Inetimi Odon, the Nigerian singer better known as Timaya, has recounted how his family was affected by the 1999 Odi massacre in Bayelsa state.
The Odi massacre was a brutal attack on the Ijaw community of Odi by the Nigerian armed forces during the Niger Delta conflict, which stemmed from disputes over oil resources, environmental degradation, and indigenous rights.
Reports indicate that over 900 civilians were killed and the town was nearly destroyed.
In a recent interview on Joey Akan’s Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, Timaya explained that the Nigerian Army carried out the attack against the predominantly Ijaw town on the order of the government.
The massacre was also a personal ordeal, stressing that his mother owned a bakery in the town of Odi.
According to him, the military operation resulted in the loss of lives and property.
Timaya said he was conferred with the title of Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa after he sang about the Odi massacre in his hit song, ‘Dem Mama’, in 2007.
He said, “It [Odi] was part of me, too, because my mum had a bakery in the village and was supplying the whole village… It was the village that was attacked.
“It’s very touching because we lost lives, a lot of things, and history. You know, when the government just says, ‘go and shoot these people down’.
“I sang about it [the massacre]. That is the most I can do. In fact, I told the story, how they sent the military to burn down the village. I narrated my story, and it helped me to make an impact. I became the voice, which they gave me the title of the Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa State. That is the mouthpiece of the people.”
