Timaya - Dem Mama
The track Dem Mama is one of Timaya’s most powerful and defining songs from his debut album True Story (2007).
It’s a deeply political and emotional record, inspired by the tragic events in Odi, Bayelsa State in 1999, where a military invasion led to the destruction of villages and the loss of many innocent lives. Timaya channels that pain and outrage into music, condemning oppression and giving a voice to the voiceless.
Produced by K‑Solo, the track blends Dancehall, Afrobeats, and Highlife, with a haunting rhythm that amplifies its message. Timaya’s raw delivery and storytelling made Dem Mama a protest anthem that resonated across Nigeria and beyond.
Dem Mama isn’t just a song — it’s a cultural statement, a fearless cry for justice, and one of the records that cemented Timaya’s reputation as a voice of truth and resilience in African music.
Timaya - Dem Mama
Dem Mama Lyrics:
I say they done come (iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo)
Nothing we do them (iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo, iyo)
Nigeria na my country oh
Bayelsa na my state oh
This na reality
Well e bin happen for Bayelsa oh
Nineteen ninety nine oh
I swear I no go forget am oh
When them kill the people oh
And they make the children them orphans oh
Any time wey I think am oh
Water dey pour from my eyes oh
Somebody say make I leave am oh
But I say me I must talk am oh
I say them don kill them mama eh eh eh
Them don kill them papa eh
I say them don kill them mama
Them papa them mama them papa them mama eh
I say they done kill them mama eh them papa eh ah
Them mama eh ah
Wetin we go do iyo
Do iyo
Say do iyo
Na so them march dey go iyo
Ten thousand soldiers for road iyo
Ask them where them dey go
Them say them dey go Bayelsa oh
Which place for Bayelsa
One village they call Odi oh
Na im them enter our village
And rape our young girls
And make us homeless oh (chai)
Them kill our mama iyo
Them kill our ppaa iyo
Them kill our brothers
Them kill our sisters
And make us homeless oh
Wetin we go do iyo
Do iyo
Say do iyo
Everybody dey cry oh
I say government them bad oh
I say them don kill them mama eh eh eh
Them don kill them papa eh
I say them don kill them mama
Them papa them mama them papa them mama eh
I say they done kill them mama eh them papa eh ah
Them mama eh ah
Wetin we go do iyo
Do iyo
Say do iyo
I don die oh
Poverty no good at all oh (chai)
Everyday for Nigeria
Na so the people them dey die oh
Eeeh, our government oh
Na why una make us dey cry oh
Ooh, everyday for Nigeria
Na so the people dem dey die oh
Them commot for house for morning oh
Money no dey for your hand oh
Police go stop you for road
Them go collect the one wey you get oh
Them lay allegation for your head oh
For wetin you no do iyo
Before you go know
My brother, you don dey inside cell oh
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True Story
Timaya 2007
