Nigerian music is the most successful it has ever been, with artistes dominating the charts of multiple countries and selling out stadiums all over the world. Drawing its influence from various genres ranging from hip-hop to makossa, Nigerian music is a hybrid of different sounds from different cultures; this is one of the reasons why it has taken the world by storm, transcending language barriers, and making it onto Presidential playlists. But unfortunately, not everyone seems to be okay with that.
Today, eelive.ng looks into the success of the Nigerian music industry and the pushback it is currently receiving from other African countries.
Why is Nigerian music so popular?
Music journalist Motolani Alake, in an op-ed on Pulse.ng, attributed the popularity of Nigerian music to the very nature of Nigeria’s population. He said, “Nigeria is like the America of Africa. We are enviable and visible. There is a high level of desirability that comes with everything Nigerian. There is a Nigerian community everywhere you go. We have a population of 200 million people, half of whom are under 19. That means our pop culture is bound to transcend our borders faster.”
The size of the Nigerian diaspora varies greatly, ranging from about 5 million to 15 million people. Nigerians practically live in every part of the world; the largest populations live in the UK, USA, and South Africa. The Nigerian diaspora, said to be the country’s biggest export, is also the most loyal fanbase for Afrobeats — a genre that has become synonymous with Nigerian music — in the world.
Nigerians have also often led the charge when it comes to revolutionising the industry in Africa. Alake made reference to how King Sunny Ade opened the door for a whole generation of African acts being signed to foreign labels by getting signed to Island Records in the early 1980s.
This wide-spread fan base, however, hasn’t stopped Nigerians from facing various challenges in other African countries.
Omah Lay and Tems in Uganda
Back in December 2020, Afropop singer Stanley Omah Didia, popularly known as Omah Lay, and alte powerhouse Temilade Openiyi, known as Tems, got arrested in Uganda for breaking COVID-19 guidelines during their concert. The Ugandan authorities arrested and detained the singers for performing in an unauthorised concert that took place on December 13 in Ddungu Resort in Munyonyo, Kampala City.
However warranted the arrest was, the treatment of the two stars indicated a more hateful reason behind their arrest. Omah Lay said they treated him like a common thief and Tems went on a hunger strike for fear of poisoning. The two were liable to face a seven-year sentence but they were released a few days after their arrest.
Their brief imprisonment was applauded by Ugandan celebrities, most notably Cindy Sanyu who released a video on social media shortly after calling Omah Lay an idiot. The singer took offence at the fact that “a foreigner filled up a concert in the country” while “Ugandan artistes are starving”.
Prior to the event, Ugandan reggae musician Bebe Cool had opposed Omah Lay and Tems’ invitation for the concert in a post he shared on Facebook. In the post, he clearly shared how he planned to make “every effort to ruin the event”. In a series of tweets, following their release, Tems accused Bebe Cool of being responsible for the arrest. He allegedly called his friend to break into their room before getting them arrested.
She also claimed she saw the Ugandan singer laughing at them before bribing the police to send him their release papers to post on social media. Tems vowed to pounce on him should he ever set foot in Nigeria. You can read about their whole ordeal here.
Naira Marley in Cameroon
Nigerian rapper Azeez Adeshina Fashola, known as Naira Marley, recently fell victim to the same attitudes that led to the arrest of Omah Lay and Tems in Uganda. For the Soapy singer, however, his experience involved the relocation and cancellation of his Valentine’s Day concert. And by the looks of things, it was caused by the anti-Nigerianness bubbling to the surface again.
Naira Marley was slated to perform live in Cameroon at the invitation of Prince Mykel Enobi, who was trying to cash out on the growing Marlian fan-base in the country. This came in the middle of rising “Nigeriophobia” and the ongoing bitter Anglophone vs. Francophone conflict in Cameroon.
The anti-Nigerian sentiment reared its head when a Cameroonian comedian and actor, Pancho C.Y. International, called for a ban on Nigerian music in Cameroon. He claimed that continuous traction for Nigerian music was robbing Cameroonian artistes of airplay and popularity in their own country. According to him, Nigerian artists were taking food off Cameroonian tables.
On the other hand, Stanley Enow pleaded with Francophone DJs to stop playing Nigerian music in preference to music from Anglophone Cameroonian artistes. Enow’s message was more along the lines of the two conflicting sides putting the inter-tribal issues aside and supporting each other.
Where is the hate coming from?
In December 2020, Cameroonian performer Pancho C.Y International publicly called Nigerian artistes greedy and accused them of saturating the music industry. In addition to that, he accused Nigerians of refusing to open their market and media space to embrace music from other African nations.
Veteran culture journalist and Senior Editor at Opera News, Ayomide Tayo, weighed in on the matter, saying, “It’s not our fault. Nigeria is the most populous black nation on earth. We are also very fashionable and aware of pop culture trends. Our artists are more popular because we have the numbers. Because of this, people feel like Nigerian music is blocking the success of music in their own countries.”
“It’s easier for our music to get through social media channels and streaming platforms. Other African countries perceive Nigeria as other Nigerians perceive [Lagosians], and it’s not our fault.
“Only in Europe will you get a system where one country isn’t more culturally influential than others. In other continents, there’s always that one country with more cultural influence than others. In Africa, that’s Nigeria.”
He continued, “And then the audiences of other African countries genuinely seem to enjoy Nigerian music. If the people did not like the sound, no amount of publicity would make Nigerian music thrive there. You can’t police what people like.”
Africa is one
Pertaining to the second accusation that Nigerian artistes are taking food off the tables of other African performers, it feels particularly unfair considering that artistes from other African countries have had hits and whole eras in Nigeria.
In an interview with Pulse.ng, South African rapper Focalistic said on the matter, “Africa is one. I have worked with Nigerians, and they have inspired new sounds in South Africa. It’s only normal that Africa will inspire Africa. I don’t see why we should have problems amongst ourselves over this.”
Focalistic emphasised, “We are like brothers and sisters; MTVBase and Channel O married us. Fundamentally, our sounds have a similar sonic pattern; it shows how linked we are. We can’t just unmarry these things.”
Currently, Amapiano is the trending genre of music in Nigeria. Master KG’s songs, Jerusalema and Skeleton Move were part of the biggest songs in Nigeria for two years running (2019-2020). Artistes like Falz, Niniola, and DJ Kaywise have even adopted the genre.
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“At the end of the day, there’s only so much you can do in your country. Blackness is interlinked; that’s why our brothers in the diaspora are like evangelists for our music,” Focalistic continues. “Blackness creates a link by itself. We are stronger together than we are apart. I hope we all realise that and stop fighting over who owns what and how they invented it. You saw what Burna Boy did to Jerusalema.”
This is just one example in a broad range of times where music from other African countries have spread like wildfire in Nigeria. There were indeed points in our music history when the lyrics from songs by South Africa’s Brenda Fassie were on every Nigerian’s lips. In the mid-2000s, the music of Ghana’s V.V.I.P graced every occasion, and Angola’s Cabo Snoop dominated Nigerian radios in 2010.
Congolese Awilo Longomba tore through Nigeria with his albums. Togolese music group Toofan and Congolese Fally Ipupa had their respective runs, which loosely inspired music from P-Square and J Martins in the late 2000s. This also made it easy for the P-Square brothers to become Pan-African brands.
In the early 2010s, Ghanaian Azonto had Nigeria in a chokehold. South African Afro-House sounds had their moment in the sun as well; making Mafikizolo a household Nigerian name with many notable collaborations.
So we ask again: Why does Nigerian music faces hateful pushback and “Nigerianophobia” from some African countries. Shouldn’t music be a unifying factor for us all?