Edwin Okolo

Kano

Kano state is experiencing a spike in coronavirus cases, we should be very worried

News coming out of Kano state over the last few days have been truly sobering. The state run by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has been in the news for the last week, first for the governor of state sacking a public official who celebrated the death of the deceased chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, a... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Coronavirus, kano

Artish

Artish is making its play for Nigerian new media supremacy

A few years ago, the Nigerian new media space was saturated with new entrants looking to break into the market. The market in 2016 seemed primed for scalability. The internet had broken down the geographical barriers that kept African content creators from chasing that all important Afro diaspora dollar and covering music from across the... Read More

Artish, New Media, Toye Sokunbi

FatherDMW

FatherDMW conquered Instagram by shooting his shot

Who could have predicted at the beginning of March, that one of the biggest social media phenomenons in Nigeria would be a Naira Marley sidekick and an upcoming British model. Such is the power of social media in the time of Corona. FatherDMW, whose original claim to fame was that he was friends with Zlatan... Read More

Eva Apio, FatherDMW

Oil Marketer

Should Nigerian oil marketers be punished for hoarding fuel in Corona times?

Last week, the federal government announced, in line with crashing oil prices, that it was lowering the financial peg for fuel prices in the country by N20, bringing it down from N145 to N125. It made logical sense that the government would reduce prices, considering it was spending millions of dollars in subsidies to keep... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

fuel scarcity, nigeria, oil marketers

Yahoo Boys

Yahoo boys are evolving: Love scams are out, fake news is in

From Naira Marley to President Buhari, everyone has been talking about online fraud and how intertwined with Nigeria’s public image it has become. To be fair, this generalization around Yahoo Boys is one that we have earned, as many Nigerians, at home and in the diaspora engage in fraud, using a diverse spectrum of methods... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Political espionage, political propaganda, twitter.

Nigeria

Maybe something good will come out of the Nigerian Premier League tragedy last weekend

Last weekend, during a routine Nigerian Premier League match between the Nassarawa United team and Katsina United, a Nassarawa United player Chineme Martins suffered a concussion while fielding a tackle from an opposing player. That tackle, while fairly dangerous, would end up taking Chineme’s life, helped along by incompetence from many parties. Chineme Martins was... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Chineme Martins, death, football, injury, nff

Ifeoma Chukwugo

Is it too early to petition for Ifeoma Chukwuogo to get her own Netflix Naija series?

This week on the media blog has been all about Netflix. But can you really blame us? Ever since the streaming giant announced it was officially fielding an office in Lagos Nigeria and creating original content to specifically cater to our stories and audience, the entire Nigerian media industry has been forced to sit up... Read More

ifeoma chukwuogo, netflix, No Victors, under

ZikokoBlindDate

#ZikokoBlindDate is our new guilty complicated pleasure

Is it really a surprise that many people are drawn to Zikoko’s new show ‘Blind Date‘. We love the Bachelor, we LOVE Love is Blind (with its wacky premise and crazy characters) and we even tolerate Ultimate Love. We just love love, especially when it is recorded and packaged for our consumption. Its hard to call it... Read More

Blind Date, Zikoko

Almajiri

Almajiri bans are not what Sokoto or any other state in Nigeria needs

If there is anything that seems consistent about Nigerian governments at the federal and state level; its the reality that they refuse to learn from the mistakes of other governments. We’ve seen this play out over and over in various scenarios where the government implements a policy that has clearly failed in other states or... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Almajiri, Indonesia, Pondok, Sokoto, Tambuwal

Netflix Naija

February 26, 2020

It took them long enough but Netflix Naija is finally here

The next big battle for the future of media is the streaming wars. Its a war already 30 years in the making starting in the US in the early 90’s with then video giant Blockbuster and relatively new upstart, Netflix. 30 years later, almost every major media network playing in both traditional and digital spaces... Read More

netflix, Netflix Naija, Queen Sono

Omotoso

February 26, 2020

Tim Omotoso will go on trial today, as will organized religion which aided & abetted him

Over the last year, religious Nigerians had to contend with the outsize influence religious organizations within the country have had in perpetuating rape culture and violence against women. #SexForGrades, #ArewaMeToo and #ChurchToo are feminist movements that arose from women challenging abuse within families where the perpetrators were supported and protected by the Nigerian church. But... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Omotoso, Tim Omotoso

Castle

February 18, 2020

Castle & Castle moving to Netflix marks a shift in streaming for Ebony Life

You’ve probably already heard about it from the grapevine, but two years after Genevieve Nnaji’s Lionheart broke the mold for Nigerian media content gaining widespread visibility through global streaming platform Netflix, Ebony Life productions (creator of some of the country’s biggest shows like Sons of the Caliphate and Fifty) is moving its flagship legal drama... Read More

Caste and Castle, Castle, Ebony life, Ebony Life ON, Mo Abudu

Coronavirus

February 14, 2020

Coronavirus: As expected, Nigeria has failed its citizens in Wuhan

When it was announced in December 2019 that a new virus, the Coronavirus had started to affect citizens in Wuhan city in China, there was widespread worry that the world was about experience another epidemic similar to the bird flu epidemic that spread across Asia and threatened the health of the world. As a precautionary... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Corona Virus, Huabei province, Wuhan

Davido

February 13, 2020

Going platinum is just the beginning for Davido, the US is next

Davido has had a phenomenal last 12 months. After a few missteps in 2017, Davido returned to the drawing board and mapped out a new plan for his career. He began releasing music focused on his core Nigerian audience, and let that music take him global. A new record publishing deal with Sony followed. Since... Read More

A Good Time, Davido, Nick Cannon, Wild 'N Out

Plan B

February 12, 2020

Plan B winning several AMVCA nominations is a breakthrough for streaming in Nigeria

The nominations for the 7th Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards were announced last weekend, and there were quite a number of surprises. It was clearly a slow year for African cinema because many critics voiced their concerns that about the fact that quite a number of the films nominated had not been officially released in... Read More

AMVCA, AMVCA 2020, Lola 'Lowladee' Adeleke, Plan B

Fireboy

February 11, 2020

Here’s how to market a best selling album, according to Fireboy DML

Yesterday, Fireboy DML released the music video for ‘Vibration’, one of the more popular singles from his genre defining debut album. Fireboy is signed to the YBNL label owned by rapper and media mogul Olamide, and was one of the few signees that bucked the traditional trend of signing rappers for the label. Ever since... Read More

Billie Eilish, Fireboy, pop, Rosalia VT, YBNL

Ultimate Love

February 10, 2020

Will Ultimate Love succeed where the Koko Mansion failed?

Can you really talk about Multi-choice’s new non-scripted reality show Ultimate Love without referencing the O.G dating show of them all, Koko Mansion? That would be pretty irresponsible, considering when the Koko Mansion was originally announced 11 years ago, there was no precedent that a reality show like that, one that wasn’t focused on individual talent like Nigerian... Read More

africa magic, Multichoice, Ultimate love

Trump

February 4, 2020

The new Trump travel ban will allow you visit America, but not live there

Over the last week, a number of opinions have been expressed about the newly announced expansion of the ‘Trump Travel Ban’, to include Nigeria and six other countries. According to new reports from the US embassy, the new travel ban was already in the works as early as March 2019, nearly a year before it... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

.US, Immigrant ban, nigeria, travel ban, trump

Queen Sono

February 4, 2020

‘Queen Sono’ is Netflix’s first South African original

We are entering a new era of content in Nigeria. For far too long, a handful of gatekeepers have controlled funding for projects in Nigeria and shut out new talent with new ideas. Driven primarily by financial bottom lines, we have been subjected to a revolving door of mediocre comedy sitcoms and tepid dramas whose... Read More

netflix, Netflix Original, Pearl Thusi, Queen Sono

Mohamed Yahya

January 29, 2020

Mohamed Yahya wants to accelerate development in Africa & he wants Nigeria’s biggest stars to help out

“People tell me I have a high tolerance of risk,” Mohamed Yahya tells me as we sit to have a discussion about the expectations for his tenure as the country representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria. As the youngest country representative from the UNDP to work with Nigeria, Mr. Yahya is... Read More

ali baba, Dakore Egbuson, Joke Silva, Mohamed Yahya, Ngele Ali, Roqeebah Olanioye, Sola Sobowale

keke

January 27, 2020

Sanwo-Olu shows he is a true Lagos governor by banning kekes & okadas (again)

When Nigerian governments have a problem they cannot solve by ignoring it, they choose instead to ban it instead. We saw the federal government ban the production of codeine after the BBC documentary Sweet Codeine expose the corruption within the over counter drug industry, even though codeine was not an illegal substance and the businesses... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Keke, lagos, okada

Ifeoma Chukwuogo

January 27, 2020

Ifeoma Chukwuogo is tackling Biafra with her new series ‘No Victors’

Ifeoma Chukwuogo has had an interesting few years. Her first major short film after film school, ‘Bariga Sugar’, the heartbreaking story of the budding but ultimately tragic friendship of the children of sex workers went viral when Chukwuogo first released it on Youtube. Chukwuogo would pull it from Youtube a few weeks later and put... Read More

bariga sugar, ifeoma chukwuogo, No Victors, under

CNC

January 24, 2020

A new collaboration between the Nigerian Film Corporation and the CNC will bring new life to Nollywood

The National Film Corporation is really on a roll this 2020. Last week we announced that the corporation which is in charge of promoting film in the country had partnered with the Nigerian Ministry of Defense to fund films that promoted the image of our military forces through a call for collaborations with independent film... Read More

CNC, collaboration, French Cinema, NFC

Tarkwa Bay

January 23, 2020

Tarkwa Bay makes it 24 beachfront communities illegally evicted by Lagos state

I start this article with Olutimehin Adegbeye’s TED Talk, Who Belongs In A City, because with each month it becomes more poignant to the realities in Lagos state, and the impunity with which our leaders treat people they consider powerless. When Timehin gave this speech, she was a social worker with the Just Empower organization, a... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Kiki Mordi, Olutimehin Adegbeye, Tarkwa Bay

Kiki Mordi

January 21, 2020

More wins for @KikiMordi as she & Fisayo Soyombo receive the 2019 PJP Awards

As with many media based professions, journalists often have to deal with the misconception that they suddenly achieved fame. In reality, years of grueling groundwork paves the path for a journalist to find an execute the career affirming work that leads to public recognition and global recognition. 2019 was definitely that year for Kiki Mordi.... Read More

Fisayo Soyombo, Kiki Mordi

Dj Juba

January 20, 2020

Dj Juba wants to show you the reality for women Djs in Nigeria with ‘Assurance’

Dj Juba might not be a name you know in the Nigerian media scene, but perhaps you should, especially because of her most recent documentary project. It shouldn’t be news to anyone that the Nigerian entertainment industry has suffered greatly from misogyny. It is prevalent in the conversations around which female musicians are allowed to... Read More

DJ, Dj Juba, Dj Yin, female, Sensei Lo

Binti

January 17, 2020

Another win for Nnedi! Binti is coming to the small screen

Finally, I can be public about it! We are adapting Binti into a TV series at @hulu. I’m co-writing the pilot with @StacyAmma (HBO’s Watchmen). #Africanfuturism #Binti ?? https://t.co/B4Bb3AGvwD — Nnedi Okorafor, PhD (@Nnedi) January 14, 2020 I think at this point it would be fair to say that Nnedi Okorafor is without a doubt,... Read More

Adaptation, Binti, Nnedi, Television, Wild Seed

Multichoice

January 15, 2020

The results are in! Multichoice won the 2019 Pay TV wars

Remember when cable tv was a luxury only the rich could afford? Thankfully fierce competition in the market has made those dark days a thing of the past. Pay TV and the many companies who provide Nigerians these services have indulged our craving for all kind of video content, covering our favourite shows and sporting... Read More

DSTV, Multichoice, Pay TV

National Film Corporation

January 14, 2020

A little late to the party, but Nigeria is finally getting in on media propaganda

Every year Hollywood churns out a good number of ‘war dramas’. You know, those films with a tragic protagonist signs up to protect America from enemies home and far. There are so many iterations of the war film at this point that it would be a surprise if a year went by and the Americas... Read More

Amotekun

January 13, 2020

The Nigerian police raises an important question about Amotekun

Who has the right to bear sophisticated arms? That is the question the Nigerian police representatives in Ekiti, Ogun and Ondo states asked of the newly inaugurated security outfit proposed by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria. It is also the question that South-West Stakeholders Security Group will answer as they launch Operation Amotekun, the... Read More

Counter Culture Blog

Amotekun, nigerian police

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