Jude Abaga, veteran Nigerian rapper, Jude Abaga popularly known as M.I, has expressed concern over the sources of funding for the Nigerian music industry.
Speaking as a guest on a recent episode of the So Nigerian podcast, M.I claimed that a significant portion of the money sustaining the country’s music scene comes from internet fraudsters, commonly known as “Yahoo Yahoo” operators, and from foreign investors.
According to him, it is a shame for Nigeria as a nation that despite having an abundance of creative talent, local funding for the music industry remains poor. He said the fact that artists rely heavily on questionable sources of money and on funding from abroad shows that something is fundamentally wrong with the country’s creative economy.
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“There’s a lot of controversy when people talk about Yahoo Yahoo, because for a lot of artists, that is the funding that they have,” M.I said. “It’s an indictment on our country that we have such talented musicians, yet the major funding for the industry comes from the West and from the fraud industry. It shows that something is wrong. Hopefully, we can do better,” M.I said.
The rapper noted that young Nigerian musicians are currently being supported mainly by their peers, rather than by wealthy individuals or established institutions. He called on financially capable Nigerians, corporate bodies, and the government to invest more in the creative sector, saying this would help reduce the industry’s dependence on foreign money and illicit sources of funding.
M.I stressed that with the right local investment, Nigeria’s music industry could grow stronger, create more jobs, and contribute more significantly to the country’s economy.