Overshadowed by American superstars

last updated 8 January 2015

Nigeria

Marie Steve

Don’t think I’m ungrateful, said Marie Steve in the Lagos Guardian. It’s lovely to have African-American singers come to Nigeria and perform at our independence day celebrations. For Jay Z, Missy Elliot, Ciara, and Snoop Dog, it was like “a truly emotional homecoming.” And Beyoncé actually brought “many of our senators to tears when she sang the National Anthem in her resonant voice.” Yet, for a show that was supposed to celebrate Nigeria, “was this not a constipating overdose of American hip-hop?” We are much too enamored of foreign styles, “while our own indigenous culture withers.” Surely it wasn’t lost on our own performers that such large numbers of government officials “ostentatiously flowing in and out of the venue” don’t turn out for purely local concerts. It was almost embarrassing to see how star-struck our senators were. “Next time we roll out the drums to celebrate Nigeria, let us be sincere enough to proudly show her glorious colors.”