By Ghazali Ibrahim
Tungba Maestro Yinka Ayefele has pushed back against allegations by Nigerian folk musician Segun Akinlolu, popularly known as Beautiful Nubia, who accused him of stealing a melody from his song “Seven Lives.”
Beautiful Nubia had, in an Instagram post on Thursday, accused Ayefele and another gospel act, Bakare Boluwatife Oluwatobi (BBO), of using melodies from his earlier work without credit. He alleged that Ayefele’s 2012 song “My Faith in God” (Igbagbo Ireti) copied the melody of “Seven Lives,” while BBO’s recent track “Amin” did the same.
“There was Yinka Ayefele with ‘My Faith in God’ (Igbagbo Ireti) in 2012, and now someone called BBO with ‘Amin’ this year. Both stole their melodies from our original song Seven Lifes,” Beautiful Nubia wrote, describing the act as “stealing” and questioning when Nigerian musicians, particularly gospel artists, would begin to respect copyright.
But reacting to the claims in an interview with Peoples Gazette, Ayefele dismissed the accusation and challenged the basis of the copyright argument.
“Can one claim a melody or claim your copyright on lyrics and compositions? Can you claim the tone on the keyboard and guitar, that you are the one who generated it?” Ayefele asked.
The gospel artiste also downplayed the significance of the social media call-out, saying he would not be drawn into online drama.
“I don’t respond to social media stunts,” he said.
Ayefele’s general manager, Wuyi Aderibigbe, reinforced the singer’s stance, stating that the team was not interested in engaging in a public back-and-forth.
According to him, if there was indeed a case of infringement, Beautiful Nubia would know the appropriate legal steps to take.
“If we had copyright infringement in his song, he knows what to do,” Aderibigbe said.
Corroborating the response, the singer made another post on his Facebook page downplaying the accusations of copyright infringement as alleged by Beautiful Nubia.
The post says, “Who is the composer of ‘Ebami Gbondo yi gbe…Jangbalajugbu… Who was acknowledged… Infringement Aye”.
This latest update adds to the growing trend of copyright allegations by Nigerian creatives and the habits of downplaying the effects of the act.
Meanwhile, in the ongoing saga, BBO is yet to comment as of the time of filing this report.
