If there is one thing Nigerians export now in a great chunk, it is entertainment. It has been like this for decades but it appears that the numbers recently quadrupled. The number one export in the Nigerian entertainment industry used to be music, but we now export every other content of our entertainment including music, movies, skits, comedies, fashion etc.
We export our music to every country of the world from other African countries, down to Middle Eastern Countries, to core Asian countries, down to non-English Eastern European countries and up to American countries with persons like Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Psquare Rema, Asake, Flavor etc leading the frontline of this export.
Nigerian musicians now sell out not just arenas or amphitheaters but stadiums in foreign countries, even in non-English speaking countries. Burna Boy recently sold out a stadium in the Dutch-speaking Netherlands.
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I remember in 2019 when Flavour sold out a stadium in Suriname, a non-English speaking country in far Northern South America. The concert attendees were singing Flavour’s songs alongside him word for word. The videos are on YouTube for you to check if you think I just made it up.
I also remember during one of my trips in 2018 hearing Yemi Alade’s music in a private airport lounge at the Addis Ababa International Airport, Ethiopia.
This is how far Nigerian music has gone, it has been sold to the rest of the world with world-leading musicians jumping on the Nigerian Afrobeats sounds and infusing the sounds into theirs but the good thing is our other entertainment content was not left behind. They are gradually catching up with our music. Our food, fashion, tech contents, etc are as well catching up with our music in the export run.
Nigeria now exports movies. Our movie stars are popular in not just African countries but in Asia, European and American countries. I remember a Brazilian client telling me how popular Aki and Pawpaw are in their country and other southern American countries.
Nigerian comedians have now joined the entertainment export trade. Comedians now join musicians to do tours in Africa, Europe, Asia and American countries. Basketmouth just did his North American tour covering almost 15 North American cities including Houston, Austin, Baltimore, New York, Atlanta and even Canada. AY is currently on his own North American tour covering American and Canadian cities.
Sabinus a few days back headlined a comedy show in Qatar, an Arabic-speaking Middle Eastern country. Josh2Funny recently displayed his craft in the America Got Talent show, one of the world’s leading audition platforms; right now he is about to embark on his own tour; touring both the Uk and America. Kenny Blaq is also embarking on American tours too. I speak as an insider as I’m a legal representative to some of the names I mentioned so I’m speaking on authority.
Do I need to put it out that most if not all of these shows are always sold out?
If there is one thing that Nigerians have proven to be extravagantly great at is the business of entertaining and making people happy and this business has turned into a multi-billion dollars industry which has been harnessed to be a leading product to be exported out of Nigeria to the rest of the world and the world has welcomed it with open hands.
The good thing about this product is that it is not subjected to bureaucratic clearance of customs or border control; once you have your business permit tied to your visa, you can sell the product in any country of your choice, make your money, pay back what you are expected to pay back to your host country and bring the rest home.
It is high time the Nigerian government pays great attention to the entertainment industry; it will end up being the Nigerian number one contributor to our financial and economic boost. Do I need to mention that Americans and Europeans use entertainment to shape policies, introduce cultures and sneak in politics? Entertainment is a serious business that the Nigerian government needs to step in and partner with entertainers and harness this product very well.