Carnivores

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and MKO Abiola are remembered today as two towering figures in Nigerian history. But long before they became enduring symbols of resistance, they were locked in a bitter conflict over power, politics, and the music business.Who won this beef?

The collapse of one of Nigerian hip-hop’s pioneering groups led to one of the country’s first music beefs. After The Remedies broke up, former members Eedris Abdulkareem and Tony Tetuila turned their frustrations into iconic diss tracks, taking their fallout from behind-the-scenes tension to public spectacle. Decades on, old disagreements about who really formed the talent in The Remedies continue to resurface.

When 9ice's marriage to his manager, Toni Payne, fell apart in 2010, heartbreak somehow turned into one of Nigerian music's most talked-about feuds. Rumours that fellow rapper Ruggedman had been involved in the breakup spread rapidly, fuelled by a hit song, leaked phone calls, and plenty of public speculation.

For nearly a decade, a rivalry between MI Abaga and Vector simmered beneath the surface through subliminal lyrics, competitive interviews, and endless debates over who deserved the title of Nigeria's best rapper. But in 2019, the gloves finally came off.Who won the battle: MI or Vector?

For years, the P-Square duo were untouchable. With hit records, sold-out tours, and a family-run business, Peter and Paul Okoye, alongside their older brother and manager Jude, built one of the most successful acts in African music history. But behind the scenes, creative differences, family tensions, and business disputes were quietly pulling the group apart.This episode, recorded before the shenanigans of the past week, helps contextualize the rise and fall of one of Nigeria's greatest music chapters.

In this power clash between political and traditional power, we find Muhammadu Sanusi II (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi), former Emir of Kano, and Abdullahi Ganduje, then-Governor of Kano State at logger heads.The tension began brewing after Sanusi—known for his outspoken views—publicly criticized the Kano State government’s policies and alleged mismanagement under Ganduje’s leadership. In response, Ganduje's administration began moves to weaken Sanusi’s influence. In 2019, Ganduje controversially split the historic Kano Emirate into five, effectively reducing Sanusi’s domain and symbolic power. He went a step further in March 2020, dethroning and exiling Sanusi under the guise of “insubordination.” The move was widely seen as politically motivated and sparked national debate over the autonomy of traditional institutions and the cost of speaking truth to power.

The feud between Afrobeats star Davido and media mogul Dele Momodu began in 2015. Davido and his family were in a custody dispute over his daughter, Imade, with her mother, Sophia Momodu — who is Dele Momodu’s niece. When the Momodus accused Davido’s family of attempting to take the child abroad without the mother's consent, the matter escalated publicly.Davido vented his frustration on social media and took shots at Dele Momodu in multiple songs, most notably in Falz’s “Bahd Baddo Baddest” where he rapped, “Mr Dele na my boy, Dele na my boy.” The jab went viral, sparking debates about respect, celebrity behavior, and media power in Nigeria and remains one of the most talked-about celebrity-media clashes in Nigerian pop culture.Who do you have as the ultimate winner?

The tension between Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Akwaeke Emezi emerged publicly in 2021 but had roots in earlier disagreements. It began after Emezi, a non-binary Nigerian author who was once mentored by Adichie, criticized Adichie for her 2017 comments that questioned whether trans women are the same as cis women. Adichie's comments sparked backlash, particularly within LGBTQ+ communities.Emezi, who had been part of Adichie's writing workshop, later removed Adichie's name from the acknowledgments of their debut novel and called her out publicly for transphobia. In a 2021 essay titled “It Is Obscene,” Adichie indirectly addressed the situation, accusing unnamed younger writers (widely understood to include Emezi) of bad faith, performative outrage, and using social media to stoke division.The fallout revealed generational and ideological divides in Nigerian literary and activist spaces, touching on issues of identity, mentorship, and the limits of public discourse.Who do you have as the ultimate winner?