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What is the history of football in Nigeria? We all know how popular this type of sports is in our country and all across Africa. Still, it is curious to recollect the most interesting facts about the Nigeria Professional League, the creation of Super Eagles club, and names of the top Nigerian football players of all times.

Photo: nationalaccordnewspaper.com

History of soccer in Nigeria

It is curious to learn how everything began many years ago. What does the history of football tell us about its development in Nigeria? When did locals realize how fun it was to play the game and compete at the national and international levels?

We should say that soccer has been known in Nigeria for nearly a century. The country played unofficially ever since becoming a British colony. Back in the 1930s, our countrymen took part in competitions (they weren't organized officially) with different colonies.

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Nigerian footballers William Ekong and John Obi Mikel; photo: newsweek.com

The first 'official match' was held 69 years ago, back in the fall of 1949. That was the year when the national squad played its 1st international game. It was a nice match that brought our first victory as the result was 2-0. The two Nigerian goals reached the gates of the Sierra Leone team.

The Nigerian team began playing both at home and internationally. It competed mainly in England. Most football players were amateur, and the names of the squads our country played with included South Liverpool, Bromley, and others.

In the 1970s, Nigerian football players participated in the second All-Africa games, and it was a big success. Our country got a gold medal. In 1976-1978, the squad took part in the African Cup of Nations, and it was another success as the team got to the third place.

The loss in the Cup of Nations in 1984 and 1988 (our country got to the finals but didn't win), the first presence in the World Cup in 1994, the victory in the football part of 1996 Olympics (by the way, Nigeria lost in the rematch of this competition in 2008). These were the major events in the history of football in the 1980s and 1990s.

The 2000s continued the development and growth of Nigeria Professional League, brought more victories to the national squad, new qualifications, and trophies.

There were tough moments in the soccer history of Nigeria as well. For example, back in 2010, the national team got a ban from FIFA. It didn't last forever and was eventually lifted, so the country got into the World Cup in 2014 again. By the way, that was an incredible year for Nigeria because the country placed 1st in the Unity World Cup. That match was awesome, and that victory was outstanding.

Our country was the first from Africa to get qualifications for World Cup 2018, even though Nigeria sadly lost in the very beginning of that tournament.

These days Nigeria has two main soccer teams, men's and women's teams, that participate in FIFA Cups and other competitions, earn prestigious awards and promote the 'football power' of our country.

Nigeria Professional League

Shortly known as NPFL or Nigerian Professional Football League, this is the top level of the country's system of soccer leagues that organizes different matches. It also had numerous names in the past, from NNL (Nigeria National League) to Nigerian Premiership and Nigerian Premier League.

The decision to rebrand (and rename) the country's main league body was taken by its leaders several years ago. This is how the name NPFL was created.

The body was incorporated by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) 6 years ago. NFF and League Management Company (LMC) do their best to develop soccer in Nigeria, sign agreements with Football Federations of foreign countries and search for financial support for improving football opportunities within the country.

READ ALSO: Top 10 famous Nigerian footballers the country is proud of

National squad; photo: guardian.ng

Super Eagles

Since the beginning of the history of soccer in Nigeria, our national team has been wearing the scarlet and white uniform. It was called The Red Devils back then.

That tradition changed when the country became independent. The players began wearing the green and white uniform even though the shade of green changed throughout the years, and the name of the team was soon changed to the Green Eagles. The green colour used to be olive-like in the 1980s and 1990s and has finally turned into office-green-colour (closer to the colours of the Nigerian flag) since the 2000s.

The history of the Super Eagles began when the country's official football games started, in October 1949, even though the team was called The Red Devils that year and later was changed into The Green Eagles. The latest name The Super Eagles was obtained by the national team back in 1988, after the Africa Cup of Nations.

Today the national football team of Nigeria is still called Super Eagles. The team represents our country in numerous matches across Europe. It is extremely popular among millions of Nigerians and is well known as the finest one in Africa.

The Nigeria Football Association has full control over the national team which is one of the top 10 teams in Africa and is one of the top 50 squads in FIFA ranking. In 2000, FIFA even awarded our country with the prestigious title of the Mover of the Year that is given to the squads that have shown the best progress in football compared to others.

Since changing its nickname, the team played in many different matches. The best Nigerian footballers got quickly noticed by international experts and clubs after the country started to conquer the sports world in FIFA championships. Sometimes it lost, sometimes it won, but many of the local-born players who started their careers as a part of their local and Nigerian national team quickly grew professionally and were invited by popular English and other European clubs to join their teams.

In other words, the interesting soccer history also influenced the development of the Super Eagles and personal careers of the footballers. Many football superstars today play for foreign clubs and also represent the Nigeria national team in top games.

READ ALSO: Highest paid Nigerian footballers 2017

Nigerian football players

There are many famous soccer players who originate from our country. Back in the 1970s, the names of the two top players were Mudashiru Lawal and Emmanuel Okala.

Back in the 1980s, the several most famous footballers were Best Ogedegbe, Muda Lawal, and Segun Odegbami. They were a part of the national team back when our country became the winner of the African Cup of Nations. That was a major event celebrated in Lagos and all across Nigeria in 1980.

Some of the top Nigerian football players of the 1990s were Victor Ikpeba, Rashidi Yekini, and Emmanuel Amunike.

Those who watched the championships in the 2000s would remember Vincent Enyeama, Femi Opabunmi, Efe Sodje, Jay Jay Okocha, and many other names.

Modern fans who closely follow different competitions and matches would know the most famous players who were born in Nigeria and have made our country well-known for its impressive footballers. Some of the names millions of fans adore are John Obi Mikel, Nwankwo Kanu, Joseph Yobo, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Anthony Okpotu, Godwin Obaje, Alex Iwobi, and others.

Among female footballers who are most popular in Nigeria are Maureen Mmadu, Mercy Akide, and Perpetua Nkwocha.

You can see that the history of soccer in Nigeria is rich and interesting. Citizens of our country love football, and many Nigerians are talented players ever since childhood.

READ ALSO: Who is the most popular footballer in Nigeria?

Source: Legit.ng

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Interesting history of football in Nigeria since colonial times to 2018

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Interesting HISTORY OF FOOTBALL IN NIGERIA you will love to discover. Learn about the development of football in Nigeria, the creation of Super Eagles team, impressive achievements of Nigerian football players and other facts.

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Nigeria's best-known cultural exports - juju, Afrobeat and fuji music - barely scratch the surface of the vast and vibrant cultural topography of the nation

Note that this Rough Guide to World Music article has not been updated since it was originally published. To keep up-to-date with the best new music from around the world, subscribe to Songlines magazine.

With over 140 million people, 250 distinct languages and hundreds of ethnic and sub-ethnic groups, Nigeria is a nation of unique complexity in Africa. Made up of huge, densely populated cities, small villages and rural landscapes, it encompasses the commercial capitals of Lagos and Onitsha, the great seaports of Calabar and Port Harcourt and the ancient city-states of Kano, Sokoto, Oyo, Maidugari and Benin. Its best-known cultural exports - juju, Afrobeat and fuji music - barely scratch the surface of the vast and vibrant cultural topography of the nation. Andrew Frankel begs the reader's indulgence for the short shrift he gives so many of the worthy styles and genres.

Introduction

In terms of cultural output Nigeria is unrivalled in Africa, with hundreds of studios, thousands of performance venues of all sizes and countless artists and performing groups throughout the country. Yet, excepting its few internationally known African pop icons ( Fela Kuti, Sunny Ade and Femi Kuti), the country's artistry remains a mystery to all but the most ardent adventurers into Nigerian music - those who go to the country, or ply Nigeria's expatriate market shops in Hackney, Brooklyn, Frankfurt, Milan, Dubai, Singapore and other foreign cities where communities of Nigerians have landed and swelled in the four decades since independence.

Nigerian Uniqueness

What makes Nigerian music so vast yet so insular? First, with 140 million citizens and growing, Nigeria's internal population is audience enough to sustain most artistic endeavours, and most artists tailor their music to a domestic audience. Another factor is its relative wealth. Although the trend since the 1980s has been towards eliminating the once enormous middle class in favour of super-rich and super-poor, Nigeria is still an economic giant in Africa, with oil, industrial and trade revenues in multiples of billions. Still another factor is what you might call cultural myopia. Nigeria's rich cultural heritage is a great source of pride, and Nigerians also have a great sense of the intrinsic worth of their nation, at least in the abstract sense. While any Nigerian will share a grousing session with you about what is wrong with the country (it is a long list), their passion for Nigeria shines through. All this is to say that most Nigerian music is made for the unique tastes of Nigerians.

One principle is consistent throughout all of Nigeria's forms of musical expression - the power and primacy of words as the formative element of expression. In fact, in many of Nigeria's cultures, there is no word for music, but rather a variety of highly evolved categories for speech, poetry and metaphor as well as terms for drumming, dance and song. Thus Nigerian music is primarily shaped by the power of words and verbal expression, in both indigenous languages and English, with such concerns as harmony and tuning relegated to a secondary status.

Nigerian Peoples

Nigeria is broadly conceived of in four major regions in alignment with the major ethnic groups. In the north are the Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri, who make up some 29 percent of the population. The Kanuri, descendants of the Kanem Bornu empire (AD 800-1800), and the Hausa, founders of seven great city-states, including Kano (AD 993), Zaria (AD 1000) and Katsina (AD 1100), were until the beginning of the nineteenth century the dominant political powers in what was to become northern Nigeria. But between 1804 and 1808 the previously pastoral and often oppressed Fulani rose under the leadership of Usman Dan Fodio to conquer all of the north of Nigeria and beyond, incorporating it into his vast Sokoto Caliphate, the biggest empire in Africa since the fall of Songhai in the sixteenth century.

In the southwest, the Yoruba and their numerous subgroups make up around 21 percent of the population, traditionally residing in regional city kingdoms such as Ife, Oyo and Ijebu. As with the Hausa and Kanuri, the political geography of the Yoruba was profoundly shaped by Usman Dan Fodio's campaign, which saw the sacking of numerous kingdoms. The Fulani raids also led to the establishment of the city of Abeokuta ("under a rock") as a safe refuge for the Egba subgroup, and of a vast refugee settlement called Ibadan, which remains Nigeria's second-biggest city today. The Egba are famed for their political and artistic achievements - both President Obasanjo and the Kuti family are Egba.

The southeast is home to the Igbo people who make up some 18 percent of the nation. Igbos dominate much of Nigeria's trade, import and export business, as well as a thriving manufacturing industry specializing in copies of almost anything one might like to buy from car parts to clothing. The major Igbo cities are the trading centres of Onitsha, Aba and Owerri.

The Niger Delta area is increasingly being recognized as a fourth distinct region, both for its importance as the oil-producing centre of the country and for its increasingly prominent civil strife. The region is wildly diverse and includes the Kalabari, Ikwerre, Okrika, Ibani (Bonny and Opobo), Ekpeye, Ogba, Etche, Khana, Gokana, Eleme, Ndoni and Abua peoples, to name a few.

The remaining 35 per cent of Nigeria's population are found in several diverse but autonomous regions. The Benin people, though related to the Yoruba, are centered on the kingdom and modern city of that name. The Riverine region on the far southeastern edge of Nigeria around the city of Calabar is populated by the Efik, Ejagham and Bekwara peoples. The city of Jos in the Plateau region in the centre of the country was established as a mineral trading camp in the early twentieth century, and has a consequentially diverse regional population. In the Sahelian region north of the Yoruba are the Nupe and a variety of related ethnic groups.

Each of these hundreds of ethnic groups has distinct musical and cultural traditions which it is beyond the scope of this article to describe, so we will limit ourselves to a few of the major trends.

Instruments

The Yoruba people are well known for their elaborate drumming traditions, some of which - along with Yoruba religion - have taken root in Brazil, Cuba, Surinam, the US and elsewhere, where they continue to thrive as living traditions. The heart of Yoruba music is the spoken language. Elaborate language, formulaic speech (metaphors, proverbs and poetry) and a rich tradition of oral history are central to traditional Yoruba cultural identity. Because Yoruba itself is a tone language, the sound contours of formulaic speech (the tonal and rhythmic patterns of commonly used phrases) can be replicated by multiple-pitched instruments in a way that is easily recognizable by any Yoruba speaker. Much, if not all, Yoruba traditional music is built around the spoken language as replicated on instruments.

While Yoruba percussion comes in endless varieties, two common percussion ensembles found widely today are the dundun and the bata. Dundun are hourglass-shaped, variable-pitched instruments with leather tensioning thongs connecting the membranes which cover each end of the hourglass. They come in a wide range of sizes and are played by anything from a solo artist to large sonorous orchestras of over fifty drummers. An iya ilu (mother drum) will establish the rhythm and tempo and all the accompanying drums will pick up complex interlocking rhythms to support the mother drum's speechifying.

Bata are conical-shaped drums with fixed-pitch skins stretched across both heads. The iya ilu bata is worn horizontally across the player's front. The low-pitched end is played with a hand while the high-pitched end is beaten with a leather strap ( bilala). Bata are typically played in ensembles of three or four players, with an iya ilu, a slightly smaller support drum called omele abo and a much smaller set of bata called omele ako and kudi which are bound together in sets of two or three. Bata are traditionally associated with Sango - the Yoruba god of thunder - and are still the drums of choice for many traditional religious practices. Because of this association they have come under fire from Christian and Muslim leaders in Nigeria and have noticeably diminished, though they remain a vibrant tradition. Other Yoruba percussion instruments include bembe, koso, abinti, agogo, shekere and sakara. The musical principles which organize them - interlocking polyrhythmic background with a lead drum speaking - hold true for each of these ensembles, and still define both traditional and pop Yoruba music today.

The Igbo perform in a great array of musical styles, but one commonly found instrument is the ikoro, or slit gong. A log of wood is hollowed out through a narrow slit leaving lips on either end of the slit which can be beaten with a mallet or stick to produce a woody-keyed sound much like a marimba. The ikoro can have many pitches depending on the thickness of the wood in different places along its surface. Because Igbo, like Yoruba, is a tonal language, the ikoro can be used as a "speaking" instrument.

Another common and influential Igbo instrument is the udu pot drum. Like the southern Indian ghatam, it is a resonant ceramic vessel which has a bright staccato pitch when tapped on the side, and a deep resonant boom when the player strikes the open mouth of the vessel.

In the north of Nigeria one finds the string instruments common to the whole West African Sahel, such as the three-stringed lute called molo, and the boat-shaped lute called kontigi by the Hausa (related to the xalam in Senegal and gimbri in Morocco). These are usually played solo as an accompaniment to vocal music, and one of northern Nigeria's greatest praise singers, Dan Maraya, performs primarily on a kontigi.

Form and function are guided by environment, so in contrast to southern Nigeria, where dense populations and complex social order are expressed musically in large complex musical ensembles, in the rural parts of northern Nigeria where nomadic herders still wander the plains, one finds a variety of portable solo instruments ranging from Jew's harps to flutes and reed instruments.

In the north's city-states where emirs still reign, royal arrivals are still announced by the kakaki, a brass trumpet over ten feet long - one of the iconic symbols of the nation. The Hausa and Kanuri also have an hourglass-shaped talking drum ( kananngo), of slightly different construction from its southern counterpart, which is played in small ensembles to support courtly praise song.

In Nigeria's diverse middle states, home to the Ayu, Bada, Cori, Duguri, Eggon, Tiv and many others, there are rich traditions of balafon or xylophone worn around the neck and played polyphonically in ensembles of four or more with the support of gourd rattles.

In the delta region, peoples such as the Isoko and Sekiri have lush-sounding vocal music in which they sing in parallel fourths and fifths (harmonies which sound quite exotic to the Western ear) to the accompaniment of large and deeply resonant drums made from the hollowed stumps of palm trees.

Juju

In Nigeria, even the most contemporary pop music is deeply rooted in tradition, and the most traditional music draws constantly from the popular and contemporary. Yet as coastal trade increased around the turn of the twentieth century and people began to live in multi-ethnic communities, unique urban cultures began to emerge. In Lagos - destined to become Nigeria's commercial and for a time its political capital - by the 1920s, one could find Nigerians of every ethnicity, as well as a variety of Europeans, Latin Americans and foreign Africans.

In Lagos's earliest urban neighbourhoods such as Isale Eko, Ebute Meta and Obalende, one could find local and imported alcohol in small social halls such as the palm wine parlours. In these places and at gatherings, city-dwellers would sing contemporary songs derived from folk music styles which reflected their urban experience, accompanied by makeshift rhythm instruments such as a palm wine gourd, a shaker or a glass bottle. Popular stringed instruments such as mandolin and guitar were added, and by the late 1920s juju music had emerged as a Yoruba popular genre. Early pioneers such as Tunde King and Irewolede Denge became some of Nigeria's first musical stars. By the 1950s popular music was flourishing in a wide range of styles, with Tunde Nightingale, J.O. Araba and C.A. Balogun being the most prominent juju artists.

In the 1950s Nigeria's (and Africa's) first broadcast radio station began further to popularize the sounds of Nigerian musicians. Later in the decade, a young carpenter named I.K. Dairo began his rise to stardom, becoming Nigeria's first international musical star, and the only African musician to receive an MBE. Dairo dominated the social scene of western Nigeria until the 1970s, paving the way for hundreds of other juju bands including Prince Adekunle, Lady Balogun and Moses Olaiya.

In the 1970s, younger upstarts Ebenezer Obey and then Sunny Ade began to achieve popularity, and by 1975 they had finally eclipsed Dairo's achievements. Throughout the 1970s, 80s and early 90s they battled for dominance of juju music. In 1992, Shina Peters, formerly of the group Shina Adewale (with partner Segun Adewale), rose to prominence on a wave of "Shinamania" as the voice of a new generation with his "Afrojuju" style. For a time Shina was the most popular juju musician, and in the mid-1990s Obey retired from music to pursue a calling as a pastor. However, after a two-year break from 1990 to 1992, King Sunny Ade re-emerged as a major force and has dominated juju music ever since. A new generation of juju musicians, including Dele Taiwo and Paul Dairo (son of I.K. Dairo), cut their teeth in the economically difficult 1990s but failed to gain the international prominence of their predecessors. By 2000, juju music had ceased to be Nigeria's favourite pop genre and for the youth of today it is considered more of a historical sound. Fortunately for Nigeria's few remaining juju icons, the political and business leaders of the nation were raised on their music, so they remain popular and heavily patronized by Nigeria's modern elites, with little competition. After a recording hiatus of almost ten years, King Sunny Ade released Divine Shield (his 113th record) in Nigeria in December 2004.

Highlife Nigeria Style

Widely credited as having evolved in Ghana, highlife was the dancehall music of Africa's emerging elites, whose new, modern "high" style of living inspired the name. Though Ghana took the lead, Nigeria was never far behind in embracing the genre as its own. Many early highlife bands emerged from military and police marching bands, where musicians could get access to hard-to-find and expensive instruments, but the broad popularity of highlife, combined with a growing middle class, quickly gave rise to a class of professional highlife musicians.

By the 1950s, stars such as Bobby Benson, Cardinal Rex Lawson, Roy Chicago, Victor Uwaifo (now Minister of Culture of Benin), Ambrose Campbell and Dr Victor Olaiya (the "evil genius of highlife") were in constant demand, and their records were enjoyed widely alongside those by Ghanaian highlife icons like E.T. Mensah. Highlife was performed and enjoyed across ethnic lines, by Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba alike. Fifties highlife, taking its inspiration from the Ghanaian style and from American jazz, was fuelled largely by brass and wind instruments, with a percussive rhythm section driving the dance rhythms. This was goodtime music in an era of growing prosperity.

In eastern Nigeria, Igbo and Efik bandleaders expanded the role of guitars and blended a new brand of guitar highlife uniquely their own. Early bandleaders like Stephen Amechi, Zeal Onyiya, Celestine Ukwu and the Peacocks International inspired a generation of youths in the 1960s to make guitar-style highlife - with its twangy interlocking guitar lines and punchy horn refrains - their own, transforming it from music of the elites to that of the people. Stars such as Stephen Osita Osadebe, Inyang Nta Henshaw, Peter Effiom and Mike Ejeagha arose in this era.

Sadly, the upward trajectory of highlife in Nigeria was badly hampered by the Nigerian civil war which devastated eastern Nigeria from 1967 to 1970. Ethnic tensions during and following the war undermined the national potential of Igbo music as Igbos were vilified in western and northern Nigeria. More devastating still, the Biafran economy and most of its frail infrastructure collapsed.

Healing came quickly, and by the mid-1970s a whole new crop of highlife musicians emerged. Stephen Osita Osadebe, who had started his career in the 1960s, re-emerged and remains the leader in Igbo highlife today. Bands and singers such as Oriental Brothers, Oliver deCoque and Ali Chukwuma rose to prominence as they re-engineered Igbo highlife to be more guitar-based, with longer, evolving arrangements, and dug deeper into the indigenous culture, making it more Igbo cultural music than modern urban social music. Other popular bands included The Nkengas, actually the defecting band of Chief Stephen Osadebe, whose seminal Live In London is still considered one of the great recordings of Nigerian highlife.

Today, highlife in Nigeria primarily enjoys the status of classic pop music, yet several prominent highlife artists remain on the scene. In addition to Osadebe and Oliver deCoque and his Ogene Super Band, there is Onyeka Onwenu, one of Nigeria's leading female artists. In recent years her music has taken on a gospel tinge. Of the younger generation, Sunny Neji is probably the leader of the pack. Starting his career as a backing singer in Onyeka's band, he writes and performs highlife-influenced pop music which also weaves in elements of Congolese music, funk, pop, juju and more. His 1997 album Mr Fantastik propelled him into the limelight, and his 2003 album Unchained also enjoyed wide success, particularly the hit love song "Oruka".

Traditional Pop and Apala

A wide range of music is performed, recorded and released in Nigeria each year in the realm of what can only be called "traditional pop" - music based directly on a traditional music style but performed in a popular format or by a musician seeking to achieve notoriety. Examples include the Egedeege cultural ensemble from eastern Nigeria and Show Promoter and his band from Imo state. By far the most dramatic kind is Yoruba apala, a traditional form of social music from the Ijebu region of Yorubaland in what is today Ogun state. The ensemble for apala music is led by a set of hourglass-shaped talking drums called gangan or adama, accompanied by agogo bells, shekere (gourd rattle), acuba or ogido (a local relative of the conga drum), maracas, wood block or claves, and call-and-response backing vocalists. The resulting rich and surprisingly melodic web of sound grooves and pulses like nothing else.

In the 1960s, two apala singers performing traditional music at traditional events and recording traditional songs, Haruna Ishola and to a lesser degree Ayinla Omowura, became major pop figures in Nigeria. Their respective record companies positioned them as competitors for the same market, fuelling their rising popularity and the interest of the Nigerian paparazzi.

Sadly, both singers died in the early 1970s, Ishola of natural causes and Omowura from injuries sustained in a bar-room brawl. For almost thirty years no other apala singer achieved their level of notoriety, as the genre made way for fuji and other forms of percussion-based music. Then suddenly, in 2003, Museliu Ishola, one of Haruna's sons, burst onto the national music scene with an updated apala music which remarkably retained all the richness and intensity of the original, while adding occasional drum machines and rappers to bring it into the twenty-first century. Since then, fans young and old have rallied to the apala sound once again.

Fuji Fever

Despite some similarities, fuji music does not have its roots in apala music, but rather is based in the Islamic communities of Nigeria's Yoruba people.

Islam predates Christianity in Nigeria by some centuries, but until Usman Dan Fodio's military campaign in the nineteenth century it was found primarily in the great city-states of the north. So the religion is a relative newcomer to the Yoruba, and as with Christianity the primarily orisha-worshipping Yoruba have taken and "Yorubanized" it. The celebration of Ramadhan was, by the mid-twentieth century, a major event in Lagos. A tradition evolved in which groups of young men would traverse the Muslim neighbourhoods singing improvised music to the accompaniment of pots, pans, drums, bells and whatever else was available, to wake the believers by 5am for morning prayer. This tradition came to be called ajisaari, or wéré, and by the 1970s was so widespread that individual ajisaari singers began to achieve notoriety.

In 1966, I.K. Dairo and Haruna Ishola sponsored a competition among Lagos's ajisaari singers. A young man name Sikiru Ayinde Barrister emerged victorious with a recording opportunity. It was Barrister who, by his second recording, gave the music the name fuji, attributed by various urban legends to Fuji tinned mackerel, the elaborate and classical structure of the music (as in fugue) or Japan's Mount Fuji. A competitor quickly arose to galvanize fuji fans into two camps: Kollington Ayinla crowned himself "Baba Alatika", father of the common man. Whereas Barrister delved into broad social commentary with a comical bent, Kollington focused more on spiritual issues, enemies and other more traditional themes. Barrister evolved his makeshift band to include a range of talking drums, shakers, bells and a chorus. Kollington added bata drums to his music, calling it bata fuji.

By 1985, there were dozens of fuji artists. Fuji is often contrasted with juju, and in general this is apt. Juju is guitar-based, fuji percussion-based. Juju is predominantly Christian-oriented music, and fuji primarily Islam-oriented. Juju patrons are the educated upwardly mobile, whereas fuji patrons are the poor. However, both are strongly rooted in the Yoruba traditions of patronage and praise singing, and both wax philosophical about social issues, politics and more.

By the late 1990s, fuji was beginning to overtake juju as Nigeria's number-one popular music. Because of its Islamic bent, it found a wider audience in the non-Yoruba north, and had a bigger potential audience as economic pressures created fewer haves and more have-nots. Most importantly, all that was required to start a fuji band was a singer and some local percussion. By the 1990s, every city, town and village was brimming with aspiring local fuji players, while the capital required to acquire a guitar and other Western instruments had caused juju and highlife to diminish measurably.

While Kollington and Barrister have remained the titans of fuji, another singer has emerged to become the clear leader and innovator. Wasiu Ayinde Barrister was a backing singer in Barrister's band before going solo. With an innate sense of popular trends and a magnetic personality, Wasiu stormed the fuji world in 1984 with his innovative Talazo Disco. Over the past two decades Wasiu, now known as KWAM (King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall), has outstripped all competitors. Other popular figures include Adewale Ayuba, who rose to fame, then moved to the US to spend a decade in Brooklyn, only to return eventually to Nigeria to rebuild his fan base. Abass Akande Obesere was fuji's answer to the youth's desire for a bawdy, urban icon, and remains a popular force.

As fuji musicians have sought to evolve they have moved in some surprising directions. With the addition of horns, keyboards and even guitars at times, their music has come to sound juju-like. Obesere distinguished himself by using drum machines in a land where brilliant percussionists are abundant. Simultaneously juju, in response to fuji's popularity, has become more percussive and fuji-like. However they evolve, the two styles remain distinctly Nigerian, appealing broadly to Nigerians at home and abroad, while being almost completely overlooked by the rest of the world.

Waka

Concurrent with fuji's rise was the ascendance of waka music. Similar to fuji, waka is vocally oriented music backed by a percussion orchestra of Yoruba talking drums and hand percussion. The major distinction between the two is that waka's stars are women. Like fuji, waka's artists tend to be Muslims, and its audience largely the Muslim middle and lower classes; the title Alhaja borne by so many waka divas shows they have participated in the Hajj, the religious pilgrimage to Mecca. Notable among scores of waka singers are Alhaja Asanat Ejire Omo Aje and Alhaja Chief Batile Alake. However, the undisputed queen of waka (and an under-appreciated ambassador of Nigerian music in general) is Queen Salawa Abeni, whose career spans almost three decades. For a time in the 1980s, she was inseparable from fuji innovator Kollington Ayinla, even sharing a backing band with him, though by the 1990s the two had gone their separate ways. Nigeria's leading woman of song, Salawa has done much to secure a respected role for women as singers of popular and praise music. She boasts dozens of records and a broad international following, which she fosters with regular tours to Europe and the US.

Fela Kuti and Afrobeat

Probably the best-known icon and the largest musical personality from Nigeria was Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Born in the city of Abeokuta, Fela was the child of a Western-educated minister father and a social activist mother. When he was sent off to London to study at Trinity College, he shifted his studies from medicine to music. On a visit to Los Angeles in 1966, he was deeply influenced by the Black Power movement. Returning to Nigeria, he formed his first group, the Koola Lobitos, who played a hybrid of jazz and highlife with modest success in Lagos.

In the late 1960s, Lagos was a focus of musical experimentation, with jazz, funk and African music vying to dominate a booming social scene which included I.K. Dairo's juju, Orlando Julius's Super Afro Soul, Geraldo Pino's James Brown renditions (see Sierra Leone chapter), Bobby Benson's highlife and more. It was in this cauldron that Fela began to evolve his music, combining a love of jazz, funk, traditional music and ritual with his social activism, black consciousness and outrageous showmanship to produce a unique style which he dubbed Afrobeat.

Fela declared his compound an independent republic, and was continually pushing the bounds of social and political rebellion in what is generally a socially and politically conservative country. He antagonized the police, the army and the federal government, and it was no surprise when he was jailed from 1983 to 1986. Once he emerged his audience had largely moved on, and the combined forces of a crumbling economy and an oppressive government undermined the impact of his powerful social message. Though he remained an important figure until his death in 1997, he was never able to regain the intensity of his pre-prison days.

During his life, no musician other than his eldest son Femi dared try to compete with Fela in the style of Afrobeat. But like an African Johnny Appleseed, after his death a veritable sea of Afrobeat and Afrobeat-influenced artists rose up to fill the void. Nigeria now boasts dozens of Afrobeat outfits, with straight Afrobeat, Afrobeat-rap, Afro-jazz, Afro soul and more.

In the realm of pure Afrobeat, Femi leads the pack, both at home and abroad, performing at his New African Shrine as often as three nights a week to a growing crowd of regular fans. However, many Nigerians feel that younger brother Seun Kuti, who is backed by much of Fela's original Egypt 80 band, is the real heir to Fela's look, style and sound. Fela's longtime friend and collaborator Dede Mabiaku also performs a remarkably Fela-like brand of Afrobeat and has a steady following. And there are many lesser-known artists, such as Baba 2010, Alariwo of Africa, Korikima and Amala. Outside of Femi's New African Shrine, there are no specific Afrobeat venues in Lagos, but the wide range of hotels, nightspots, cultural centres and festivals feature live music.

Even more impressive is the impact Afrobeat has had on a global scale (see box overleaf), from the horn-driven sounds of New York favourites Antibalas to the Afrobeat hip-hop of London's Weird MC. Fela's life's work has transcended that of a mere man. As aptly described by the artist Lágbájá in his song "Abami", Fela has entered the realm of the divine and become an orisha, a deity, and the ripples of his legacy continue to spread.

Praise Singing the Big Boss

In the past two decades, as the Nigerian economy has gone from bad to worse, the attendance at formal religious ceremonies has swelled dramatically. Houses of worship have sprung up in homes, in fields and in the decaying hulks of abandoned industrial complexes; they are literally everywhere. On the last Friday of each month, two million Nigerians convene in a field between the commercial capital of Lagos and the second-largest city of Ibadan to hold - under the title of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, commonly called Redeem Camp - the largest church service on the planet. Religion has become a major force in the social, cultural and economic life of the nation. This in turn has had a major impact on the music industry.

Churches in Nigeria have always boasted music, and by the 1970s musicians had begun to emerge from the church movement. Popular groups such as the CAC (Christ Apostolic Church) Good Women's Choir made a strong regional impact as recording and performing ensembles. Over the 1970s, 80s and 90s, icons such as I.K. Dairo, Sunny Okosun and Ebenezer Obey traded in their guitars for sceptres and became leaders in their own church movements. By the 1980s, when Timi Osukoya had his hit record Divine Assurance, religious music had begun to emerge as popular music. As piracy, security issues and economic problems have eroded opportunities in the music business over the past two decades, new opportunities for a career as a gospel musician - with a growing audience, paid work as a sideman and access to instruments and studios - have increasingly opened up.

Nigerian gospel sounds little like its American namesake, encompassing a wide range of musical expression. In many church movements, particularly the smaller ones, the music has much in common with local folk styles, adapting widely available traditional instruments and local vocal traditions. In the larger and more affluent churches, one finds guitars, drums, organs, choirs and more.

Popular Lagos musicians have been heard to complain that the best backing musicians have been gobbled up by the churches. Nigeria's most successful gospel stars have absorbed many of the influences of Western soul and gospel music, and cross-pollinated them with indigenous rhythms and grooves.

Both Sunny Okosun and Onyeka Onwenu had successful careers in highlife before succeeding as gospel singers. Buchi Atuwonuwu, Kunle Ajayi, Chuks Ofojebe, Faladey, Folake Umosen and Ben Okafor are among the many highly successful gospel artists. Then there are the hybrid sounds such as gospel-reggae ( Christafari), gospel-jazz ( Soji Enigbokan) and gospel-hip-hop ( Lex and Lekanskills).

With their direct access to a vast market, the backing of powerful churches and the widely sought positive messages they are putting forward, gospel artists are currently enjoying support and opportunities that other artists can only dream of.

Reggae, Hip-Hop, Rap and Beyond

Reggae has been an important genre in Nigeria ever since Bob Marley conquered the world in the 1970s. Among Nigeria's top artists are Ras Kimono, Blakky, Evi-Edna Ogholi and Orits Williki, though none have achieved the heights of popularity and the brief flicker of international acclaim of Majek Fashek. His 1990 album Prisoner Of Conscience and 1991's Spirit Of Love received rave reviews at home and abroad. Many thought Majek's success would open the door for other Nigerian artists, but that was not to be, and personal difficulties on the road, on stage and in the studio scuttled his great trajectory. Though he remains popular and active in both the US and Nigeria, neither he nor any other Nigerian reggae artist has been able to match the international notoriety he brushed up against in the 1990s.

Hip-hop began to gain popularity in Nigeria in the mid-1990s, though it was not until the end of that decade that any domestic rappers began to be taken seriously. The initial success of The Remedies was probably the catalyst. Formed in 1997, the group released two songs, "Judile" and "Sakomo", which became overnight hits in Nigeria. Though The Remedies lasted only three years, its three founders showed the way for the serious exploration of hip-hop and rap in Nigeria. Tony Tetuila reshaped his career as a pop/soul singer and is still enjoying wide popularity. Eddy Remedy continued with rap, and - probably the most popular and certainly the most controversial - Idris Abdulkareem wears the self-proclaimed title of "Nigeria's greatest rapper".

Much of the early Nigerian rap was ragga-style with a heavy Jamaican influence, but by 2001 every kind of indigenous Nigerian music had begun to cross-pollinate with rap and hip-hop styles. By 2004, groups like the Trybesman, Plantashun Boyz, B.A.N.T.U. and Ruggedman had broadened the field and its popularity.

The strong relationship between Nigeria and the UK has made Nigerian rap into an international genre. Rappers based in London enjoy success as Nigerian homeys, while those based in Nigeria have strong followings among British-Nigerian youth. This was demonstrated when the UK-based JJC and the 419 Squad won the 2004 Kora award for Best African Group in Johannesburg. To further underscore the ascendancy of African rap, when MTV recently launched its hundredth channel, MTV Africa, broadcasting to 48 countries, they did so with simultaneous concerts in Abuja (Nigeria) and South Africa. The Nigerian concert was headlined by Ludacris, supported by JJC and the 419 Squad and rising star 2Face Idibia, who became the first Nigerian rapper to have his video broadcast on MTV.

While contemporary Nigerian rap is obviously aimed at an international audience, it is also clearly rooted in Nigerian culture. With song titles and vernacular that regularly delve into pidgin English and local languages, the tinny production which is the hallmark of most contemporary Nigerian studios, and themes which clearly speak to a global Nigerian audience, these artists have a foot in two worlds. For once, it appears that the world may be poised to reach out and embrace them as they are. Only time will tell.

Some of Nigeria's best talents have forged new styles and genres which don't fit any category or norm. A classic example of this is Prince Nico Mbarga whose "Sweet Mother" (1976) is one of the biggest hits in African music history. Combining the influences of Cameroonian makossa with Igbo highlife and a little bit of rock 'n' roll, Prince Nico and his band Rocafil Jazz defined a new style and sound which remain unique to this day.

Today, new artists are evolving their own individual sounds in urban Nigeria. Daddy Showkey is an outstanding example. Born and raised in Lagos's infamously rough Ajegunle quarter, Showkey naturally absorbed a wide range of culture and lots of street smarts. In Ajegunle and many of Lagos's rougher neighbourhoods the streets are run by "area-boys" - tough street thugs who control business by extorting protection money, run petty street scams, provide or revoke security and generally terrorize the residents.

Daddy Showkey evolved a stage persona which is simultaneously homage to and caricature of the area-boys, adorning his stage line-up with dancing muscle-bound area-boys as well as the more typical female backing singers. His music draws equally from reggae, soca, highlife and a wide range of Nigerian influences. Other musicians such as the popular Baba Fryo have followed in this direction.

Another remarkable artist is the man known simply as Lágbájá, which in Yoruba means the equivalent of "somebody, anybody or everybody". Lágbájá, who wears a mask to conceal his true identity, is the faceless voice of the masses, the social conscience of the so-called "common man". Lágbájá emerged during the tyrannical rule of despot Sanni Abacha, at first to a mixed response. However, by 1995, when he released his first cassette, his unique musical blend, socially incisive and sometimes satirical lyrics and upbeat stage shows had propelled him to broad popularity, and by the late 1990s he had become one of Nigeria's top artists. Lágbájá combines influences of juju, Afrobeat and highlife with R&B, pop, funk, soul and hip-hop. His influence in Africa extends far beyond the borders of Nigeria and this is an artist to watch.

Future Grooves

What lies in the future for Nigeria's music scene? The lack of a music industry poses a real challenge for some of the nation's budding talents, and such gifted singers as Sammy Needle Odeh and Yinka Daves struggle to build business opportunities which match their skills. There is no lack of talent in any Nigerian genre, only a drought of opportunity and reward. If, one day, Nigeria truly begins the long and challenging resurrection so many hope for, and can sustain a business environment where intellectual property is respected, where the general public feels safe to go out at night, where spendable income makes it possible for the common man to patronize the arts and where industry makes those arts accessible to its citizens, then Nigeria will once again be among the giants of the world in musical and overall artistic achievement.

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Nigeria's best-known cultural exports - juju, Afrobeat and fuji music - barely scratch the surface of the vast and vibrant cultural topography of the nation

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Nollywood is a nickname that is used to refer to the Nigerian film industry, which is currently rated as the third most valuable film industry in the world based on revenue generation and worth, behind Hollywood, the United States' film industry, and Bollywood, India's film industry. Nollywood does better in terms of output - it has been rated as the second-biggest in the world, behind Bollywood.

Nollywood's most popular films include the 1992 direct-to-video film Living In Bondage, Osuofia In London (2003), Aki na Ukwa (2003), 30 Days in Atlanta (2014), and The Wedding Party (2016), to name a few. The Industry's most popular faces, of which some have managed to crossover to Hollywood, include Genevieve Nnaji, Nkem Owoh, Funke Akindele, Ramsey Nouah, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Kunle Afolayan, Desmond Elliot, and many others.

What To Know About The Nigerian Film Industry

The Origin of Nollywood

It is unclear how or when exactly the name Nollywood came into existence before it was used in a 2002 New York Times article by Matt Steinglass as well as another article that same year in the same publication by Norimitsu Onishi in reference to the Nigerian film industry. The term was, however, coined from the words "Hollywood" and "Nigeria". However, unlike the U.S film industry, Nollywood does not have a specific location in which the industry can be ascribed to.

The history of Nollywood can be traced as far back as the 1960s when Nigeria gained its independence. It was around this time that the initial Nollywood films were produced by what is regarded today as the first generation of Nigerian filmmakers which include Hubert Ogunde, Jab Adu, Ola Balogun, Moses Olaiya (Baba Sala), Adeyemi Afolayan (Ade Love), and Eddie Ugboma. Hubert Ogunde was a pioneer in the field of Nigerian folk opera. He created the Ogunde Concert Party also known as Ogunde Theatre in 1945, the first professional theatrical company in Nigeria. Moses Olaiya is regarded as the father of Nigerian comedy with his numerous comedic movies. Ola Balogun, on the other hand, concentrated on a broad range of subjects which included films about politics, corruption, poverty, and music.

The first indigenous feature film that was produced in Nigeria was titled Kongi's Harvest (1970), written by Wole Soyinka. Other films produced during this era include Alpha (1972), Bull Frog in the Sun (1974), Amadi (1975), Ajani Ogun (1975), Muzik Man (1976), Bisi, Daughter of the River (1977), Ija Ominira (1978), Aiye (1979), Kadara (1980), Jaiyesimi (1980) Efunsetan Aniwura (1981), Cry Freedom (1981), Ija Orogun (1982).

These pioneers started the Nigerian movie industry with stage performance before gradually moving into full film production. They single-handedly drove local content to the height of competing with materials from Hollywood in Nigeria, largely thanks to the Indigenization Decree issued by the then head of state Yakubu Gowon which first required locals to own theatres and then limited foreign television content on local broadcasting networks, prompting the televising of local popular theatre productions.

Commercial Success and Home Video Trade

Nollywood movie producers began to enjoy huge commercial success, thanks to the government's support. There was suddenly a huge increase in the number of existing Nigerian playwrights, screenwriters and film producers as popular literature and theatre works were adapted into films Nigerians called "home videos".

This further transitioned to a small-scale informal video movie trade, centering on distributors in Alaba Market who would sell recorded copies of the broadcasted shows. This method was adopted all through the '80s before it was taken a step further by Kenneth Nnebue who produced Living In Bondage. Nnebue was said to have had an excess number of imported video cassettes which he used to shoot the film on a video camera. With the increased number of cassettes available, Living In Bondage became a huge success and was available in every part of the country despite having been done in the Igbo language.

New Age Era and Ghanian Influence

Since the turn of the century, the Nigerian film industry has grown from height to height, both on production quality and sales across Africa and the African diaspora. One of the first Nigerian movies to get international fame was Osoufia In London, which starred comedic actor Nkem Owoh in a leading role.

Around this time, Ghanian actors started getting starring roles in mainstream Nollywood films. This was largely due to a contract signed between a Nigerian filmmaker and a Ghanaian production company which demanded that Ghanian stars get featured roles. Also, the fact that movie production was getting expensive to be done in Nigeria, several producers chose to shoot their films in Accra, Ghana to save costs. Ghanaian actors, such as Van Vicker, Jackie Appiah, Majid Michel, Yvonne Nelson, John Dumelo, Nadia Buari and Yvonne Okoro, to name a few, were beneficiaries of this.

The Ghana movie industry, in turn, started to grow during the mid-2000s but with Nigeria's bigger market, and already established distribution, most Ghanian productions were copyrighted to Nollywood. This has led to some sort of confusion when trying to be identified by the international audience as actors from both countries have featured heavily on films from either side.

The Highest Grossing Nollywood Films

In 2009, Kunle Afolayan's The Figurine became a game-changer with its critical and commercial success. It screened in international film festivals and received ten nominations and won five awards. At the time, the film was the highest-grossing Nigerian film with N30 million.

The following year, Ijé by Chineze Anyaene overtook it before the title moved on to Half of a Yellow Sun (2013), the movie adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel of the same name. The record is currently held by the 2016 film by Kemi Adetiba, The Wedding Party.

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Nollywood: Everything You Need To Know About Nigeria's Film Industry

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Here is everything you need to know about the third-ranked film industry in the world, Nollywood, its history, success, and achievements.

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YENAGOA/LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian militants threatened on Wednesday to attack off-shore oil facilities within days, raising fears of a repeat of a 2016 wave of violence that helped push Africa's biggest economy into recession.

The Niger Delta Avengers - the fighters behind many of the 2016 attacks - said they had planned the assaults after giving up on talks to give their impoverished southern region a greater share of the oil revenue it produced.

"This round of attacks will be the most deadly and will be targeting the deep sea operations of the multinationals," the group said in a statement in its website.

It said its targets, in the seas off the swampland delta region, would include the Bonga Platform and the Agbami, EA and Akpo fields. The militants also said they would target the Nigerian oil company Brittania-U.

Shell operates the Bonga and EA fields while Chevron is the operator of Agbami. Akpo stakeholders include Total, China's CNOOC, Brazil's Petrobras and Nigeria's Sapetro.

Representatives of Shell and Chevron declined to comment and there was no immediate statement from the other companies.

Attacks on pipelines and other facilities in the Niger Delta in 2016 cut Nigeria's crude production from a peak of 2.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) to near 1 mbpd - the lowest level seen in Africa's top oil producer in at least 30 years.

That, combined with low oil prices, pushed the OPEC member into its first recession in a quarter of a century - crude sales make up two-thirds of government revenue and most of its foreign exchange.

The militants agreed to a ceasefire in August 2016 - a development that helped pull Nigeria back out of recession in the second quarter of last year. But they called off the truce in November.

Any resumption of attacks would pile pressure on Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari who is also facing separatist groups in the southeast, Islamist militants in the northeast and elections in 2019. He has not said whether he will stand.

The government has held talks to address grievances over poverty and oil pollution in the Delta for more than a year but community groups say no progress has been made.

The militant group said talks "have not achieved any meaningful results".

"While promising a brutal outpour of our wrath, which shall shake the coffers of the failed Nigerian nation, our demand unambiguously is for the government to restructure this country," said the group, calling for the Niger Delta to have direct control over its resources.

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum, declined to comment.

The Niger Delta Avengers bombed the Forcados sub-sea pipeline in 2016, a strike which involved the use of divers. No substantial attacks have been carried out by any groups in the Delta region since January 2017.

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gas infrastructure construction (trbc level 5)

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petroleum product wholesale (trbc level 5)

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oil & gas refining and marketing (trbc level 4)

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Nigerian militants threaten oil rig attacks within days

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YENAGOA/LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian militants threatened on Wednesday to attack off-shore oil facilities within days, raising fears of a repeat of a 2016 wave of violence that helped push Africa's biggest economy into recession.

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Creative writing: Choose one of the two pictures and write a story about it.

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Nigeria's film industry is huge, both in productivity and reach. But how did it get to this stage and what are its origins? Charles Igwe, CEO of Nollywood Global Media Group, explains. What is Nollywood?
The term 'Nollywood' was coined by the New York Times journalist Norimitsu Onishi in 2002 when he observed film-making activity in Lagos, Nigeria. The term mirrors two of the most famous areas of film production: Hollywood in the US, and Bollywood in India's Bombay. For some, Nollywood encapsulates the array of actors and actresses emerging from the film-making activity in Nigeria; for others, it refers to the collection of the thousands of movies that have been made there.

However, Nollywood is best understood as referring to the process of film-making in Nigeria, where the films are produced using any and all tools available, adequate or otherwise. This can mean creating movies in volatile and uncertain conditions, often with incredibly short turnaround times. Observing this seemingly impossible production environment is what inspired Norimitsu to coin the term 'Nollywood', which really refers to 'nothing wood', i.e., creating something out of nothing. To explain this a little further, a medical doctor friend of mine, in describing his experience of our film-making activities, likens it to performing open-heart surgery with forks and knives, but the genius of it all, he continues, is that the patient survives. We have come from 'nothing' to all that the world acknowledges today.
What are the main ingredients of a Nollywood movie that make it unique?
The first operators in Nollywood created stories and scripts that fitted into what was being produced at the time, while supporting a business model that guaranteed profit. The early stories were united by popular themes such as love, marriage and conflicts with mothers-in-law. Film-makers produced clusters of movies based on those themes until the trend tapped out and a new one took its place. But the themes of love, betrayal, conflict, deception and triumph unite most of the stories.

Early Nollywood movies reflect the colourful culture, architecture and, in many cases, the relative affluence in our Nigerian societies, while remaining true to authentic, believable storytelling. Stories had to resonate with target audiences and be supported by a strong cast, usually with at least one popular figure. The films were often shot in residences and offices over the course of a few days, and in iconic vehicles, such as BMWs and Mercedes, which were hired for short-term use.

More recently, however, global recognition has brought about bigger budgets, with interest from institutional finance, and more mainstream productions. The producers of Half of a Yellow Sun, for example, raised most of their estimated GBP 4.2 million budget from local investors in Nigeria. This development has somewhat diluted the inventive, cutting-edge instincts of the early film-makers in Nollywood.

In the early days, movies like Living in Bondage, Rattlesnake, Violated Glamour Girls, and Nneka the Pretty Serpent were financially very successful. In more recent times, movies like 30 Days in Atlanta, October 1, Ije, and The Meeting have also earned awards and critical acclaim. The jury is still out on the business success of these movies, as there are cries of rampant piracy. Though piracy was present in the early days of Nollywood, it was better handled then. Our main objective then was to be profitable, so we factored piracy into our profit calculations, as we didn't have the resources to deal with piracy according to US or UK models.
Can you name one film for each ingredient, a film that exemplifies that ingredient really well?
Living in Bondage provided imagery to a widely believed urban legend: human sacrifice for riches. Rattlesnake identified the strenuous path to success for a young man bearing great responsibilities early in his life, brought on by the loss of a parent and the oppression of extended family. Violated brought on the glamour of high society and the discrimination against the less fortunate, the hook being the triumph of love over these barriers. Glamour Girls had the benefit of iconic actors and elegant locations, telling a story of widely believed deception. 30 Days in Altlanta typified the increasing desire among film-makers to film abroad and alongside Hollywood talent.
How did Nollywood come about and how has it evolved?
Nollywood was unplanned - it sprang from the interplay of a few unique coincidences and circumstances.

Initially, it shared its audiences with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), equivalent to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the UK. Between 1970 and 1990, the NTA created and broadcast a rich slate of compelling television shows, including The Village Headmaster, Cock Crow at Dawn, Mirror in the Sun, Behind the Clouds, Supple Blues, Checkmate and Ripples.

The NTA was the sole broadcaster of media content back then. When NTA made a decision in 1990 to stop producing media content, it released its in-house talent - and, most importantly, its audiences to other operators. Nollywood's talent came from actors, writers, directors and producers who cut their teeth in the NTA environment, and who had benefited from state-sponsored training, albeit for television production.

The role of technology is crucial to the story of Nollywood's evolution. Video cassettes and video cassette recorders had gained wide popularity in Nigeria on the back of a high-spending civilian government.

Nigeria has long known about conventional film-making; however, a visionary young trader (Kenneth Nnebue) with a passion for films thought that combining the talent from the NTA with VHS (Video Home System) technology to meet the demand of Nigerians hungry for new entertainment was a good idea. The result was the straight-to-video release of Living in Bondage, a film whose commercial success effectively launched a whole film industry.

Alongside these events, digital technology was rapidly replacing audio- and videotape in both music and film industries around the world. This resulted in huge stockpiles of discarded VHS cassettes in vast warehouses all over Lagos and the south-east of Nigeria (Onitsha and Aba).

The rapid sales of Living in Bondage revealed a way to capitalise on the large numbers of unused VHS cassettes in storage, namely by using them as an inexpensive way to distribute straight-to-video movie releases. This business model became the primary way to finance the making of more movies.

Another critical development in Nollywood came as its films started to reach new audiences abroad. Prior to the mass production of movies in Nigeria, Africans and people of African descent had only been served by film or video produced by either Europeans or Americans.

Nollywood made it possible for Africans to view films made by fellow Africans on a huge scale for the first time. The movies dissolved a lot of the mutual suspicion and mistrust, and encouraged intra-African tourism, trade and engagement, as the films cast light on common traditions, habits and cultures across the continent. They cultivated a massive African audience as a result. To date, this has not changed and has led to several other African countries, e.g., Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa, getting involved in this kind of film production.

There is, however, a concern that many new film-makers are seeking validation and acceptance too eagerly from the mainstream global film industry. This raises questions about whether, by trying to emulate mainstream film production, they are sacrificing the advantages that have made Nollywood the second largest film industry in the world in the first place.
Join the Script Junction conversation with Nigerian and UK screenwriters in Lagos on 9-13 November 2015. Script Junction is part of the UK-Nigeria 2015/16, a major season of arts work in Nigeria aimed at building new audiences, creating new collaborations and strengthening relationships.

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How Nollywood became the second largest film industry

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Nigeria's film industry is huge, both in productivity and reach. But how did it get to this stage and what are its origins? Charles Igwe, CEO of Nollywood Global Media Group, explains.

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Mediation: Why young Nigerians leave their country

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Mediation: Why young Nigerians leave their country

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View the interactive image by Sarah Neuhausen

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a well-known Nigerian novelist.

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a well-known Nigerian novelist.

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Watch her TED talk "the danger of a single story" on YouTube.

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1. Make a timeline, adding the  dates from the text as well as other important dates in Nigerian history.
2. To what extent has British rule in Nigeria had an impact on the situation in these two countries - both positive and negative?

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Education in Nigeria

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Half of a yellow sun - sample summary/ analysis

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Half of a yellow sun - sample summary/ analysis

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The unifying force of football in Nigeria

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The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News

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Last month, Nigerian pop artist Ayo 'Wizkid' Balogun had a sold-out concert at the revered 02 Arena, joining an illustrious list of international acts that include Beyonce, Rihanna, Gary Barlow and the Spice Girls.

Weeks before Wizkid's epoch-making moment - now a bench for any Nigerian artist seeking to flaunt his worth on the international stage - his once-upon-a-time rival and now friend, Davido, performed before a crowd roughly half of Wizkid's 20,000-strong audience in Suriname, a country alien to a bulk of his loyal fan base in Nigeria.

Last week, Falz's new video, This is Nigeria, a remake of Childish Gambino's viral hit, This is America, was co-signed by one of the biggest names in world hip-hop, Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs, with a promise that the socially-conscious video would be given generous airplay on his Revolt TV network.

That three of the biggest Nigeria's entertainment export in the last decade are constantly expanding the frontiers is not only a testament to their tenacious work ethics. It also follows in the paths already charted by equally talented and influential front-runners such as Fela Kuti, King Sunny Adé and, more recently, D'banj.

But it has not always been that way.

The pioneers

With its diverse cultures and ethnicities, it was difficult for popular music in Nigeria to have a mono-cultural identity.

The early styles of popular music saw highlife and palm wine music spread across Nigeria and neighbouring countries such as Ghana and Senegal in the 1920s. Palmwine music derived its name from the alcoholic beverage tapped from trees and drunk at bars where the urban music style was frequently played.

These popular styles of music eventually evolved into a genre called jùjú that thrived for many years and saw famous stars like Baba Tunde King and IK Dairo who helped create and popularise the early jùjú sound. During this time, we also saw the apala style of music that was derived from traditional Yoruba music but had a more limited audience.

Evolving

By the end of the second world war, Nigerian musicians had taken on new instruments and techniques from western countries such as Cuba and America, incorporating these elements into jùjú music. Highlife also started gaining popularity among the Igbos, who made it unique to their tribe over time. It also saw other guitar-band styles from other countries like Ghana, Cameroon and Zaire.

The 1960s saw a number of Nigerian musicians growing in the booming music industry. Haruna Ishola dominated the apala style of music. The early 1970s saw some of the biggest names in the history of Nigerian music at their peak, including Fela Kuti, King Sunny Adé and Ebenezer Obey. Traditional music also spread throughout Nigeria with stars like the Hausa Dan Maraya.

These westernised pop influences and imported music resulted in a profusion of new styles like waka music, Yo-pop, Nigerian reggae and the popular Afrobeat. These styles thrived all through the 20th century. At the end of the decade, hip-hop music had spread to the country.

A new age

The last two decades have seen the Nigerian music scene evolve exponentially, giving rise to a number of stars. These young people have evolved in their musical careers, eventually becoming some of the greatest voices in music in Africa.

At the core of that rise is Kennis Music, a record label founded by Kenny 'Keke' Ogungbe and Dayo 'D-One' Adeneye. Both OAPs in the Ray Power radio station at the time signed on artists such as The Remedies, Wale Thompson, Eedris Abdulkareem, Tony Tetuila and Sound Sultan.

At this point, the artists with a mainstream following in pop culture were mostly rapping hits by their American counterparts. Artistes such as Maintain, Rasqie and Black Reverendz became popular for remaking Ludacris' Area Code ( I Catch Cold), DMX's Ruff Ryder's Anthem ( Soji) and Busta Rhyme's Dangerous ( Ayangba).

The relatively fresh breath offered by the artistes on Kennis' roster meant the Nigerian music industry was directed to create more homegrown pop culture-ready songs. However, external influences were still very visible.

Evident in the music made in the early 2000s were the act of storytelling and socially-conscious lyrics. Sound Sultan's Mathematics, a mellow, yet groovy track became an anthem of soft with its poignant critique of prevailing socio-political ills in the country.

Even the feel-good songs released were driven by well-thought-out lyrics and structure. The Remedies' Shade and Plantashun Boiz's Knock Me Off fit this frame.

Although the first Nigerian rap album I am African by Ibrahim Omari Salim, an American rapper on exile in Nigeria, was released in the 1980s, the genre did not enjoy mainstream acceptance until the likes of Modenine and Ruggedman came to the fore. The former's first official single, Elbow Room, became a mainstay on Nigerian urban radio while Ruggedman's Ehen, a stinging diss track which mocked the likes of Eedris Abdulkareem, opened a new vista for Nigerian rap music.

These forerunners of Nigerian rap paved the way for a new breed of rappers who have now found unique ways of infusing their culture into their music. Case in point are the likes of Phyno and Olamide who sell out venues locally.

The new breeds

The coming of the 21st century saw women standing out in the Nigerian music industry for their talents and achievements in genres like rap, hip-hop and Afrobeat. Rappers like Weird MC, Sasha P and Eva Alordiah and Afrobeats singers like Omawumi Megbele, Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade shot into the spotlight and flourished.

Regardless, the face of the Nigerian music industry today is masculine with the likes of Wizkid and Davido flying the flag of the country in different arenas while smashing the records created by their countrymen who came before them.

While both Wizkid and Davido still, in some ways, pander to the Western music genres, Urban highlife singer Omoba 'Adekunle Gold' Kosoko draws inspiration from King Sunny Adé and Ebenezer Obey. He became popular in 2014 when he released a cover of One Direction's Story of My Life titled Sade. With multiple awards under his belt, the singer has gone on to become one of the most widely-acknowledged highlife musicians today.

Simisola 'Simi' Bolatito Ogunleye shot into the limelight in 2011 after the release of her song, Tiff. 20-year-old Tay Iwar has been labelled as the future of Nigerian music with his lyrical depth and a melodramatic mix of alternative RnB and psychedelic hip-hop. 21-year-old neo-soul singer, Lady Donli, drew influences from RnB, jazz, hip-hop and alternative music to form her own unique style.

However, while the bulk of the songs released nowadays are lacking in depth in terms of lyrics, and are mostly bereft of socially conscious content, the likes of Folarin 'Falz' Falana are recreating themselves in the mould of firesome Fela. Falz recently gained international recognition with his video for This is Nigeria. The song, inspired by Childish Gambino's This is Americ a, included commentary which held a mirror to the social ills in Nigeria from drug abuse to corruption.

This was a striking contrast to some Afro-pop songs by other popular Nigerian musicians that seemed to endorse the abuse of drugs, especially codeine. Take, for instance, Diet by DJ Enimoney featuring Reminisce, Slimcase and Tiwa Savage, a song which couldn't have come at a worse time.

No doubt that Nigerian music has progressed and evolved over time and, with the internet and the external influences that have made it what it is today, a number of things are evident. Every generation of musical artists has their peculiarities and has produced frontline popular music. However, in terms of production quality, international recognition and the forms of music that are classified as popular, there is an obvious fact that it has changed from what it was to what it is now.

Today, more Nigerians have international collaborations with their foreign counterparts, are selling out shows and shutting down arenas. This proves that there is a possibility that Nigerian artists who dare to be different to create sounds that the world has not heard before will be raised higher than the likes of today's international pop stars.

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Last month, Nigerian pop artist Ayo 'Wizkid' Balogun had a sold-out concert at the revered 02 Arena, joining an illustrious list of international acts that include Beyonce, Rihanna, Gary Barlow and the Spice Girls. Weeks before Wizkid's epoch-making moment - now a bench for any Nigerian artist seeking to flaunt his worth on the international [...]

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What comes to your mind when you think of NIGERIA?

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What comes to your mind when you think of NIGERIA?

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Analysing a cartoon
Describe the cartoon, explain the point the cartoonist is trying to make and evaluate, whether the cartoon is effective or not.

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Nigeria's government recently acknowledged that the country has the highest number of children out of school in the world. It says there are 10.5 million children not being educated. Education officials have blamed cultural factors, nomadic communities and the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency. Critics point to a lack of funding.

BBC Minute talks to BBC Pidgin's Adejuwon Soyinkoa in Lagos and BBC Hausa's Mohammed Kabir Mohammed in Abuja to discover more about the issues and what can be done to get more children into school.

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BBC - Why Nigeria's educational system is in crisis - and how to fix it

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Nigeria's government recently acknowledged that the country has the highest number of children out of school in the world. It says there are 10.5 million children not being educated. Education officials have blamed cultural factors, nomadic communities and the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency. Critics point to a lack of funding.

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The idea that Nigeria's fragmented tribes unite behind the nation's sports teams has become a cliché. Yet while sports may strengthen our hope in the future of Nigerian nationalism, there is another form of equality that we would have hoped to avoid: delayed salaries. Alas, the Nigerian government has been equally averse to paying the country's sports stars as her civil servants.

The Trust Deficit

In 2019, Nigerian football teams participated in five FIFA-recognised tournaments, including the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) where the Super Eagles placed third.

That podium finish only tells part of the story. During the AFCON, the Nigerian team sat out a training session because they had not yet received their promised bonuses. A similar farce occurred during the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 when the Nigerian team that went on to secure bronze did not have the funds to even travel - they had to rely on a South Korean benefactor to fund bonuses and prize money.

Likewise, the Super Falcons-the most successful female football team in Africa-missed their flight to France for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup after a sit-in/strike at their hotel. The strike was employed to ensure they received their promised bonuses.

In summary, Nigerian football in 2019 was a tale of on-the-pitch achievement and off-the-pitch absurdity.

Is Funding an Issue?

Why is funding often an issue with Nigerian national teams? Available data point towards poor planning and mismanagement.

It is important to note that FIFA provides funds (for basic salaries, transport, etc.) to assist national teams that participate at all FIFA-recognised tournaments. Thankfully, because of this safety net, it is unusual to see Nigerian football teams fail to find transportation to FIFA tournaments, like was the case with the Rio Olympics.

However, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) usually announces bonuses to incentivise our birds, and sometimes, they promise packages they do not have the funds to provide. For example, it was reported that the NFF was still searching for bonus money a week before the AFCON, and of course, the Super Falcons were sceptical enough to go on a strike for their bonuses.

But if FIFA handles the basics like accommodation and transport, and the NFF only needs to provide funds for bonuses, why does it struggle?

One obvious answer is amateurish planning. How else do you explain the claim by the Minister of Youth and Sports that "international competitions were not captured in the 2019 Budget" in a year the NFF knew that Nigerian football teams would be participating in five competitions? Further support for this argument is the public disagreement between the NFF and Sports Ministry during the year over who was at fault for the embarrassments of 2019.

Figuring out why Nigeria struggles with funding-and who to blame-is hindered by the opaque way the sports bodies handle international competitions. In preparation for the 2018 FIFA Men's World Cup, the sports ministry launched a campaign to raise "additional funds" for the country's participation at the tournament. The target was to raise about ₦3 billion (about half of the 2018 budget for sport in Nigeria) to "effectively participate" at the World Cup. As FIFA caters for the basic participation of teams, it is unclear what was meant by effective participation, especially as Nigeria did not progress past the first round.

Given the way the issue recurs, it is tempting to suggest that corruption has seeped in. There is some credence to this theory. Although the Federal Government dropped its corruption allegations against the NFF President in November 2019, both the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have pending investigations.

Looking for Credit elsewhere

Whether the issue is poor planning or corruption, private money could insulate our birds from this charade.

It is easy to forget that the Nigerian kit sold out in minutes during the last FIFA Men's World Cup (and earned cult status). There is a lot of potential for the NFF to rethink how it uses corporate partnerships and wean our team off reliance on the benevolence of the likes of Otedola and Dangote. Moreover, corporates and high-net-worth individuals have often bailed out the government in the event of a strike, so why wait until it is an emergency?

Corporate funding is a staple of international sports. The Brazilian football team (CBF) recently signed a four-year deal with Fiat to fund the CBF for the tournaments during that time period. The deal brought the number of CBF sponsors to eleven. Admittedly, the Samba Stars of Brazil are arguably the most marketable international football brand in the world, but Nigeria's football teams hold a comparable appeal within the continent. The Super Eagles alone has corporate partnerships with firms like Nigerian Breweries, Zenith Bank, and Peak Milk, so it is unclear why corporate partnerships would not suffice.

Worryingly though, corporate sponsorships may fall victim to the same mismanagement as public funds. Nigeria qualified for the AFCON in November 2018, months before the 2019 budget was approved and half a year before the tournament kicked off. Furthermore, bonuses due to the players for each match had been agreed in advance. Despite all this, the funds were never made available. Were they not a priority? Were they stolen? Or are we pinning on corruption what is better explained by incompetence?

Regardless of the reason, the NFF has another year to right its wrongs. The Nigerian football team will not be at the 2020 Olympics, but are favorites to qualify for the 2021 AFCON and 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup. The time to plan is now. If not done already, a proper audit should be taken to estimate the economic costs of the last AFCON, Olympics, and World Cup. But a more thorough plan would answer some of the following: (a) do we need to pay a foreign coach at a premium? (b) do we need to host friendlies outside Nigeria? (c) do we have to promise bonuses that we cannot afford?

When it comes to raising funds, renegotiating corporate deals and seeking alternative sources of income should be a priority. The reality is that the budgetary woes of the sports ministry are symptomatic of much bigger gaps in public funding. Nigerian football is fortunate to have an alternative unavailable to the country's civil servants. There is no use tapping a dry well, lest our birds are left remonstrating on international media channels once again.

Follow this Writer on Twitter @Mr_Mitch_A. Subscribe to read more articles here.

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Why Nigeria cannot fund its football teams

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We discuss the funding issues in the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF)

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Undoubtedly, Nigeria has developed over the years, mostly in the music industry, with some of the most talented and accomplished musicians on the African continent. In recent years, Nigerian music and Nigerian musicians have been the center of attention of the world following the rise of a new generation of musicians, singers, and performers who have displayed their talent with much aplomb on the global stage and have ranked on the list of famous Nigerian musicians.

With the extraordinary musical talent and outstanding beats displayed over the years, it is hard to come up with a definitive ranking of themusical talent in Nigeria. The following is a list of famous Nigerian musicians in the current year. You should also note that the list comprises musicians who have Nigerian heritage irrespective of whether they are based in Nigeria or not.

Most Popular Nigerian Musicians Right Now

1. D'Banj

D'banj, who goes by the name Oladapo Oyebanjo Daniel, is one of the famous Nigerian musicians known mainly as the Kokomaster. He ventured into music in 2004, kicking off with launching his music record label known as Mo'Hits record with Don Jazzy. He released his first album, No Long Thing, in 2005 with his hit single Tongolo. The song was followed by other chart-topping tracks in the following years. His fame was notable at the international level after he released the song Oliver Twist in 2012 featuring Kanye West. The song became a top hit in the UK singles chart that same year, taking second place in the UK R&B chart.

Aside from his music career, he is famous for being the brand ambassador of many top companies like Heritage Bank, Ciroc Nigeria, SLOT. He is also a known businessman and has established many businesses like D'Kings Men Media, CREAM platform, MCOMM, Koko garri, and many more. He has also won several awards for his outstanding musical talents, like the MTV Europe Music Awards for Best African Acts and many more.

2. 2Baba

Innocent Ujah Idibia, also known as 2Baba, was popularly known as TuFace Idibia. He took to the world stage with a storm with the release of his hit single, African Queen, in 2006. To date, 2Baba remains one of the most decorated hip-hop artists on the African continent. He started his music career as a member of the Plantashun Boiz. Alongside other group members, they successfully released two albums before the group split. He started his solo music career in 2004 with his debut solo album, Face 2 Face. 2Baba has also released several hit songs and albums since his rise to stardom and has gained many recognitions.

2Baba is also known to endorse several top brands, which have skyrocketed his fame. Among his most notable international awards are; 1 MTV Europe Music Award, 1 World Music Award, 1 BET award, and 4 Channel O Music Video Awards for his compositions and performances.

3. P-Square

Peter and Paul Okoye, mostly known as P-Square, are considered by many people to be the most popular musical act to come from Nigeria. They started performing while studying in a high school in Jos, a State in Northern Nigeria. Today, they have become a household name in Nigeria and many other countries all over Africa and the world. Their debut single, Senorita from their debut album Last Nite, played a major role in announcing them to the world. The duo released many albums and songs from 2003 to 2017 when they split due to some issues.

From 2017, they started their solo career with Peter as Mr. P and Paul as Rudeboy. The two released many songs as well throughout their solo career till 2021. In 2021, before their birthday, they followed each other back on Instagram and announced their reunion on their 40th birthday on November 18, 2021. Their endorsement deals, music collaborations, and other ventures such as acting have helped in making the spotlight rest more on them. They have also won awards during their collaboration and solo career.

4. Burna Boy

Burna Boy, who also goes by the name Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, is one of the famous Nigerian musicians who rose to the limelight with his first lead single Like To Party in his debut album L.I.F.E. Also known as the Giant of Africa, he started singing under the Aristokrat records before he moved on to establishing his record label in 2015. He has also worked extensively on his music career, releasing many songs and albums that have given him world recognition.

The Giant of Africa has collaborated with top Nigerian artists and international artists to release hit songs. He has gained more fame with the international awards he has won, like the Edison Awards in the World Album category for Africa Giant and Best International Act at the MOBO Awards. In addition to his fame, he has featured on the cover of the May 2021 edition of the British edition GQ Magazine, Evening Standard Magazine. His Lagos mansion emerged on the October 2021 edition of Architectural Digest and AD YouTube Channel. His endorsement deals have also served as a publication platform for the musician.

5. Wizkid

Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, who is known by his stage name Wizkid or BigWiz, is one of the famous Nigerian musicians. The musician started singing with a church group known as the Glorious Five at the age of 11. In 2011, he started his professional music career, signing a record deal with the Empire Mate's Entertainment (E.M.E). The spotlight shone on him after releasing his lead single Holla At Your Boy from his debut studio album Superstar in 2011, including his other hit songs like Don't Dull and Tease Me, Bad Guys. With his success in his music career, he established his record label Starboy Entertainment in 2013.

His success in his music career has also earned him the name The King Of Afrobeats. Wizkid's collaboration with many top Nigerian and international artists has helped him gain more fame within and outside the country. He signed a multi-album worldwide record deal with RCA Records, a subordinate of Sony Music. The awards and nominations received by the musician have also succeeded in putting him on the finalist of many people. He also received two Guinness World Records for his contribution to Drake's One Dance which was the first to hit a billion stream on Spotify. His robust endorsements with top companies like GLO, Pepsi, Guinness have also made him gain more fame.

6. Davido

David Adeleke, who goes by the stage name Davido, is one of the famous Nigerian musicians who started his professional music career at a young age. Davido made it to the fan list of many people after he released his second single, Dami Duro, which was among his debut album Omo Baba Olowo in 2012. The song earned him the Next Rated awards at the 2012 Headies award. Having kicked off in music under the HKN music, he founded Davido Music Worldwide in 2016, signing many successful artists. With a thriving music career, he has also signed record deals with top labels like Sony Music and RCA Records. He has also pinned the spotlight on himself with music collaborations with top Nigerian and international artists.

As the son of one of the Nigerian billionaires, Davido is also famous for being a director at Pacific Holdings Limited. The musician has appeared in some movies and has also signed lucrative endorsement deals that boosted his public appearances with top companies like MTN and Guinness. Davido is also active on social media, with over a 22.5million followers. He is known to have a large heart and is famous for giving back to society. His N201 million donations for his 2021 birthday and Rolls Royce were given back to the orphanage home with an additional N50 million from him. This led to global recognition as it was announced on many radio stations and was interviewed on many international TV stations like CNN.

7. Olamide

Olamide Gbenga Adedeji, who is known by the stage name Olamide or Badddo, made it to the limelight with his lead single Omo To Shan from his debut album Rapsodi released in 2011. He ventured into music under the record label Coded Tunes and established the YBNL Nation label in 2012. The success of his debut album made him one of the most sought-after artists for music collaborations. His collaborations with top Nigerian and international artists have also boosted his fame. He also signed a partnership deal with Empire, American music distribution and record label, in 2020.

Since the release of his debut album, he has also released many hit songs, which gave rise to his fame. Some of his achievements, such as being the first artist to become a brand ambassador to Ciroc in Nigeria, awards, and recognition, have helped boost his fame.

8. Tiwa Savage

Tiwatope Savage, who goes by the stage name Tiwa Savage, is one of the famous Nigerian musicians who kicked off with music at an early stage. She became a household name with her debut album Once Upon A Time, which comprises many hit singles like Kele Kele Love, Love Me, Without My Heart, Ife Wa Gbona, Folarin, Olorun Mi, and Eminado. The debut album was nominated as the Best Album For The Year for the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and Best R&B/Pop album at the 2014 Headies awards.

Before her fame, she has worked as a background vocalist for many international artists like George Michael, Mary J. Blige, and many more. She worked as a songwriter for the Sony/ATV Music Publishing Company before moving down to Nigeria to join Mavin Records. She released many hit songs and collaborated with several top local and international artists in releasing songs that have put her on the top list of most people. The talented singer has gained more fame through her endorsement deals with top brands, awards, and recognitions. She also appeared in the movie For Colored Girls and eight episodes of the TV Series Shuga. Tiwa Savage is known for her large heart and is a strong advocate of youth empowerment and breast cancer screening projects. She is also known to raise funds to build schools in Nigeria.

9. Don Jazzy

Michael Collins Ajereh, mostly known by the stage name Don Jazzy, is one of the famous Nigerian musicians who ventured into music early. He kicked off in 2004, launching a music record label known as Mo'Hits record with D'banj. Though he doesn't sing on his own, he is known for his intro in some music collaborations, It's Don Jazzy Again, and his background vocals. He has collaborated with many artists and has produced many songs under the Mo Hits Records.

In 2017, he launched Mavin Records and signed many upcoming artists. He has also produced songs and collaborated with many top artists under Mavin Records. He also gains more fame through his appearances in comedy skits. His endorsement deals have also succeeded in drawing public awareness to him.

10. Flavour

Chinedu Izuchukwu Okoli, also known as Mr. Flavour, Flavour N'abania, Ijele Africa, or Palliative Umu Ashawo, is one of the famous Nigerian musicians who made it to the spotlight with his single Nwa Baby from his second studio album Uplifted. His second album, which also included hit singles like Oyi, Adamma, led him to global recognition. The musician kicked off with music early with his church choir before moving on to Soundcity to perform during concerts. At the age of 19, he joined the music industry but started performing professionally in 2005.

He produces most of his music in the Igbo language, which makes his music extraordinary. With his rise to stardom, he collaborated with top local and international artists, boosting his fame. Mr. Flavour has also gained more popularity in playing many supporting roles in some Nollywood films like the Globaccom sponsored comedy TV series Professor Johnbull. His robust endorsement deals have equally played a major role in bringing him to the eyes of the public.

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Top 10 List of Famous Nigerian Musicians

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The following are the list of the top 10 famous Nigerian musicians who have succeeded in producing good music in Nigeria over the years

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lmost every day, Udengs Eradiri is informed of another oil spill in Bayelsa state, in the Niger Delta. Most of the time, little or nothing is done to clean up the mess, says Eradiri, the state's commissioner for the environment.

"You just need to take a tour to understand the magnitude of the environmental abuse," he adds. "[Bayelsa] used to be green, you could go to farm or fish. We used to have very impressive harvests. You would spend just an hour in the water and you have a lot of fish."

Today, he added, you can spend the whole day without catching anything.

Oil was first pumped in Bayelsa in 1956 by Shell. Since then, several international oil companies have extracted oil from across the Niger Delta.

In Bayelsa and elsewhere, communities have faced an environmental catastrophe. About 40 million litres of oil are spilled every year across the Niger Delta, according to the Rise for Bayelsa campaign.

Air, land and water have all been contaminated, with studies reporting devastating effects on residents' health and livelihoods. Vast areas of the state's waterways and mangrove swamps - one of the most diverse ecosystems in Africa - have been destroyed or put at risk. Farmland has been cloaked in oil, contaminating crops and exposing people to high levels of heavy metals such as chromium, lead and mercury.

Meanwhile, gas flares - where natural gas associated with petroleum extraction is burned off in the atmosphere - have filled the air with pollutants, and created acid rain.

"It's really telling on the people," saysEradiri. Of Bayelsa's estimated population of 2 million people, three-quarters rely on fishing or farming to support themselves. "Those communities are getting involved in other ways of surviving. And that's why there's been a lot of upsurge in criminal activities as well as artisan refining, all to survive."

Shell, one of the international oil companies operating in Bayelsa, says that oil spills due to crude oil theft, illegal refining and sabotage cause the most environmental damage in the Niger Delta.

"Our aim is to run a responsible business, which means operating safely without harm to people and protecting the local environment. In Nigeria, we operate to the same standards as other Shell-operated ventures globally. No spill is acceptable, and we work hard to prevent them," Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria said in a statement.

"We work closely with the regulators, local communities and other stakeholders to address this challenging issue and, irrespective of cause, we clean up and remediate areas affected by spills from our facilities or pipeline network," the statement added.

It said that in the case of operational spills, compensation is paid to people and communities impacted.

The company says its efforts to clean up areas have at times been hampered by instability, as its employees are unable to safely access affected areas.

"If you want to resolve the issues in the Niger Delta, if you want to totally eradicate the compromise on infrastructure, you must involve communities in the contractual agreement," says Eradiri. "That means it is not just owned by other people with other interests."

The effect of the oil industry on people's health in Bayelsa is still emerging. "Life expectancy is cut short - as low as 45. We used to have a very old population but, right now, that's not as visible as it used to be," says Eradiri. "You see premature babies, you see all kinds of funny illnesses, cancer, that [are] not normal for young people."

A recent study estimated that, in 2012 alone, 16,000 babies died within the first month of life because of oil pollution in the Niger Delta.

'When we complain, they attach negative labels to us like militants and vandals, to reduce the validity of our complaint': Nyinama Amos, youth leader

Separate research, cited by the interim report of theBayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, has found that pollution is placing communities at heightened risk of kidney damage, as well as diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Campaigners report increased cases of diarrhoea and child malnutrition.

The commission's interim report concluded that communities suffered life-changing health consequences as a result of oil pollution. The report added that they have also found it almost impossible to secure fair redress.

The Rise for Bayelsa campaign, launched in March, is calling on international oil companies to clean up spills immediately, provide swift compensation to all communities affected, and develop long-term solutions to avoid spills. The campaign is also calling for oil companies to invest in sustainable projects in all communities in which oil companies operate.

"There is no concerted effort by [international oil companies] to ensure that a proper cleanup is done," added Eradiri. "The law is not being adhered to."

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'This place used to be green': the brutal impact of oil in the Niger Delta

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Bayelsa state once offered rich pickings for farmers and fisherman. Then oil companies arrived and wrought an environmental catastrophe

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Interpreting a poem
1. Listen to the poem.
2. Identify the different periods in African history the poem refers to.
3. Use of language: Work with the text and fill in the worksheet (three different goups).
4. Analyse the message and the tone of the poem.

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No one wins away games in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).

Well hardly ever. In the 2017 season, only 19 games were won by the away team, 5% of the season's games. Six out of twenty teams did not win a single away game all season. Plateau United, the champions, won only two away games but won seventeen of their nineteen home games.

This trend is not new; in the last 15 years, home teams have been nearly invincible.

Home advantage is an established concept in football. Raucous home support, an uncomfortable trip for the away team, and added motivation not to lose on your turf all make it more likely that the home team will win. In Nigeria, home advantage is accentuated by the commute. The commute is usually exhausting, especially because Nigeria does not have very good roads. All in all, stressed-out players will not perform as well as the home team.

While travel plays a role in ensuring home advantage, the rarity of away wins in Nigeria suggests the reason goes beyond long commutes. It turns out that club presidents and fans play a huge role in the phenomenon.

Crooked Club Presidents

Nigerian football clubs are run and funded by state governments, barring a few exceptions owned by private individuals. State governments appoint chairmen to run the clubs, and these are usually civil servants at state FA rank. Club chairmen, particularly those that run bigger clubs, are often under a lot of pressure to win games and finish near the top of the league. Because of this, they often employ a variety of methods to ensure they win -including bribing referees and inciting violence.

David Asuzu* has been playing in the Nigerian league for ten years and considers club chairmen to be parasites destroying the league. "I put a lot of the blame on the club chairmen, they don't allow the referees to officiate properly," he tells me. "There's a backdoor where they offer the referees all sorts including huge sums of money to ensure that their team wins at home by all means" he continues.

According to him, club chairmen exploit home advantage to an extreme as they can more easily control what goes on within their territory.

These chairmen have access to state government resources, and often use this means to bribe referees to favour their teams. Franklin Obiagwu*, a Sports analyst and reporter, echoes David's point, "the system is structured in a way that wrongdoing is prevalent, in many cases the referees are boxed into tight corners making them disrupt games to favour the home team" he says. Nigerian referees are paid very little, receiving salaries between ₦80,000 to ₦100,000.

"Unfortunately, there's a lot of corruption in the system. A referee that earns a ₦100,000 and is offered a million naira to alter a game in favour of the home team will most likely take the bribe," Mr Obiagwu explains. Why just the home team? Well, referees are often too afraid to even subtly favour teams away from home as they know that home fans are eager to hop on any perceived slight against their team.

In theory, referee compensation should not incite bribery and match-fixing. Referees - even those abroad - usually work part-time and may have other sources of income. This suggests either of two things; the first is that referees are being enticed by rewards that they can't get from their other jobs - insurance, accommodation, etc., or that Nigerian referees just don't have good jobs outside football.

Fan Aggression

Fan violence plays a huge role in the rarity of away wins. Over the years, referees have had to contend with violent and entitled fans who believe their team must always win.

For example, on 23 rd April, after Plateau United scored a late equaliser against Heartland FC Owerri, Heartland fans descended on the match officials and accused them of favouring the away team. The violent attack on the officials, which was backed by Heartland management, left the referee hospitalised.

Fan aggression is not directed to referees alone. Many times, players are attacked during and after games. Mr Asuzu vividly remembers one occasion. "In 2013 against Wikki Tourists of Bauchi, my team scored a late goal. Immediately that goal came in, the fans jumped in the pitch and beat up the referee. We were dragged into that violence too, many of our players sustained injuries on that day," he muses.

While many Nigerian football fans may scoff at the idea that fan violence is prevalent, the reality is that it is common enough to have created a culture of fear among referees and players. Ahmed Rufai, another sports analyst, suggests that while bribes are a carrot to entice referees, the threat of violence acts as a very hard stick. "Even when referees are determined not to be influenced by money offered, it is no guarantee that the mob will not come for them after the game," he says.

League Management Company

Set up in 2012, the League Management Company (LMC), is the league regulator and has been working hard to address issues of violence and corruption. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. "I have to be honest that there have been some changes in the last three seasons we have had. It was almost impossible before now to win away games, with the LMC things are slowly changing," David Asuzu says. "Even Referees are more accountable because the LMC watches out for poor officiating."

LMC has sanctioned officials who are caught favouring teams or accepting bribes. Teams are also punished for fan violence. In February, the LMC suspended Kwara and Katsina United for ten matches for fighting at a match venue. And ten referees were suspended in March for poor officiating.

But the road is a long and treacherous one. Franklin Obiagwu, who used to work for the LMC as a match delegate, says Club Chairmen make the job of the LMC difficult, "I have been offered bribes on different occasions by club chairmen. They wanted me to alter my reports about the match and referees to the LMC, " he explains.

The reality is that the LMC can only deal with what they see, and it is often difficult to prove wrong-doing, especially when referees have been bribed. And even when violence erupts at games, club presidents pay match delegates to alter the reports sent to the LMC.

Moving Forward

These issues have affected the popularity of our local league, and may also be impeding the development of Nigerian players. Players are less motivated when they know the outcome of the match has already been fixed. Overall, the quality of the league suffers. "A lot of these issues around the league contribute to the attachment of Nigerians to foreign leagues. Football fans want to see a fair league, one that is not unidirectional in terms of the result. They'd rather stay home than go watch a match that is unattractive and violence-prone," Ahmed Rufai laments.

Some commentators have suggested increasing referee pay to reduce poor officiating. But better referee remuneration must be accompanied by appropriate training and sanctions for when they err. Mr Asuzu believes that if more referees are punished for bad officiating, it will keep others on their toes, "I know it is hard but if more referees get punished, it will make them stand up to Club chairmen and things will slowly start changing," he says.

And of course, club presidents caught attempting to bribe officials should be banned from football for life and prosecuted, where possible. At the moment, they have too much power and their activities are barely checked by the governments who employ them. For us to achieve real change, these presidents need to allow healthy competition among teams and focus on improving training and infrastructure to get an edge over their rivals

Fans have a role to play as well. For one, they would need to get used to more frequent home losses. And borrowing from European football, both fans and clubs can be punished for violence at stadiums, whether through fines, forcing teams to play behind closed doors, or even suspension from a continental competition - a punishment imposed on English teams in the 80s following the Heysel stadium disaster.

Once again, many lovers of the league may scoff at the proposals and see them as efforts to regulate or internationalise the league. But until corruption and violence are eradicated, the domestic league will forever be a champion at home, but never away.
*Name changed to protect his identity
Follow this Journalist on Twitter @AishaSalaudeen. Subscribe to read more articles here.

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In the Nigerian football league, nobody wins away games

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We look into the numerous challenges around winning matches in the NPFL

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"2021 latest nigerian movies" "african movies" "trending nollywood hit movies" "best of mercy johnson 2021 movies" "2021 nigerian movies" "latest nollywood m...

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Realnollymovies international Agencies Limited is a fast growing online video streaming and distribution company, with the largest collection of Nollywood/Africa Movies on the web. We are Nollywood movies Producers and our passion for movies is the driving force for our genome team who has gone through hundreds of movies to produce the best from ACTION, COMEDY, DRAMA, ROMANCE, EPIC/TRADITIONAL, and endless movie genre.

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All the latest content about Nigeria oil from the BBC.

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in Depth

Nigeria's silent killer: The deadly price of oil

Nine years ago, after publishing a comprehensive survey of the damage, the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) called for the launch of a $1bn fund to clean up decades of oil spills there. It is a 600 square kilometre area full of shut-off oil wells and a labyrinth of ageing pipelines converge. Today it remains one of the most contaminated stretches of water and marsh land in the world.

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Nigeria's silent killer: The deadly price of oil: The Africa Report.com

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3-part investigation across the Niger Delta to talk to people hit by the environmental devastation that the oil industry has wrought on Ogoniland communities.

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1. After having watched the video, what is your first impression of life in Nigeria?
2.  Examine in what way Nigeria is presented in the video. Focus on imagery, background music and voiceover.

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Shell companies in Nigeria: Over 50 years of operations

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European football leagues' popularity and increased internet access make football betting attractive among young people in Nigeria. Catherine Ivill/AFP via Getty Images

In Nigeria, football betting has a long history that can be traced to colonial times, when pool betting was popular, especially among older adults. Since then, more younger people have taken up betting on the results of football matches, including European league football.

The country has many betting outlets where people can place a bet manually. They can also open an account online with a betting company, using a debit card, and place bets on the website or app.

A report revealed that about 60 million Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 40 are involved in active sport betting. They spend almost ₦2 billion on sports betting daily. This translates to about ₦730 billion annually. In an economy where the 2020 national budget is almost ₦11 trillion, this is huge.

Two factors are responsible for increasing football betting among youth in Nigeria. One is the increase in poverty and unemployment. Among Nigeria's estimated population of around 200 million, around 87 million are said to be extremely poor. The youth unemployment rate in 2018 was put at 36.5%.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 29.7% of youths between the ages of 15 and 34 were unemployed at the third quarter of 2018. Betting may appear to be a way to make quick money, either as a betting operator or as a gambler.

The second factor driving and enabling football betting in Nigeria is the growing use of the internet and smart mobile phones. In 2017, 84% of Nigerians had mobile phones. The number of internet users in Nigeria is 122 million based on figures from the Nigerian Communication Commission. This is more than half of Nigeria's estimated population. The increase in internet users in Nigeria can be attributed to affordability of internet access; with less than ₦100 (less than US$1), internet connectivity is assured. It is easy and convenient for people to place bets online using their phones.

Read more: Why smartphone gambling is on the up among African millennials

I was interested in the potential consequences of this situation for Nigerian society and particularly for young people. I wanted to know whether the ease of online betting for economically hard-pressed young Nigerians was creating any social problems such as conflict, crime and addictive behaviour.

For my study, I collected data from in-depth interviews with fans of European football clubs, betters, parents and guardians of fans and betters, security personnel, owners and operators of betting outlets as well as football viewing centres in Lagos, Ibadan, Oyo State, south west Nigeria and Yola, Adamawa State, north east Nigeria. In addition, I observed betting activities and collected data from recent online news reports and other published works.

From the various interviews conducted and my observation, I found there was a link between football betting by young Nigerians and a perceived increase in violence and criminal activities. But in my view the answer is not to ban such betting but to address the unemployment and poverty which propel people into it.

Behaviour around betting

My interviews and observations in the field show that there is a concern about teenagers stealing to fund their football betting. I was in a security meeting in Adamawa State where parents complained to the police that they had noticed unprecedented theft of their money by their teenage children/wards to fund football betting. A parent interviewed in Adamawa State explained that:

I noticed that money was getting lost in our house on daily basis. At first I thought it was mere misplacement. Later I started to hear from my neighbours also complaining of loss of money within their homes. We later got to know that our sons were the ones stealing the money to play football betting because we always see them with receipts of bet and we know that they do not have business from where they can get money for betting.

Interactions with these teenage betters show that they spend between ₦1,000 (about $2) and ₦3,000 (about $7) on betting daily. But the jackpot rarely comes. At football viewing centres, customers are routinely warned about fighting. One operator of a viewing centre in Yola told me:

In recent times, we have witnessed outbreaks of violence among our viewers. Some of these fights are over unresolved longstanding issues. Sometimes, it is as a result of anger sustained from major loss in football betting.

Football betting may also sometimes promote ritualism, especially the use of "good luck charms". I spoke to one gambler who said:

You cannot just go and put a huge amount of money into betting without any form of spiritual enhancement that will guarantee and insure you. If you do that without spiritual enhancement, you will just continually give your money to bet companies with their managers and staff to feed fat on while you continue to stay broke. Even bet company operators use spiritual power to ensure that their clients do not win...

There have been calls from moralists, especially in religious circles, for the government to criminalise betting, especially football betting. I witnessed two such discussions during an Islamic preaching in Yola, Adamawa State. In fact, one state has been urged to take the first step. I believe this is unlikely to be effective. It would only push betting into the background and make it more difficult for the government to regulate and control it. Government should instead pay more attention to widespread poverty and unemployment.

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Football betting among young Nigerians may create problems but a ban isn't the answer

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What needs attention is the lack of opportunity that drives sports betting.

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We follow Mo Abudu, the CEO of Ebony Life Films onto the set of her latest movie Chief Daddy. Will it be this year's Christmas blockbuster in Nigeria?

Mo Abudu has been described as one of the most successful women in Africa. She made her name presenting the chat show Moments with Mo, that earnt her the title of Africa's 'first lady of chat.'

She is the CEO of Ebony Life Television, Africa's first global black entertainment and lifestyle network. Five years ago she set up Ebony Life Films and as Executive Producer is behind films such as the comedies The Wedding Party and its sequel, The Wedding Party 2, which became the highest-grossing Nigerian film in the country's box office history.

Anna Cunningham follows Mo onto the set of her latest film Chief Daddy - which tells the story of what happens when a flamboyant billionaire industrialist suddenly dies and his family and friends uncover hidden secrets and discover who's getting the money.

With a star studded cast including Funke Akindele, Kate Henshaw, Folarin 'Falz' Falana, Mo hopes Chief Daddy will be this year's Christmas blockbuster in Nigeria.

Producer: Andrea Kidd

(Image: Mo Abudu, CEO of Ebony Life Films)

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BBC World Service - In the Studio, Mo Abudu - creating blockbuster movies in Nigeria

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Anna Cunningham follows Mo Abudu onto the set of her latest film Chief Daddy

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1. Write down the aspects referred to in the video.
2. Describe the atmosphere that is created in the video.
3. Discusss to what extent a song can reflect the character of a country?

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Not Everbody is Happy With Nigeria´s Viral Version of "This Is America"

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Not Everbody is Happy With Nigeria´s Viral Version of "This Is America"

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1. Read the text by Linus Unah and outline in what way, according to the author,  Falz holds up a mirror to his country with his music.
2. Analyse how the author tries to convince the reader of his point of view, paying special attention to persuasive techniques used in the text.