General News
NativeLand and AfroNation: A Tale of Two Cultures?
By Austin Okere
As we start a new year 2020, it is expedient to take stock of the gains in the bourgeoning creatives industry in West Africa’s two biggest economies; Nigeria and Ghana, given their increasing contribution to the GDP of both countries.
Austin Okere
Penultimate December 2018 was a groundswell period in the evolution of young African Artistes in the region. It was also the great year of collaboration between local artistes and their international counterparts of African descent.
The major musical concerts in Lagos and Accra were NativeLand and AfroNation respectively. NativeLand, whose traditional home is the Muri Okunola Park in Lagos is in its fourth year. It is put together by lifestyle platform Native Magazine, founded by Seni Saraki and Teezee to cater mostly to teenagers and young adults, many studying overseas and returning home for the holidays.
AfroNationon the other hand is billed as the first festival to celebrate the African Diaspora and is organised by 34-year-old Nigerian promoter from Dagenham who goes by the name SMADE – real name Adesegun Adeosun Jr. alongside his business partner, Obi Asika.
They rotate their concerts in different countries. The debut event which held on the beaches of Portimao, Portugal, saw 20,000 people of African descent gather for four days of festival, featuring live music from Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Jamaica, the UK and the US.
To consolidate on the solid foundation laid in the penultimate year 2018, both organisers advertised much bigger versions of their shows for Dec 2019. AfroNation opted to host their festival at Laboma Beach at Accra, Ghana, while NativeLand opted to continue at their traditional location in Lagos.
First off the block was NativeLand with a supposed star studded event at the Muri Okunola Park. Like the previous edition in 2018, where the advertised headliner Burna Boy was a no-show, many of the major acts advertised in 2019 also did not show up.
Some claimed that sound quality and other technical issues forced them to cancel . Just for context, this park is at a very busy traffic intersection with very limited crowd capacity and no provision for parking.
It is at best a good location for small to medium sized outdoor events. For some strange reason, the organizers oversold tickets by multiples of the park’s capacity.
The inevitable happened. The park was full to the extent that there was no blade of grass left for an extra person to stand on, and there was still a very large crowd outside waiting to be admitted. In fact, the VIP tickets were so oversold that the stage housing them collapsed, sending them onto an inelegant mangled sprawl on the ground.
The crowd outside surged in a throng and the gate fell. The security personnel hired to man the single gate serving as entrance and exit, went into overdrive, hitting and kicking the paying customers, aka “the crowd” with horse whips and boots.
A stampede ensured, many people fell and were trampled, many lost their eye glasses. Mobile phones, wigs and other customer valuables were snatched. The scenario could best be described as luring people to a rendezvous and then inviting mayhem upon them. Many went home with bruises and lot more ended up in hospitals with broken bones.
The AfroNation event at Accra was an entirely different matter. It was a four day show packed with local and international artistes and timed to coincide with the “year of return” theme of the government of Ghana, wherein Africans in Diasporas are encouraged to return to the continent.
According to Wikipedia, up to 1.5 million tourists were expected in Ghana by the end of the year 2019, with up to 1.9 billion dollars also expected to be accrued in revenue as a result of the Year of Return activities.
The event was very well advertised and organised and was so popular that you could hardly get a flight or hotel room in Accra if you left your booking till three months to the event. The huge success of the 2019 version of Afronation was no surprise.
In their debut in Portugal, no expense was spared when it came to acts, and it boasted performances from Afrobeats and Bashment icons such as Burna Boy, Davido, Busy Signal and Buju Banton. Notable black British artists also graced the stage, such as J Hus, Ms Dynamite, Stefflon Don, Octavian, Mostack and Ms Banks. All the acts advertised in 2019 showed up to perform. This will no doubt solidify the platform for a successful AfroNation 2020; but wither NativeLand 2020?
The major puzzle is that both events were organized by Nigerians; one at Accra, Ghana and the other in Lagos, Nigeria. Is this down to a tale of two cities and their cultures? The Sahara Reporters’ headline; “Police Dismiss Officer Over Killing Of Man At Wizkid’s Concert” was very telling.
The victim attending the Starboy concert at the Eko Atlantic Energy City at Victoria Island, Lagos was shot dead after a heated argument outside the premises. The fact that the same Wizkid performed at AfroNation at Accra without incident fully makes the point.
I attended the AfroNation concert on Sunday Dec 29 at Laboma Beach. The set up was very much like any large concert in Europe or America. There were ambulances, enough conveniences and a generally pleasant party ambiance. Oh! I forgot to add that I did not encounter a single “area boy” or miscreant at the event or in the car park when I was leaving at 3.30am. There was no report of stampede, shooting or death.
While I commend the entrepreneurial spirit of the young men behind NativeLand, they have to learn the ropes about patience in building a brand, offering customer value and reaping full benefits sustainably. The flawed shortcut mentality of maximizing profit at all costs and taking customers for granted is not sustainable in the long-term.
The organisers of NativeLand put out a revised apology statement on twitter a day after the event which was still generally regarded as short on remorse and with no genuine intention to recompense. Without restitution, how can they learn to be accountable, and ensure that this disaster does not repeat in the future.
“Our Youth are our future, we cannot afford to play ostrich while they fall astray. It is not too late to do the right thing. Their progenitors and anybody who wishes them well should advise them to robustly come forward and be the men they want to become when they “grow up”.
As a nation, we need to re-examine the culture of aggression and lawlessness in our cities that has become a major disincentive to tourism and badly needed investments.
Austin Okere is the Founder of CWG Plc, the largest ICT Company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange & Entrepreneur in Residence at CBS, New York. Austin also serves on the Advisory Board of the Global Business School Network, and on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Innovation and Intrapreneurship. Austin now runs the Ausso Leadership Academy focused on Business and Entrepreneurial Mentorship
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has ordered all international airlines flying into Nigeria to enforce the $10,000 currency declaration rule.
The authority said the rule is required for passengers to declare cash or negotiable instruments above the limit, as part of efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering compliance.
According to the NCAA, the directive, referenced as NCAA/CPD/ABV/298, dated 24 April 2025 seeks to address gaps in the enforcement of existing currency declaration obligations for inbound passengers.
This was announced in a statement issued by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, via his official X account on Tuesday.
“International carriers must take two key actions, which include “Make inflight or pre-landing announcements informing passengers of their legal obligation to declare any currency or Bearer Negotiable Instruments exceeding $10,000 USD or its equivalent upon arrival in Nigeria.
“Distribute currency declaration forms onboard for passengers to complete before landing. The NCAA has received reports indicating that some airlines are yet to comply with this directive”, the statement read.
The NCAA said these requirements are consistent with international best practices and are vital to preventing the illegal movement of large sums of money across borders.
The Authority warned that full cooperation from international airlines is essential, saying, “Please note that the cooperation of all international airlines operating in Nigeria is critical to supporting the country’s efforts to align with global financial standards.”
Accordingly, the authority emphasised that full implementation of this directive, particularly as it concerns inbound passenger declarations, is of utmost importance.
“Compliance will be closely monitored, and non-compliant airlines will face appropriate sanctions,” it added.
The court of appeal in Lagos has asked the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to revoke the certificate of registration of “KPMG Professional Services”.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, the appellant court granted the reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against CAC and KPMG Professional Services.
The judgment was read by Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, the judge.
The two other judges are Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and A.M. Talba.
In 2002, KPMG Professional Services was registered as a company with CAC despite the existence of KPMG Nigeria, comprising its audit, tax, and consulting arms.
The KPMG Nigeria has long been registered in Nigeria before 2002.
KPMG Audit was registered in 1969, KPMG Tax Consultants in 1990, and KPMG Consulting in 1969.
Displeased with the registration of KPMG Professional Services, KPMG Nigeria approached the federal high court.
The consulting firm had argued that the name “KPMG Professional Services” was deceptively similar to its long-established identity.
In 2005, the lower court dismissed KPMG Nigeria’s case, citing an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte as reason the company could no longer assert rights to the name.
The lower upheld the second respondent’s (KPMG Professional Services) counterclaim and ordered that KPMG Nigeria’s name be struck off the CAC register.
The lower court had premised its decision on newspaper articles stating that KPMG Nigeria reportedly merged with Akintola Williams Deloitte.
Delivering the judgment, Bayero ruled that the lower court erred by relying on newspaper articles to ascertain that KPMG Nigeria allegedly merged with another company.
The judge said the documents showing the alleged merger were not presented before the lower court, and the form of the alleged merger could not have been known.
“In any event, the only branch of KPMG, if any, that entered into a merger with Akintola Williams as stated in the newspaper articles 18, is KPMG Audit,” the judge ruled.
“The other spheres were totally unaffected. It would therefore be wrong to state that the merger (which has not been shown to this Court) of KPMG Audit with Akintola Williams means all the other areas of business, including KPMG Consulting and KPMG Tax Consultants, also ceased to exist.
“Even if the Appellants (KPMG Nigeria) had ceased to do business as the Court seemed to have held, the 2nd Respondents (KPMG Professional Services) should not have been carrying on business until the Appellant’s certificate of registration is withdrawn or set aside.
“They cannot use the name until the Appellant’s certification of registration is withdrawn or set aside. They cannot use the name until the name is removed from the 1st Respondent’s (CAC) Register of Names.
“The 1st Respondents can only assign the name to the 2nd Respondents after first taking it away from the Appellants.”
The court ruled that CAC erred by registering KPMG Professional Services despite the existence of a business name, which is already registered.
The judge reversed the earlier ruling of the lower court and reaffirmed the primacy of statutory protection for existing business names under Nigerian corporate law.
Air Peace has announced the launch of direct flights from Abuja to London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, with operations scheduled to begin on October 26, 2025.
The airline said in a statement on Sunday that round-trip fares for the Abuja–London service will start from N1m, making it the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct connections from the capital to both of London’s major international airports. This was contained in a press release issued on Sunday by the airline’s spokesperson, Efe Osifo-Whiskey.
“Direct international flight services from Abuja to both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports, effective October 26, 2025.
“Air Peace becomes the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct services from Abuja to both of London’s major international airports, further solidifying its role as a leader in regional and intercontinental aviation.
“Travellers originating from any of Air Peace’s domestic destinations across Nigeria can now book through fares via Abuja to either Heathrow or Gatwick using a single ticket, eliminating the need for multiple bookings or baggage re-checks,” the statement read.
Similarly, the new route opens convenient access for inbound passengers from the UK to cities across Nigeria.
“Travellers from London can access multiple destinations across Nigeria using a single Air Peace ticket through Abuja every morning. These destinations are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Warri, Owerri, Kano, Yola, Gombe and Asaba, for now. Other destinations will be added later,” Osifo-Whiskey stated.
Air Peace is also offering what it describes as unprecedented value in pricing and service.
Osifo-Whiskey said, “It provides a distinct competitive advantage, enabling passengers to travel between Nigeria and the United Kingdom with greater ease, efficiency, and value, due to the possibility of choosing multiple cities entry and exit points.
“Has the cheapest fares ever, starting from only 1 Million Naira round trip. Huge baggage allowance.”
The Abuja–London launch comes months after the airline began Lagos–London Heathrow flights, which started earlier in 2024.
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