Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy: When Youth's Licence Clashes with Legend
Afrobeats stars Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy are currently embodying what Oscar Wilde described as youth's 'boundless licence'—a period of passionate purity but also reckless indulgence. Davido faces a fresh paternity lawsuit from Ayo Labinjoh, who claims he fathered her daughter during a one-night stand. Davido's billionaire father has publicly dismissed the Labinjohs as 'gold diggers,' capitalizing on the superstar's well-documented romantic history. Davido has five confirmed children with four women, including wife Chioma Rowland, plus two additional potential claims from Anita Brown and Ivanna Bay. The singer maintains he never met Ayo. Meanwhile, Wizkid sparked fury by claiming on X that he is 'bigger than your papa'—directed at Seun Kuti, son of the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Fela's fans branded this heresy, comparing it to when John Lennon said The Beatles were 'more popular than Jesus.' But unlike the 1960s backlash, Wizkid's youthful fanbase—too young to have witnessed Fela's live performances—has drowned out the outrage on social media. Burna Boy added to the youthful 'outlawry' by humiliating American fan Chowtu Jeteni at his Denver concert, ordering security to remove her for sleeping front-row. She later revealed she was grieving her daughter's father. The generational divide is stark: older Fela worshippers are digitally invisible, while Wizkid's legion defends their idol fiercely. Nigerian highlife legend Rex Lawson once sang 'So Ala Temen,' preaching that God made both rich and poor equally. Yet Davido's father sees the Labinjohs as opportunists exploiting celebrity licence. The question isn't whether this behaviour is eccentricity or narcissism, but whether these stars realize youth is temporary. As Wilde warned: 'There is absolutely nothing in the world but youth!'—and time is already warring against their lilies and roses.