The much anticipated end of year concert Nativeland just ended disastrously. The event boasted of Nigerian musicians from mainstream Afrobeats to underground alternative. It seemed like it was going to be an amazing show. But fate had other plans.
And as citizens of a country rich in resources and coping mechanisms, the concert-goers took to Twitter to lament and make jokes at the same time. Lucky for us, the cumulation of their online testimonies forms a base for us to know what really happened at Nativeland.
Here’s what we know so far…
The show was going okay with a few hitches here and there. Fireboy DML was performing songs off his new album…
When the VIP lounge at Nativeland collapsed.
According to this tweeter, there was a stampede and people fell over each other and got badly injured. Then chaos ensued.
then this happened... pic.twitter.com/ZBp7EV2qCC
— marlian minister of faaji (@Nkwachukwu_N) December 19, 2019
Fireboy said ‘party scatter’ & true true e don scatter finish 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/w4I57e6TUz
— marlian minister of faaji (@Nkwachukwu_N) December 19, 2019
The show organizers then canceled the concert for safety reasons. There was no promise that the fans would be refunded or compensated.
We are considering health and safety, after overselling tickets Nativeland
— FemiFactor CruiseTape (@iFemifactor) December 19, 2019
And then, when people tried to leave, for some reason, the gates were locked. As expected, there was more chaos.
So a lot of the concert-goers were standing around hoping it was joke. The gross abuse of consumer rights was probably palpable. Then the Mopol showed up and people started calling their parents.
the highlight of this entire night was when mopol proceeded to flog this innocent boy?? sorry to this man 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Mc2sx21jbJ
— marlian minister of faaji (@Nkwachukwu_N) December 19, 2019
This tweeter, who was injured in the collapse, is threatening to sue.
So I’m bleeding right now because the stage collapsed and people fell on top of me and I need to know who I’m suing. Fucking bunch of fools
— Ndx (@NdaliOzegbe) December 19, 2019
Even Nigerian artiste Joeboy had negative comments about the event. He revealed that he, like the fans, was disappointed and angry. He also complained about his performance being cut short due to technical issues.
Super pissed at the disorganization myself and the fans witnessed at #Nativeland
— JOEBOY (@joeboyofficial) December 19, 2019
My performance was abruptly cut due to ‘technical’ issues. I had not even gotten into my set properly. Sincere apologies to the fans that came out to watch and were disappointed
— JOEBOY (@joeboyofficial) December 19, 2019
Like the VIP lounge, the Nativeland concert seems to have been crushed under the weight of its ambition.
It looks like they spent so much time securing the artistes that they had none left over to make sure the venue was secure.
The fans at the Nativeland concert deserve to sue; not only for the endangerment and waste of money, but also for the physical assault perpetrated by the Mopol at the event.
People getting injured and hurt at #nativeland actually can sue for the negligence.
— IM_diffrent (@IM_IBM) December 19, 2019
Maybe not individually but as a class. That way you get to reduce the burden and you’d do it not necessarily for the money but to prove a point.
Too long that rubbish like this is tolerated
We know that come morning, the organizers will probably issue a half-assed apology. But that will not be nearly good enough.
Somehow, the most ironic part of this was that the party scattered while Fireboy DML was singing “Party Scatter”
Short clip of after the VIP section fell at NativeLand pic.twitter.com/Ui21UfgfEW
— FemiFactor CruiseTape (@iFemifactor) December 19, 2019
Like the tweet said, whoever is writing this season of Nigeria is truly mad.
Dem tiff people wig inside the whole brouhaha pic.twitter.com/gcT6tUubIz
— AbasiFreke (@prinzgbemi) December 20, 2019
