and ethical corruption.
This was not creative rivalry. It was not cultural debate. It was not even provocation. It was an unrestrained outburst that contradicts each declare of peace, legacy, and management that Fuji music calls for of its representatives.
*Legacy Cannot Be Claimed And Destroyed At Once*
Barry Showkey has constantly offered himself because the son and inheritor of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, the extensively acknowledged architect of Fuji music. That declare has at all times carried weight—as a result of legacy in Fuji isn’t just about bloodlines, however about conduct.
If one claims the founder as father, then one should additionally settle for the duty of preservation. Barrister’s legacy was constructed on self-discipline, construction, and cultural grounding. What we’re witnessing now’s the alternative: a sample of verbal violence, repeated hostility, and public disruption geared toward fellow Fuji artists who stay lively inside the Nigerian ecosystem.
It have to be said clearly: no true custodian of a style wages struggle towards its personal survival. One can’t communicate of peace whereas cursing colleagues. One can’t invoke heritage whereas dismantling unity. One can’t declare Fuji’s crown whereas trampling on its values.
*A Pattern, Not an Isolated Incident*
This just isn’t the primary time such conduct has surfaced. Similar assaults have been directed at Saheed Osupa final 12 months. This 12 months, the identical sample has re-emerged—louder, harsher, and extra alarming. That repetition issues. It reframes the problem from “momentary anger” to behavioural consistency.
The reported content material of the voice word consists of claims that Osupa’s relationships—with colleagues, associates, and even household—have been destroyed by manipulation and {financial} inducement. It alleges the existence of recordings to “prove” these assertions, whereas concurrently raining curses and dying needs. These claims, as of this writing, stay unsubstantiated. What just isn’t in dispute, nevertheless, is the tone and intent of the message itself.
Fuji music doesn’t profit from this. It bleeds from it.
*Where Is the Industry’s Moral Compass?*
Perhaps probably the most troubling silence has come from the Fuji Musician Association of Nigeria. This is the institutional physique anticipated to safeguard ethics, self-discipline, and collective concord inside the style. When a voice word of this nature circulates publicly—one which undermines peace and units a harmful precedent—quiet inner conversations will not be sufficient.
Peace can’t be selective. Discipline can’t be sentimental. If this act goes publicly unaddressed, it turns into permission—for immediately’s offender and tomorrow’s imitators. Those who presently encourage or excuse such behaviour ought to bear in mind: a person who curses one colleague immediately might curse one other tomorrow.
An official assertion issues. A transparent stance issues. Fuji musicians, followers, and stakeholders should know the place the affiliation stands when strains are crossed so blatantly.
*Frustration Is Not A License For Destruction :*
If Barry Showkey is struggling—personally, emotionally, or professionally—then honesty and openness would invite assist. Many artists have confronted displacement, relevance anxiousness, and cultural dislocation, particularly within the diaspora. None of those challenges justify public verbal assault.
Help is accessed by means of humility, not hostility. Healing begins with accountability, not curses. Growth requires introspection, not enemies.
This 12 months ought to have marked improvement, reconciliation, and creative renewal. Instead, it dangers changing into one other chapter outlined by battle.
*Peace Requires Boundaries*:
Fuji music has endured as a result of it values elders, order, and collective dignity. Peace doesn’t imply tolerating abuse. Unity doesn’t imply shielding misconduct. Togetherness doesn’t imply silence within the face of hurt.
If Barry Showkey actually wishes peace, then it should start with restraint, apology, and reflection. If he claims Barrister’s legacy, then let his actions honour it. And if the Fuji trade actually seeks concord, then it have to be courageous sufficient to sentence what threatens it—brazenly, pretty, and with out concern.
