Reality TV star and comedian, Aderombi Adedayo, popularly known as DeeOne, has stirred conversation with a bold claim that legendary singer, Olu Maintain, played a role in tainting Nigeria’s global image.
DeeOne made the statement during his recent appearance on the Echo Room podcast, where he addressed the rise of internet fraud, popularly called Yahoo Yahoo, and its negative effects on Nigeria’s reputation.
According to him, Olu Maintain’s 2007 smash hit, ‘Yahooze’, glamorized fraud culture and contributed to normalizing Yahoo Yahoo as an acceptable lifestyle among Nigerian youths.
“Do you know that Olu Maintain, great artiste. I love his work but do you know that Olu Maintain is among the people that put this country in a bad light, and gave us a bad name?” DeeOne asked.
He recalled how fraud was once a shameful act in Nigeria before the release of the controversial hit song. “Many years ago in Nigeria, Yahoo Yahoo – 419 was something that everybody that was involved in it was ashamed of. They could not come out to say I’m a 419. Na you go dey tell person say this guy ee be like say na 419. It was a shameful thing even though they were making a lot of money. And then, Olu Maintain came with that hit (song) ‘Yahoo’.”
The comedian further explained how the song changed the mindset of many Nigerians, particularly the youth, at the time.
“The whole country started celebrating to the extent that that thing had a dance. We did not understand the effects. Young boys then, babies at that time were inspired, listening to the song, enjoying the vibe. So, Yahoo Yahoo now became an accepted profession in Nigeria. And you know that Nigeria has the largest population of black people. Now, it has spread all over the globe.”
Linking the situation to Nigeria’s present-day struggles, DeeOne added:
“If we are complaining about this country now, Olu Maintain will talk and say, ‘Oh, it’s the government but he contributed to one of the suffering that we are facing today.’ Today now, if you travel out of Nigeria, they will look at you and say ‘oh these people that are into fraud.’”
Olu Maintain’s Yahooze remains one of Nigeria’s most iconic Afrobeats tracks, but DeeOne’s comments have now reopened debate about the line between music, culture, and social influence.
