A lot of Nigerian artistes fund careers through internet fraud – M.I Abaga

Money keeps the music playing, but according to veteran Nigerian rapper, M.I Abaga, much of the cash pushing Nigeria’s entertainment industry comes from internet fraud.

Speaking on the ‘So Nigerian Podcast’, M.I explained that this is a worrying reality and a sign that something is wrong with how the creative industry is supported in Nigeria.

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He said the situation is made worse by the fact that a lot of additional funding comes from outside the country rather than from within.

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The rapper noted that Nigeria must improve funding for its creative sector in order for artistes can rely on legitimate and sustainable sources of income, rather than depending on questionable money, which he referred to as the “other industry.”

“There’s a lot of controversy when people come talking about like Yahoo Yahoo because a lot of artistes, that’s the funding that they have, and it’s when people try to talk about it, to me…I don’t want to be misquoted here, I say the wrong thing.

“But what I’m trying to say is that it’s an indictment on our country that we have such talented musicians and that the major funding for the industry comes from the West and comes from this other industry. It’s an indictment. It shows that something is wrong, which leads us back to your question. Hopefully we can do better,” M.I said.

Meanwhile, watch the trailer for GhanaWeb’s upcoming documentary on teenage girls and how fish is stealing their futures below:

AK/EB