Film, sports and sound: A nation’s identity restoration

BY JAMES ABATI

You may not have noticed it: Nigeria is basking in cross-continental glory as a result of the exploits of its resilient, creative and highly industrious youth population who are breaking down barriers and creating a legacy for themselves through their craft, skills and talent in the entertainment industry.

This new generation of Nigerian citizens is restoring the lost image of the country severely battered by its older generation of lost, corrupt, arrogant, self-entitled, and self-serving leaders and officials. This generation, self-made and self-reliant, has grabbed the baton which the old guns failed to hand over to them and are running with it to recalibrate the image and, interestingly, the economy of the greatest black nation on earth.

Years after being written off by parents, teachers, leaders and society as “unserious”, “irreverent” and “misplaced”, these same set of naysayers have eaten their words and retraced their steps to join in the celebration of a generation once written off due to their deviation from societal norms in a bid to chart their own path.

We, the younger generation, have one person to thank, and this is former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who introduced mobile phones through the GSM revolution undertaken by his administration. The introduction of mobile phones and the evolution of media from a solely traditional medium to a digital medium have helped youth in this country and across the world to find a footing that leaves indelible marks across the globe. The barriers that once divided us as humans have been eroded by the savvy utilisation of the media tools in our mobile phones and devices.

Notwithstanding the success stories of the present times, Nigerian youth have had to go through struggles to reach this point of crescendo; the accolades they presently enjoy today were not handed over to them; they had to fight, build, collaborate and consolidate before reaching admirable heights.

We can all relate to and are all aware of stories of African parents, particularly Nigeria parents who try to discourage their off springs from pursuing their dreams and aspirations if it didn’t align with their rigid view of going to school to become a lawyer, doctor or engineer or an academia who followed academic pursuits to the level of Ph.D or professorship. Any offspring that deviated from this scripted path was written off as “deviant”, “unserious”, or “NFA” (No Future Ambition) simply for daring to dream big and outside of the traditional norms.

The classic example or poster boy for dreaming big outside the traditional norms and making it against all odds is the globally celebrated, Grammy-nominated, Nigerian artiste, David Adeleke, also known as Davido. Born into a wealthy political dynasty to a billionaire father (with two Ph.Ds) and a lecturer mother, Davido had all the comforts and maybe luxuries of life and could have been content with his family legacy by simply relying on his family inheritance, attaining a degree and working for his family’s multi-billion-dollar company.

However, he dared to dream big and become one of the first sets of Nigerian youth to challenge the traditional norms. Instead of conforming, he pursued his musical dreams against his father’s initial opposition and made a mark before the acceptance of his own ‘chi’, ‘ori’ or ‘head’ as an individual with enormous potential, which was later harnessed and honed beyond the shores of Nigeria.

Today, he is a global star, making it big, putting Nigeria on the map and representing the youth population. Similar stories abound of “O.B.Os” (Omo Baba Olowos) who have deviated from the traditional read-book-get-a-job-start-a-family and eventually inherit our legacy path often desired by their parents, to carving a niche and standing out as their own individual with alluring persona, skills and talent being sold to the world as a testament of the potential and glory of Nigeria and the African continent.

An antithesis of Davido, who represents the political, wealthy, affluent class of the elites, is the deceased MohBad, a classic Nigerian grass-to-grace story. MohBad was from the streets/trenches of Ikorodu who also dared to dream big against all odds. A young musical talent from an obscure background who had hitherto enrolled in the polytechnic to study accounting but dropped out to chart his own destiny in the entertainment industry, and indeed, he made it big and escaped the uncertainty that Nigerian graduates often face in a country plagued by unemployment and future uncertainty.

The lifetime of MohBad showed that the son of a nobody can make it to be somebody; however, as his demise showed, nobody, especially the common man, is safe from the Nigerian factor/reality. A bright star/leading light was untimely dimmed by bad company, alleged cultism, bullying, and possibly, medical negligence. Some of these vices prevalent in the Nigerian society due to absence of competent leadership that can inspire adequate security against bullying, cultism and other societal infractions; that can provide qualitative medical education, facilities and personnel as against quack auxiliary personnel administering medication/injections without prescription and sound diagnosis; that can guarantee a future for the Nigerian youth no matter what path they choose to chart.

The demise of MohBad and the sympathetic fanfare across Nigeria and the globe is also a testament to the exploits of Nigerian youth, from the streets of Ikorodu to the shores of “Oke Okun” (overseas), the knell of Moh Bad’s death reverberated. Though sad, his musical life, works and exploits left behind a legacy for his family, son, Liam, and future emerging street talents.

Beyond the success story, there is a global level of artistry and sophistry with which Nigerian musicians are operating, from Wizkid’s “Morayo” to Burna Boy’s “No Sign of Weakness” to Davido’s “Timeless” to Rema’s “HEIS” to Tems’ “Born in the Wild” and Ayra Starr’s “The Year I Turned 21”, there is a deep understanding of rhythm and sound and a willingness to evolve and explore beyond the nation’s sound which was in its teething stage referred to as “kpangolo” music.

Now the sound is refined with high-quality production, mixing and mastering from the best studios in New York, London, Lagos, and from across the globe. Global stars are willing and even eager to collaborate with Nigerian artistes because of the level to which the Afrobeats sound has been elevated. The story is nothing but a great success.

Other than music, Nigerian youths are also making it big and showcasing the culture through the lens in film and TV. From the lens of Kemi Adetiba, to Funke Akindele, to Jade Osiberu, to Bolanle Austen-Peters, to Mo Abudu and Ruth Kadiri, the story of Nollywood is fast changing in terms of quality, depth, cinematography and storytelling. Nigerian movies are increasingly reaching the desired heights, surpassing Indian (Bollywood) movies and coming within the spheres of Hollywood. This is not only prevalent in the Netflix, Amazon Prime, Showmax streaming platforms, but the cinema and YouTube movies are also breathtaking and reaching record numbers.

This present generation of Nollywood actors and film-makers has refined the art of acting bestowed upon them by the past generation and is consolidating on the efforts of the OGs in a manner never seen before. The effect on the economy in terms of job creation and monetary stimulus is far-reaching and highly commendable.

Also, the Nigerian sportsmen and women are bearing the torch and letting it shine across the globe, from football, to basketball and track and field; the talent abounds with yearnings for more opportunities to compete and achieve. From the days of Kanu Nwankwo, Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha and Obafemi Martins to the days of Victor Osihmen, Victor Boniface and Chukwu Eze, football has always been a way to escape poverty and make a name and legacy for one’s self and Nigerians have been making us proud since then till this present date. The female population has also been a great part of this success story with the Super Falcons recently winning the 2024 Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco to achieve the nation’s tenth WAFCON title dubbed ‘Mission X’. Similarly, the female basketball team, D’Tigress, have won the 2025 FIBA women’s AfroBasket — their fifth title in a row.

Nigeria’s track and field also has the likes of Tobi Amusan, Chioma Onyekwere, Ese Brume, Nnamdi Chinecherem, Usheoritse Itsekiri, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Samuel Ogazi and Seye Ogunlewe, etc, who are making giant strides in the world of sports. With little to no support from the government, a situation that has seen several athletes switch national allegiance, these athletes have done Nigeria proud within their capabilities and sometimes, beyond expectations.

The government of Nigeria indeed needs to extend the kind of reward and courtesy accorded to the Super Falcons to all other track and field sports to motivate, encourage and boost the morale of our sportsmen and women.

With film, sports and sound, the nation’s identity of talent, determination, hard work and relentlessness is fast being restored through the exploits of our extremely creative, hard-working and talented youth.

However, it is not yet Uhuru, as we are still faced with the hydra-headed monster of corruption, incompetence and bad governance. This generation owes a duty to the future generations to vote out bad leaders and elect competent hands to administer the affairs of the country for better governance, dividends of democracy, national pride and a restored image.

Finally, a note to this generation: we must at all cost avoid becoming the older generation that climbs ladders and pushes them down to prevent those coming below from reaching the top. There is no joy in having just a few at the top; the culture of 1% being the wealthiest, most affluent, most famous and most celebrated needs to be curtailed.

This is a country of well over 180 million Nigerians with a largely youthful population. We must learn to be our brother’s keeper and lift others as we rise. In order to build a more prosperous future, we must learn to imbibe the values of the “Igba Odibo” (A-boy/Apprenticeship) system of the people of eastern Nigeria to build more industry leaders and generate wealth.

Arise Nigeria!

James Abati, a young lawyer and businessman in Lagos, may be reached at [email protected] or james_abati on X.