By Reno Omokri
I beg to disagree with singer Davido that Nigeria’s ‘economy is in shambles’. If our economy is in shambles, how was it possible for Wizkid’s album, Morayo, to record 12.12 million streams on its inaugural day of release on Spotify Nigeria, which made the album the biggest-selling album on a streaming platform in Nigeria’s history for the first day.
Please fact-check me: Streaming music is purchased with disposable income. People do not have disposable income in an economy in shambles, not to mention breaking streaming records, especially on Spotify, where the average streaming cost is $10.99 monthly.
How many singers have broken streaming records in Venezuela or Argentina? Those are economies that could be said to be in shambles, not Nigeria.
Perhaps if Davido had built a track record of showing more commitment to Nigeria, he, like Wizkid, would have broken streaming records on Spotify Nigeria.
I urge Davido to learn from Rihanna, who never talks down on her country and instead uses her celebrity to promote Barbados and project her positively to the world. Which is why Rihanna was named a national hero and cultural ambassador for Barbados in 2018.
David Adeleke displayed ignorance and a lack of patriotism with that statement on a globally renowned podcast like The Big Homies House. Even worse is that he said “We do not have the best leader, that is a fact.”
It is rather disappointing for a young man whose uncle is a governor and should, therefore, know better. Even worse, he said that to a foreign audience in a foreign country. Davido may have US citizenship, but that does not mean he should de-market Nigeria.
The reforms in Nigeria were necessary to stop wastage, such as the $1.5 billion used to defend the Naira monthly, the $15 billion expended on fuel subsidy annually, and the wanton importation of products that we could manufacture in Nigeria by opportunistic importers.
And the reforms are working. Nigeria has had four uninterrupted consecutive quarters of trade surpluses for the first time ever, meaning that we now export more than we import. Nigeria has achieved a new record in its balance of trade, with an unprecedented ₦14.07 trillion trade surplus by half year 2024.
On Thursday, March 28, 2024, the Nigerian Stock Exchange crossed 104,562.06 All Shares Index, a 39.84% increase year-to-date, making it the second-best performing exchange in Africa.
The reforms have come with some short-term challenges, which are understandable. Nevertheless, steps have been taken to cushion their effect on Nigerians and raise their purchasing power, including the increase of the minimum wage by 140% from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000, which is probably why our youths had the power to help Wizkid break streaming records.
Student loans have also been introduced for both students of federal and state-owned tertiary institutions for the first time in Nigeria’s history, even as conditional cash transfers have been paid and are still being paid to the poorest of the poor in Nigeria.
And it may be that his personal experience in Osun State has made Davido take such a position. After all, Osun State, under the dancing Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, was one of the last states to increase their minimum wage to match up with the Federal Government’s new minimum wage, despite receiving 65% more federal allocation under the Tinubu government.
If that is the case, then Davido may want to specify that Osun’s local economy is in shambles, not Nigeria’s.
