As a Gen-Z babe, I entered my formative years in the early 2010s. My first foray into the social media world coincided with the advent of online fandoms, which quickly morphed into “stan Twitter”. In fact, my X account only exists because it was a way to keep up with other fans of the boyband One Direction (Directioners, we called ourselves). That was the first time it occurred to me that living in Nigeria could be a bad thing: fans from all over the world (not just US, UK and Canada) got a completely different experience than I did. The others got concerts, meet & greets with the band, fan projects, and access to merch (and boy, did they release a lot of merch!). Meanwhile, if I was lucky, I would get videos from concerts or pictures of pages from the magazines in my DM from other fans who actually got to have these experiences.
At that same time, Nigeria was witnessing the rise of Wizkid, Davido, Olamide and Burna Boy, all of whom I loved. You’d think being a fan of homegrown talent equals an easier fan experience, but you would be wrong. Burna has always been my fave, and he also happens to be one of the only Nigerian artists who curates collectibles, like a limited edition cereal box, apparel, comic books, magazines, etc. Don’t get too excited if you’re in Nigeria though, these items are not available in your region. Sure, we get spectacular, relatable music to enjoy and maybe an unforgettable concert or two, but that’s where it ends. The artists still seem miles away from us, and we don’t have many (sane) ways to show what their music means to us.
Nigerians are a very passionate bunch, and it’s visible in their stan activity. Fanbases are micro-PR machines, they’ll stop at nothing to promote their fave’s music. Caleb, 27, thinks his duty as a Young Jonn fan is to put as many people on to the music as he possibly can. Abdul, 26, echoes that sentiment, saying “If I was richer, I would probably be a collector of everything, from merch to vinyls to all the limited edition stuff he releases like the comic book. But right now, my role as a Burna fan is to spread Burna Boy to as many ears as I can in my lifetime. It’s Burnavangelism”. Sixtus, a Wizkid FC member, said in an interview, “I see us as mercenaries doing the groundwork of streaming and letting the world know our local hero is a global phenomenon”.
Many times, though, that passion spills over into tussles with other fanbases. What might start off as lighthearted social media bants between two rival camps (almost always Davido’s 30 BG vs Wizkid FC) can quickly descend into a multi-day ruckus featuring below the belt insults, doxxing, death threats, and sustained cyberbullying. This still serves as publicity for the artists involved, as their names usually top the social media trend charts for days on end. However, it discourages others from publicly associating with other members of their fandom. An anonymous source says, “as much as I love Wiz, I can never have ‘Wizkid FC’ in my social media bio or even post anything about him, before people start thinking I’m one of those uncouth thugs”.
In direct contrast to the rivalry that exists, many Nigerian fanbases also seem to have “sister fandoms”, usually a reflection of the relationship that the artists at the helm of those fandoms appear to have with each other. For instance, Burna’s Outsiders tend to fight alongside not against Wizkid FC. In the same vein, Ayra Starr and Tems fans appear to gel very smoothly, and SDC fans will ride at dawn for BOJ. Also, the venn diagram of Odunsi the Engine and Cruel Santino fanbases is probably a single circle.
When it comes to the relationship fans have with the artist, it seems to be dependent on the artist’s chosen means of communication. Many fans feel their relationship with the artists are non-existent, although they long to feel even a parasocial connection. One fan anonymously stated, “socials are all we have, but most of the time you can clearly tell it’s management and not the artist behind the account. All they do is post photoshoots & command to go stream their new drop, no interaction at all”. Eniafe (26) is a huge fan of the duo ShowDemCamp. He says, “It feels a little more intimate because they aren’t as mainstream as the Big 3 and co, so it feels closer, I guess. In terms of them interacting with their fans, I’d say they interact pretty well on socials with their fans”. According to Salewa (24), who is happy to have her entire personality revolve around being a Stoic, “Dwin has a way of interacting with his fans that makes me laugh. There’s usually this point on his IG live sessions where he stops talking and we all listen to music together, he gives us a little backstory to the song. I also love his personality online and how reachable he is.”
Interestingly, newsletters seem universally loved. “I love getting AG Baby’s newsletters! They make me feel like he knows I exist and he cares about how I’m doing”, one Adekunle Gold fan says. Timi, 26, adds “I get newsletters from Tega Ethan and they make me feel valued”. Salewa says, “Dwin sends out a newsletter on the last day of every month and I’ve read them all, it’s really fun.” One artist has found a whole new way to connect. “I’ve been having a lot of fun with Santi’s Subaru livestreams, it’s like hanging out with him in his living room”, one fan says.
One of the most important aspects of being a fan is the feeling of belonging, but does that sense of community exist in Nigerian fandoms? Yes and no. There’s no greater sense of “I’ve found my tribe” than being at a show with hundreds of people all screaming the lyrics to Santi’s Final Champion with you, grunts and growls included, but what happens when you can’t make it to a concert? More people than I can quote in this piece cited rising ticket prices as one of the major issues they face as fans, and for Bobby (25) who lives in Abia State, there’s a whole other problem. “98% of concerts happen in Lagos, what are my chances of ever seeing my favourite artist?”. Location barrier aside, what happens when the show ends and everyone goes home? “Stoics definitely have a community”, Salewa says. “There’s an official Instagram fan page that coordinates different fan activities and fan takeovers.”
Artists’ (mis)behaviour and public disrespect for their fans is also a huge problem, and we all know who the poster child for this is. In the responses I received to the question “do you feel valued as a fan?”, every single person who identified as a Burna fan had the same answer: nope. Bobby puts it this way: “Valued? I don’t know what it feels like to be valued as a fan”. Abdul, who has the unique perspective of having been a Burna fan in Nigeria and the UK, notes that it’s a different experience. “The major difference is with the concerts. Bigger venues, more organised. I’ve attended two at the London Stadium and he was only late the second time”. The delay he mentioned was only 30 minutes long, something the Lagos crowd can only dream about. These responses prompted me to ask a follow-up question: “are you proud to be a Burna fan?”. Once again, nos across the board, although I did get some along the lines of “musically, yes; otherwise, no”. This is totally unsurprising, given that while I was writing this article, Burna posted an IG story alleging that Nigerian fans are basically only social media noisemakers and can’t influence the artist’s pockets. While it might be true that Nigeria-based fans do not have the economic capacity of those in more developed countries, it is still highly disrespectful to speak about them in this manner.
Some artists seem to be getting it right, though. I asked several people what Nigerian artist they’d proudly be known as fans of. One name that came up again and again? Asa. According to Eniafe, “She doesn’t stress. She’s true to herself. She doesn’t make noise. Just makes music, does her shows, and goes lowkey till next time.” Zara (35) says, “She’s in a league of her own. Very thoughtful and different from her peers, home and abroad”. Another name that popped up often was Adekunle Gold, with Zara attributing it to his constant growth while Josh (26) points to his apparent easy-going nature and willingness to interact with fans. Don Jazzy was also oft-mentioned (reasons included “great sense of humour”, “seems humble despite being so big”, but the most common response centred around his generosity and financial gifts to fans). The Cavemen. were said to “just make great music, respect everyone, and keep quiet”. Other artists mentioned were Falz, Tems, Asake, Olamide, and ShowDemCamp.
The absence of proper fan culture is due to many things, the most important of which is Nigeria itself. Fan activities are severely limited, you really cannot do much more than stream the music, even when you want to. When merch is finally available for sale, it’s too pricey. Concerts are usually only held in December when there’s a gazillion other things to do and cities are locked down by traffic. Artists don’t organise signings or meet & greets, which is somewhat understandable given the fact that we all know they will quickly become chaotic, especially as no corner of the country is currently safe. It would be cool to do a fan project like San Siro 2014 for a Nigerian artist, but completely impossible because due to the lack of proper infrastructure, concert venues are usually still being set up after the crowd has arrived. The artists are vocal about not caring about you since the bulk of their revenue originates overseas, so why bother? Who the hell has time to worry about not having an official Rema fan club while navigating adulthood in T-Pain’s economy? Rema has eaten, you haven’t. Face your front.
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