BBA sponsored by Coca-Cola: $300,000 (N48m). MTN Project Fame: N7.5m & SUV. Etisalat’s Nigerian Idol: N5m & multi-million naira contract. Glo naija sings: N5m & SUV. Gulder ultimate search: N10m plus endorsements & SUV.

COWBELL Mathematics competition: N100k. Lagos State Spelling Bee: N50k. School scrabble: N25k. Cool-FM spelling game: A goodie bag filled with Amila drink. And someone is asking why there is so much failure in WASSCE?” That was a message I received on my phone some days ago.

My friend, Ayodele Adeyemi, told me a similar story recently. Someone saw the brilliance of his daughter and told her that she would be a doctor. The girl said no: She would be a musician. The person was surprised.

That story is not strange today. If you ask children in primary school or even secondary school whom would they like to be like in future, they would mention Davido, Whizkid, Omawumi, Don Jazzy, Genevieve Nnaji or Ali Baba. It is a good thing that our entertainment industry has become a source of pride to our nation and a source of livelihood for thousands of youths. Youths who could have been at jobs they hated or even derailed into crime have found themselves happily and richly employed. Rather than being mocked by society, they have become a source of envy and admiration. But therein lies the problem…

Since the entertainment industry has become a money spinner and a glamorous industry, every child wants to be in it. But, why not? Currently, the TV programmes with the highest prizes are in music or entertainment. Unknown faces become celebrities almost overnight. Their mates watch such transformation and are filled with envy and admiration. Children watch their intelligent uncles and parents go unnoticed, uncelebrated and impoverished, while entertainers – many of whom are not particularly book-intelligent – become the stars of the day.

On the contrary, how many big-budget programmes or prizes are dedicated to rewarding excellence in creativity or the like? Very few. The NLNG Prize for Literature was virtually the only big prize until recently when Etisalat Prize for Literature came on stream.
The doctors, lecturers, teachers, etc are frequently on strike over pay and conditions of service. Nigerian writers have to move to the United States or the United Kingdom to be appreciated.
Beside entertainment, politics is the other field that is very attractive because of the direct and indirect money that oozes out of it as well as the glamour that goes with it. It is more rewarding – financially and socially – to be a local government chairman than to be a professor. If you are lucky to be a senator, a minister or a governor, you are made for life! Beyond amassing a lot of money, you are also initiated into the political circle, which ensures that even when you leave office, you are made an ambassador, a chairman of an agency or the like. You would not like to go back to the university, your medical practice or whatever you were before. As a doctor, an engineer or lecturer, your money comes in trickles, but as a senator or governor, it drops into your account like a bomb regularly.
But if you can’t be a politician, why not be an entertainer?

President Goodluck Jonathan may not feel cool when shaking an
engineer, computer scientist or professor, but when he is shaking hands with a musician like D’Banj or an actress like Genevieve, you will notice that his smile will be broader. Why? He is shaking hands with a star. Unlike before when our entertainers just had enough to take care of their basic needs, today’s entertainers earn up to N5m for a 10-minute solo rendition of two of their songs on stage. For those who have up to four shows per month, even if they earn a million naira per show, that gives them N4m monthly. Many CEOs of top companies don’t earn that. And this amount excludes the money made from commercials, endorsements, celebrity appearances, fees to act as a judge at shows, album sales, and any other private businesses the celebrity is involved in.

So, it is not surprising that many of our young ones want to be entertainers. In their views, excluding the money and glamour in entertainment, it does not look as strenuous as reading and sitting for exams to be a pharmacist or a professor. Being a musician is fun. You stand on stage (in the limelight) while others huddle together in darkness, watching you. You don’t need to have all A’s or come first in your class. But once successful, you overshadow your siblings and parents. Your parents and siblings are identified from your standpoint: Omawumi’s mother, Omotola’s husband, Okocha’s sister. You travel from one city to the other or from one country to the other, stay in the best hotels, eat the best foods, and drink the best wines – all the time.
No wonder, parents railroad their children into entertainment. They organise three or four of them to sing, put it in CDs and send the children to filling stations and shopping malls to sell the CDs. Some parents push their children to participate in all music competitions in the land. Those who are wealthy use their wealth or connection to push their children to be featured regularly in the media.

At the auditions of reality shows, there is no manner of people you won’t see. Even those who croak like toads participate, believing that they are the next “Tu Baba” or “PSquare.” It is all because of how lucrative the entertainment industry.
TV stations have also caught the virus. While new all-music channels and programmes are springing up, almost all the local channels have dedicated the hours of 12 noon to 2pm to music.
It is a great thing that our entertainment industry is booming. Many African countries are envious of our achievement, but we need to emulate the US in our national development. The reason the US is different is that it is not a one-product economy. While it is the headquarters of entertainment in the world, it is also the headquarters of academic excellence and research. It consciously encourages its doctors, engineers, scientists, lecturers, broadcasters, writers, etc, to be the best by providing a wonderful environment. It does not create the impression that a senator is better than a professor by paying the senator higher than the professor, or giving the senator more recognition than the professor.

Even though it glamorises the actor or musician, it does not give the actor or musician any impression that he is better than the police constable or primary school teacher. Politics is not made so lucrative that every media person prays to be appointed a politician’s press secretary. Many broadcasters actually earn more than politicians; so politicians can’t talk down on them or buy them over. The street cleaner does her job with pride. She knows that one day she can write a book on strategic street cleaning and it will become a bestseller that earns her millions of dollars and fame. She does not need to become a musician, a politician, a contractor, or a girlfriend to a politician before she can become successful as a street cleaner.

That is how a robust economy is built. It is an economy in which people have the potential to excel, to be rich and get national recognition in whatever field they operate in. That way, children who have the proclivity for research or teaching are not discouraged by such fields’ low-rewarding prospects and get lured into music or acting. Those who will sing will sing. Those who will act will act. But the nation must not make those who should be in other fields to jump into entertainment or emigrate, just because they believe that their natural field is unappreciated.

Fact!

I've personally talked about this severally. it is quite disturbing that the notion of 'talent ' has been reduced by the society albeit inadvertently to showbiz. Almost all academic talents go unnoticed or at best under-noticed.
it is a societal travesty promoted by out media houses, i watched with dismay a video of the project fame auditioning last year, i could only but laugh at the faultless stupidity of jobless youths looking for the shortest path to stardom.

earlier this year, a club i currently head in my university was organizing a series of socio-academic programmes to mark our annual week, i approached MTN and DIAMOND BANK for sponsorship , my request was entertained with levity and rejected.
Believe me, these same companies sponsored so many party activities within d same university. It's an unfortunate national disaster, one, which many of the populace are too blind to see.

To add to the pervading madness, our younger ones and children are witness to the fact that a doctor can barely hold his head high in the committee of friend with the perceived paltry 250k he makes per month and which has to be speedily dispatched for" community development"leaving him with next to nothing other than to agitate for more.

Let's not even talk about our" learned brothers" or our engineers who have resorted to taking up jobs outside their disciplines or the banker that rearly see the sun because he works from dawn to dusk as if he is under a state of emergency in reverse but with no Naira to show for the hard confined labour.

To rub raw pepper on a festering sore, they see the 2baba, whizzy and davidos of this world who with little or no formal education display annoying opulence.

If you were in their shoes where will your heart be

The path of least resistance with a high return on investment ofcourse.

Its about time we understand that if Nigeria aim to be among the first world countries we need to put our interest and resources to develop science and technology. That is it what China did/is doing and they are now a world power. Music, entertainment and sport will never make us a developed nation. Only education will. That is why I still respect cowbell for the mathematics competition they organise for students. Others should follow their footsteps. Its what Nigeria need

I read this write up somewhere and decided to share it using this medium:

Dear Nigerians, the reasons for mass failure of our teenagers in public exams are not far fetched.

1 FACEBOOK,YAHOO,TWITTER,MYSPACE and generally browsing on the internet instead of reading their books

2 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE and EUROPEAN FOOTBALL LEAGUES, it is easy for an average nigerian teenager to know the tha names of all chelsea players but same youths cannot tell you the square root 25 in mathematic. Worse still is that these days instead of seeing inscriptions like UNIVERISTY or SCHOLARS on the exercise books, what you see are pictures of paloma,Drogba,Beyonce,Omotola etc

3 DSTV,Home video and african movie magic, watching television and films endlessly.European champions league,English premiership,Barca,Blues,Chelsea,MANU etc

4 GSM and BLACKBERRY, the average Nigerian teenager uses the latest and expensive gsm phones just to show off that they belong, when they are actually nothing.

5 GSM TEXT LANGUAGE, I will not be surprised to see students write words like ur(for YOUR), 2moro( For tomorrow) in their EXAM sheets

6 QUEST FOR CHEAP FAME AND WEALTH, The goverment,electronic media(tv and radio) and companies have not been helpful at all. The average nigerian youth especially the girls want to BE silver Birds most beautiful Girl and get cheap money and fame(Nobody has remembered all the previous miss world,but we still remember MOTHER THERESA),they want to win IDOLS WEST AFRICA, they want to be in NOLLYWOOD, they want to be TWO-FACE, they want to win maltina street dance ,they want to win starquest and GULDER ULTIMATE SEARCH

Warning is that wealth gotten by vanity shall DIMINISH.
7 The new craze of TALENT SHOWS: Suddenly The only talents our youths now have are music,dancing,acting and stand up comedies, they no longer have talents for maths,physics and entrepreneurism.
Check out the list:MTN PROJECT FAME,BIG BROTHER,STARQUEST,MALTINA DANCE HALL,AMBO,GUILDER,IDOLS WEST AFRICA,PEAK TALENT HUNT ETC…What a bad distraction
It is only COWBELL that sponsors national mathematics competition and give scholarships to outstanding students in UME exams

Deep

Quite sad; but I don't even know how to blame.

Parents

Most of our parents who did well during their time, did so because our grand-parents/great-grand-parents trained(disciplined) them well. But maybe the character couldn't be inculcated in most of them for posterity.

Like they say if the source of the spring is bad, so will the river be.

Its just simple the black man enjoys dancing the Negro loves enjoyment


Go to celebrity section and see comments and compare it here


Try doing an interview with a graduate


You give up

I do see yr point..but even if a child is educated and feels music is wat he/she wants to do...sit her down..and ask if she is doing it for money or for d love of it, guide her on d proper kind of music to do...as a 14 yr old aspiring rapper

The op and everyone that supports his view have all made valid points, truth is this issue is going to turn out to be a national disaster in the next 10 years.

oluwaKStar: I do see yr point..but even if a child is educated and feels music is wat he/she wants to do...sit her down..and ask if she is doing it for money or for d love of it, guide her on d proper kind of music to do...as a 14 yr old aspiring rapper

Young man, the op has a point. There's nothing wrong with being a rapper, in fact to be a good rapper you must be highly intelligent because rap is lyrical poetry. Now ask yourself this question, what's is your plan b if your plan a to be a rapper fails? Somewhere in your mind something is saying you won't fail, I agree but the greatest rapper Nigeria has ever produced is mode9 and we can't comfortably say he is successful. Think about it deeply, you might be 14 but whatever you do today will affect you when you're 30.

Also, when writing stop the unnecessary abbreviations like yr for your or d for the. It will ruin your writing skills and we both know you still have many important exams to write.

Urine:

Young man, the op has a point. There's nothing wrong with being a rapper, in fact to be a good rapper you must be highly intelligent because rap is lyrical poetry. Now ask yourself this question, what's is your plan b if your plan a to be a rapper fails? Somewhere in your mind something is saying you won't fail, I agree but the greatest rapper Nigeria has ever produced is mode9 and we can't comfortably say he is successful. Think about it deeply, you might be 14 but whatever you do today will affect you when you're 30.

Also, when writing stop the unnecessary abbreviations like yr for your or d for the. It will ruin your writing skills and we both know you still have many important exams to write.

nigerian rappers are more of "punists" cause they tend to just drop a couple of puns bragging about how good they and they call it a punchline, rap goes more than that, my art or RAP is a combination of the various figures speech (pun, metaphors, similes, hyperbole and so on) to tell a story and thats where nigerian rap fals, I also use the concept of entendre..for example, I blew/blue like a referee but they are still red they need to bleach..thats a triple entendre cause it has 3 meanings.
I do intend on getting a degree in aeronautical engineering as well.

I just shared the link to this thread with a number of my friends. I agree totally with everything in this article.

I need not add more to it.

We are seriously losing direction as a people.

oluwaKStar: I do see yr point..but even if a child is educated and feels music is wat he/she wants to do...sit her down..and ask if she is doing it for money or for d love of it, guide her on d proper kind of music to do...as a 14 yr old aspiring rapper

I understand, just don't get it twisteð bro, am not saying an individual should pursue his/her passion, just get this one thing, whatever you are doing, first and foremost; seek knowlege.

Urine: The op and everyone that supports his view have all made valid points, truth is this issue is going to turn out to be a national disaster next 10 years

That's the purpose of this thread, to avoid the bolded, as education is the bedrock for any developing/developed country, we've got α whole lot to do bro, we need to create awareness. Let those that are ignorant of this fact know.

Krak: I just shared the link to this thread with a number of my friends. I agree totally with everything in this article.
I need not add more to it.
We are seriously losing direction as people.

Thanks for sharing, we'll welcome your suggestion(s) though..

To start with,how many pple are viewing this topic?
Some started reading and it got boring to them.Post a topic like "Unclad Mercy Johnson takes selfie"...u go fear traffic nau.
All man wan blog cos linda ikeji hammer for there.
I've heard a doctor lament abt hw he was forced to do medicine+he wasn't aware of d false picture.He said the only tin positive abt d profession is the "prestige" pple tend to associate with it and it doesn't put food on the table.
Our belief system has been eroded.We never see anyone as important if he/she isn't rich.Everybody wants to be reckoned with hence the wealth aggradizment race-#AnyWayIsAwaySyndrome.
The cost of living is also very high yet the standard gotten is relatively poor.Even wen u can afford a place in festac(after paying so much)u still feel empty cos what u're getting isn't commensurate with wat u paying.What do you do?Look for a means of getting a place in Lekki with d hope that standard of living will improve.This goes on and on and spurs you to keep acquiring.
There is an imbalance which need to be addressed ASAP.I feel sorry for us

Bad Belle Post


See it this way, when everyone veers into music (and most fail), it would create a scarcity of professionals and the demand for doctors and the rest would increase with the attendant reduced supply (check the humongous failure rate in waec). The current poor salaries they are earning is a result of everybody wanting to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer because of perceived high salaries (at least when I went through school)

Ok....
My father went to work, i will inform him when he comes back

_____

isokay

What motivates most Nigerians today Is money. Everybody wants to make big money withouth having to go through so much stress and going into music provides such platform. Abi wetin you expect. Make you see opportunity blow for music Industry and make person tell you say make you go school, God purnish school ooh.. My mate Davido don dey use Private Jet!!

To much write up make a niqqa mad

cool.

I no know, diz topic don make FP....2nd time oh, space 4 sale

me self na super entertainer till I tried that at a podium

Though there is nothing wrong with aspiring to be part of the creative art industry but they should be a balance where other human interests that contributes positively to the community is also appreciated and motivates one to strive for excellence.

Na true oooh

.

Music (Entertainment) is where the money is. That's if you work hard or luck finds you.