Veteran rapper Jude Abaga, popularly known as M.I, has raised concerns over the sources of funding in Nigeria’s music industry, revealing that a significant portion comes from internet fraudsters.
Speaking on a recent episode of the So Nigerian podcast, shared on X on Tuesday, M.I described this situation as a reflection of broader issues in Nigeria, where much of the financial support for the creative sector originates from foreign investors and illicit activities.
“There’s a lot of controversies when people talk about Yahoo Yahoo, because a lot of artists’ funding comes from that. What I’m trying to say is that it’s an indictment on our country that we have such talented musicians and the major funding for the industry comes from the West and the fraud industry. It’s an indictment. It shows that something is wrong. Hopefully, we can do better,” he said.
M.I also urged wealthy Nigerians to play a bigger role in nurturing local talent, noting that currently, much of the financial support in the industry comes from young artists supporting one another rather than from established investors.
