‘How many people have seen Wizkid in Sokoto?’ — Obi Asika calls for national tours

Obi Asika says music industry stakeholders should work towards building out national tours.

The Nigerian showbiz executive, in an interview, spoke about the recent successes of indigenous entertainers.

He said the streaming numbers being churned out by the likes of Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Psquare and Flavour are evidence that Nigeria is lacking not in talent but in critical infrastructure meant to expand their reach.

“I was checking yesterday and five Nigerian artistes have crossed a billion views on youtube, Davido, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Psquare, and Flavour. The first three are obvious. For Psquare, we know it is the legacy,” he said.

“But I was surprised for Flavour because he’s not necessarily mainstream Afrobeats. One song from Ckay is 900 million views. Tekno is 890. Kizz Daniel 680. Olamide is at 600. Rema is at 500. We’re in good hands.

“The thing is not the talent. We have lots of that. It’s about the platforms. We have 400 universities and colleges. We have 40 stadiums. We need to build national touring. We need to have more festivals and events.

“How many people in Sokoto have seen Wizkid for example? How many in Enugu have seen Davido?

“It’s a big country with significant opportunities in merchandise and product commoditization.  Leveraging the soft power of Nigeria is the next and only conversation.

“Aba should be the production center for Nollywood and Afrobeats and that is a trillion naira opportunity.”