For many celebrities within and outside Nigeria, 2021 would be a year they all had high hopes about. The reason for their expectations may not be far to seek. The preceding year, 2020, was devastating owing to the outbreak of COVID -19 pandemic which shattered their dreams and left many of them, including their foreign counterparts, struggling to put the pieces of their lives together.
Findings by R revealed that the entertainment sector was the worst hit globally, as the industry was scarred by canceled shows, empty theaters and permanently closed venues for gigs and concerts for more than a year amid fears that it could be extended after warnings emerged that the virus that literally brought the world to its knees and forced a new order on its inhabitants may have come to stay for a long time.
As soon as vaccines that are capable of mitigating the effect of the virus were discovered and the lockdown lifted, Nigerian celebrities whose main source of livelihood had been threatened began to heave a sigh of relief at the dawn of 2021 with prayers raised to high heavens for a better year. After hitting the bottom, the industry bounced back and it seemed as if nothing was lost to the pandemic.
Burna Boy’s Grammy win:
One of the biggest news of the year was Burna Boy’s Grammy Award success. The self-acclaimed African Giant went home with Best Global Music Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards with his Twice As Tall album as it marked his first career Grammy having lost to Angélique Kidjo the previous year. Both are the first winners of the recently renamed category, formerly known as Best World Music Album. The global recognition gave Burna Boy’s career an instant boost as the news of his win got fans talking on social media platforms for months. He beat American, Brooklyn-based afrobeat band Antibalas; a group of Tuareg musicians, Tinariwen; British-Indian composer, Anoushka Shankar and Brazilian-American singer, Bebel Gilberto.
Wizkid’s Grammy and 02 Academy sold-out Concert
Afrobeats music star, Wizkid has always created a world of his own and knows how to live in it quietly while he allows his success to make the talk. Born Ayo Balogun, like Burna Boy, Wizkid also won the Grammy for his collaboration with Beyoncé and Blue Ivy on the song “Brown Skin Girl.” It was a big moment for the music star whose popular album, Made in Lagos, has also been nominated for Best Global Music Album at the 64th Grammy Award show. Wizkid’s 2022 Grammy Awards nomination is one of the singer’s notable feats of the year. Another feat currently being celebrated by Wizkid’s fans was his sold-out Made In Lagos concert held at the 02 Arena in London.
Davido’s bereavement and N250m donation to orphans:
Music star, David Adeleke, also known as Davido may have had a rough year after losing two members of his crew- Obama 44, who died of heart related problem and his personal photographer, Fortune, who drowned at a Lagos pool when during a shoot. But he seems to be ending the year happy, following his philanthropic gesture that saw him donate a sum of N250m to orphanage homes across the country. The singer won the hearts of many Nigerians and received praises from prominent individuals across the world for donating the sum of N250 million naira raised ahead of his birthday. The singer had jokingly asked his friends to donate a million naira each to celebrate his birthday but many people were surprised the singer raised over N100 million in less than 24 hours with friends and fans making donations to the tune of N200 million. Davido would later shock the world when he announced he would be adding N50 million from his personal account to the N200 million raised which would be donated to orphanage homes across the country. His fans hailed him for his philanthropic act and urged his colleagues to take a cue from him.
Psquare’s comeback:
Five years after their infamous separation, popular singing duo, Peter and Paul Okoye, popularly known as Psquare buried their differences and announced a comeback to the amazement of their fans. While their battle lasted, they both pursued solo careers neither of which could recreate the passion and momentum created when they were together. With prominent Nigerians making several appeals to them, they never budged as they kept pushing their songs individually. But few days to their birthday, news came to town that the defunct Psquare brothers followed each other on social media platforms fuelling news of a possible reunion. They both hugged each other at private birthday party organised by their friends and colleagues, including their elder brother, Jude Okoye. They will be welcoming their fans with a Comeback Concert before the end of the year.
Baba Ijesha’s alleged rape saga:
If there was one occurrence that pitched actors and actresses in the movie industry against one another this year, it should be the alleged rape scandal involving comic actor, Olanrewaju James, otherwise known as Baba Ijesha. The actor allegedly raped a minor who is related to popular comedienne, Princess. Princess accused Baba Ijesha of sexually assaulting the victim, who is 14 years old, since she was seven years old. While the matter is still pending in court, the dust raised as result of boiling emotions from different parties involved in the case is yet to settle as of today. It also pitched hitherto friends in the entertainment industry against one another with accusations and counter accusations renting the air.
2face Idibia and Annie survived marriage break-up:
Annie Idibia and her super-star husband, Innocent Idibia, otherwise known as 2baba gave many of their fans a nightmare following rumour that their well-decorated marriage was headed for the rocks after nine years. Annie had accused her husband of infidelity after taking to the social media to call out 2baba for sleeping with one of his babymamas, Pero, during one of his tours of the US. She also accused her husband’s siblings and friends of contributing to the problems rocking their union. The issue dominated public discourse on social media platforms for weeks with many people insinuating that the marriage was over but 2baba‘s public statement firing warning to his wife and others involved to desist from dragging his name through the mud appeared to have calmed the situation. They have both been reunited and are believed to have moved on from the impasse.
Tiwa Savage’s sex tape scandal
Female singer, Tiwa Savage was another celebrity whose name hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2021. The mother of one was involved in a leaked sex tape involving her and current lover. She had alleged that someone was trying to blackmail her over a sex video during a radio interview in the US.She claimed that the video was accidentally posted on Snapchat by her lover who deleted it after he realised his error but it had already been downloaded by a stalker who was hell-bent on blackmailing her with it. The video was eventually released online and trended for a number of days with Tiwa’s colleagues standing by her but her fans would not have any of it as they dragged her name for weeks wondering what could have prompted her lover to make a video of them while making out. While she was said to have lost endorsement deals following the sex video that found its way to the social media. She, however, denied losing any deal as she pointed out that “it was not a crime to engage in what adults do.”
Baba Suwe’s death:
Veteran comic actor lost his life on November 22 after a protracted illness that kept him bedridden for months. His health started failing him after his ordeal at the hands of Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after he was accused of drug peddling. The actor was detained by the law enforcement agency for weeks before he was released. He was said to have been recovering and made a number of appearances on movie locations some years back before his health relapsed and was forced to stay indoors. His death came as a shock to many of his colleagues who mourned his passage and described him as the king of comedy who paved way for today’s crop of comedians.
Sound Sultan:
After a long battle with cancer, Olanrewaju Fasasi, otherwise known as Sound Sultan, succumbed to death on July 11 in the US where he was also buried. According to information gathered, Sound Sultan died after “a hard-fought battle with Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma,”a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which is a group of related malignancies (cancers) that affect the lymphatic system (lymphomas), according to NORD’s rarediseases.org. His death, it was learnt, came about two months after media reports that the singer was undergoing chemotherapy in a hospital in the United States of America.
His friends in the music circle, 2face, Basketmouth, among others have promised to stand with the deceased’s family, including his wife and children.
Rachael Oniga:
Veteran actress, Rachel Oniga also lost her life in 2021 as her colleagues who were with her on set days before her passing lamented her death. She was said to have had malaria and typhoid and was on treatment before she was pronounced dead days after. Kunle Afolayan who directed one of her last movies said nobody knew that it was going to be her last moment with them when they were filming together. He described her as a professional thespian who was committed to her craft and was directors’ delight.
Stanley Okoro
It was a piece of shocking news as Stanley Okoro, a Nigerian actor died on the 11th of August. He was known for his comedies in Nigerian movie industry.
The content creator reportedly died of suspected food poisoning after his movie shoot in a hotel at Maryland, Enugu State, according to some sources.
However, the reason for his death is still unknown. Stanley Okoro died at the age of 28.
Victor Olaotan
Having his sad story circulating, the famous actor known in the Tinsel TV series, Victor Olaotan stroked us with shock as he was announced dead on the 26th of August.
According to reports, he has been ill for the past five years following a brain injury he sustained in a car accident in October 2016 at Apple junction, Festac, Lagos.
Sir Victor Uwaifo
The legendary singer, guitarist, musician and composer died on the 28th of August, 2021.
Sir Uwaifo, a professor of Arts at the University of Benin who was widely known for his highlife genre of music, won the first gold disc in Africa (Joromi), which was released in 1965.
He also won seven other gold disks in Guitar boy, Akwete music and Arabada.
At first, information had gone viral claiming that he died as a result of COVID -19 but the family debunked the news, stating he died as a result of pneumonia. He passed away at the age of 80.
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