2020: A year of ‘No-Showbiz’

MANY Nigerians, including those in the entertainment industry had high hopes about 2020 with some of them saying they hoped to continue to build on the momentum that capped 2019 for them

To say their expectation of the year was high would be an understatement as information pieced together by R revealing that not a few number of them expected to have a rough 2020 which was largely occasioned by the novel coronavirus that dealt a blow to many businesses across the globe, halting plans and setting a new order for many business owners and big players in the entertainment industry.

From musicians to actors and others who eke a living from the entertainment sector, lack of shows meant that they had to stay at home and think of other means of survival. It soon became a battle of the survival of the fittest and smartest among the practitioners with some of them turning their social media platforms into their only means of reaching their clients, selling their brands and engaging their fans regularly to shore up their relevance and patronage.

With no end in sight to the ravaging coronavirus that crippled virtually all sectors of the economy and forced many to stay home, it was not long before some of them started lamenting lack of events, describing the year as most challenging.

Speaking to R about the situation in the country amid a second wave of the virus threatening to force many countries to start thinking of shutting their borders and airspace, famous disc jockey, DJ Jimmy Jatt says life will continue but the hardship will remain with the people with entertainers not left off the hook.

Jatt says at a time some of them had started heaving a sigh of relief some months back following the easing of lockdown on public gatherings, entertainment events and clubbing, the partial lockdown being announced in states would further dampen the morale of many investors in the entertainment industry.

“We have had to deal with a lot of issues this year but nothing comes close to the lockdown that forced many of us to sit at home and think of safety first before money. I was forced to put on hold my gig just like a number of my colleagues. This does not portend anything good for musicians and others whose only means of survival is being killed gradually,” he said.

Also lamenting, popular comedian, Akpororo, whose December comedy show in Lagos has been suspended due to the ban on public gatherings, says he cannot begin to explain what he has lost to the cancelled show, blaming the state government for not giving some of them a few days to tidy up their shows and make a return on their investment.

“I am really sad, I can’t deny that fact. I have been forced to cancel my show for December after spending millions of naira with nobody to refund what I have lost. The decision of the state government to cancel public events is very wrong but I can’t blame the government. It is what they have to do. My concern is that they could have given us a notice of a week or two, so we can weigh our options and see what could be remedied. With this ban now, it means we have to pray that normalcy is returned quickly or else the situation would go out of hand.”

Following the development, some practitioners resident in the Nigerian entertainment capital have started moving to other neighboring cities like Ibadan and Osogbo and the South East to stage their shows. The influx of celebrities into these cities may be fuelling insinuations that December may still be busy for some of them this season, after all.

Speaking on the impact of the pandemic on his music business in 2020, popular musician, 2Face says he would not deny that he has been frustrated by lack of shows, insisting that the creative industry plays a big part in keeping the economy running but with the state of things, many artistes are currently worried.

In his reaction, pop singer, Davido who has also cancelled his maiden DMW concert says he had to consider the safety of others first, adding that “We cannot go ahead with our concert this year but we will hold it next year. The pandemic is a big problem on our hands and we must all come together to fight it by taking responsibility.”

Harrysong in his word said “Don’t let anybody deceive you, the boat is gradually sinking. Those who were doing giveaways are no more doing it because they are gradually running out of cash but they won’t come out to tell you. This fresh partial lockdown should not continue till next year because many celebrities will break down when they can’t keep up with the spending they are used to.”

Entertainers who lost their lives…

Victor Olaiya

Victor Olaiya was a Nigerian trumpeter and highlife musician. Some of his hit songs include ‘Oda le Ore’, ‘Feso Jaiye’, ‘Omo Pupa’ and ‘Baby Mi Da’. The likes of Tony Allen and Fela Kuti also played with Victor  Olaiya at a point in their careers. The veteran musician died on February 12, 2020 at the age of 89.

Majek Fashek

Veteran Reggae star, Majek Fashek is widely known for his debut album ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ released in the 1990s with the hit single ‘Send Down the Rain’. He performed on shows like ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’, signed with Interscope Records in the United States and released the hit single ‘So long Too Long’ and wrote the ‘We Are Not Afraid’ soundtrack for fundraising by photographer Bob Gruen, which featured more than 150 artistes across the world. He died on June 1, 2020 at the age of 57.

Tony Allen

Sir Tony Allen is renowned as one of the world’s greatest drummers and pioneer of the Afrobeat genre as he worked closely with Fela Anikulapo Kuti, creating most of the melodies that set the foundation for Afrobeat till date. Allen recorded more than 30 albums with Fela Anikulapo Kuti,infusing elements of Jazz, Funk and African drum patterns into the instrumental composition of the songs. He died in Paris in May 2020.

Ogun Majek

Popular veteran actor, Gbolagade Akinpelu popularly known as Ogun Majek lost his battle to an undisclosed ailment in June this year as some of his colleagues described him as one man with a good heart.

Pa Kasumu (Kayode Odumosu)

Yoruba movie star, Kayode Odumosu, otherwise known as Pa Kasumu, died in March this year after battling ill health for a while. His health became a concern for members of the public when a video of his frail figure surfaced online.

Burna Boy, Wizkid Grammy nominations

Though Nigerian celebrities had a rough year, same cannot be said for two of the country’s music stars as the duo of Burna Boy and Wizkid made the list for the 2021 awards by the Recording Academy.

Burna Boy got the nod for his recent album, ‘Twice As Tall’.

The singer was nominated under the World Music Album alongside other entertainers like Antibalas, Bebel Gilberto, Anoushka Shankar and Tianariwen.

Laycon wins 2020 BBNaija Lockdown edition

Twenty-six-year-old fast rising rapper, Olamilekan ‘Laycon’ Agbeleshe, won the 2020 Big Brother Naija Lockdown edition.

After 70 days in the Big Brother Naija lockdown house, Laycon, who was a fan favourite from the beginning of the show, beat Nengi, Vee, Neo and Dorothy to the ultimate prize.

He was also the first BBNaija housemate to attain 1.2 million Instagram followers while still on the reality show.

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