Davido, Wande coal’s fallout gets messier as old post fuels fresh backlash

By Ogundele Eniola Mopelola

The latest controversy erupted after Davido spoke about his strained relationship with Wande Coal during a television interview on August 18. Davido claimed that Wande had recently attempted to obtain his phone number through a third party, but said he instructed the person not to share it.

Davido further described Wande’s behaviour as childish and suggested that the veteran singer had been seeking his attention. He subsequently shared a WhatsApp screenshot appearing to show someone informing him that “Wande Coal said he wants your number.”

Rather than ending the argument, the screenshot appeared to create a new problem. Shortly after Davido’s comments, social media users resurfaced a post he made in 2011, years before the current dispute, in which he publicly asked Wande Coal for his phone number.

The old post quickly went viral, with users pointing out what they considered an irony: Davido was now presenting Wande’s attempt to obtain his number as significant, while an old post showed that Davido himself had once sought Wande’s contact details.

The resurfaced post triggered a fresh wave of criticism, memes and commentary across X, with fans arguing over who was responsible for escalating the dispute. The latest exchange dates back to an unreleased collaboration involving the two singers.

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The disagreement centres on “Come My Way,” a Wande Coal track on which Davido said he contributed a verse. According to Davido’s account, Wande reached out to him for the verse and he recorded it, but the song was ultimately shelved after disagreements over how it should be released.

He maintained that the song already had a clear release plan and questioned Davido’s account of how the collaboration fell apart. The disagreement subsequently spilled onto X, where both artists exchanged increasingly personal remarks.

What could have remained a relatively ordinary disagreement between musicians therefore became a public confrontation watched by millions.

The situation is particularly striking because Davido and Wande Coal are not strangers within Nigeria’s music industry.

Wande Coal is one of the country’s most respected veteran voices, while Davido has become one of Afrobeats’ biggest global stars. Their careers represent different generations of Nigerian popular music, making the dispute particularly interesting to fans.

One of the most entertaining and chaotic aspects of the controversy has been the way Nigerian social-media users have searched through years of posts looking for evidence that could support either side.

Davido’s 2011 post became the latest piece of evidence used by critics who accused him of contradicting his present position. Other users, meanwhile, argued that an old request for someone’s number does not necessarily contradict Davido’s current claim, since circumstances and relationships can change over a 15 year period.

The Davido Wande Coal dispute is therefore not simply another celebrity quarrel. It is also a reminder of how permanent the internet can make a public image