The Nigerian Diaspora community is playing a pivotal role in the rise of Afrobeat across the globe. Nigeria has one of the largest diaspora populations in the world due to bad leadership, which has seen citizens migrate to other parts of the globe in the quest for greener pastures.
People travel far, but one thing that hardly leaves them is their culture. Nigerians are travelling out of the country on a daily basis, but they find it hard to adapt to the cultures of the countries they relocate to. Rather, they take to social media and relate to happenings in Nigeria as if they were at home.
Everybody loves music, and the Nigerian Diaspora community is no exception. Despite traveling outside of Nigeria, Nigerians love Afrobeat and would pay to see Nigerian acts perform in the countries where they live.
Whenever you hear that Wizkid, Davido, or Burna Boy have sold out the O2 Arena in London, it is not magic. The large Nigerian community abroad will always do everything possible to promote their own.
Nigerian artists are very much aware of the role the Diaspora community plays in promoting their craft.
During an interview with Trevor Noah on the Daily Show in 2021, Davido hailed the Diaspora community for the success of Nigerian music.
Davido said:
“I want to first of all give a shout out to all the Nigerians in the diaspora. When I said that, I mean Nigerians living in America, Europe…My music started in Atlanta as well as New York and it started with Nigerians being in the clubs and telling the DJs that I want to spend $50k dollars today but play Davido’s music. That’s an example and it started from people in the diaspora doing that for us.’’
Davido also recalled how he sold out venues during a tour in the US in 2013.
“I remember that I came here for a tour in 2013 and I sold out every venue even without exposure. Then, Live Nation (a US-based entertainment company) called my manager and was like what’s going on? We don’t even know this guy, he came to America and has done 20 shows and sold out. We have to thank those that supported us. Nigerians don’t play with us,’’ the singer revealed.
Currently, Afrobeat is one of the most dominant music genres around the globe, and the diaspora community can be proud of what they have helped to achieve.