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Nigerian music icon Timaya has once again shared his deep and personal reflections on the tragic Odi massacre that devastated his hometown in Bayelsa State back in 1999.
In a recent interview, Timaya revealed that the brutal attack by the Nigerian Army on the Ijaw community wasn’t just a distant headline to him — it was a profound personal loss.
“It was part of me,” he said.
At the time, his mother ran a bakery in Odi, supplying bread to several surrounding villages. The military invasion, reportedly ordered by the government, destroyed everything, reducing the community to rubble.
According to Timaya, the massacre resulted in loss of lives, widespread destruction, and left a deep wound in the heart of Bayelsa — one that remains unhealed to this day.
“It’s very touching because we lost lives, a lot of things, and history,” he shared emotionally. “You know when the government just says, ‘go and shoot these people down?’”
Timaya transformed his pain into protest through his music. In 2007, he released the powerful track “Dem Mama,” which boldly narrated the Odi massacre in raw and vivid detail.
“I told the story — how they sent the military to burn down the village,” he explained. “I narrated my story and it helped me to make an impact.”
For his courageous voice and commitment to telling the truth, Timaya was later honoured with the title “Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa,” meaning “mouthpiece of the people” — a well-deserved recognition of his role as a voice for his community.
