Burna Boy is taking fire again. This time from fans who are torn between loving his music and personality. At the last edition of Greater Lagos concert held at Tafawa Balewa Square Onikan to usher in the New Year, Burna Boy ended his performance abruptly when a wild fan interrupted his show. Even though the security personnel stepped in, Burna Boy was a no show afterwards. A stormed out of the show in the presence of the state governor, Babajide Sanwoolu and other dignitaries. Online outrage ensued. Lagos fans were furious, claiming that it was typical of Burna to disrespect his audience in Nigeria.
Well, the security of artists during live performances has been a recurring challenge across the globe. From Nat King Cole to Cardi B, the list is surprisingly endless. Whether this has propelled a change in laws protecting musicians is yet to be determined. But everywhere in the world, the right to life is guaranteed in many constitutions.
Burna Boy has transcended the status of a young man from Port Harcourt to a global music star, performing in large arenas and lately, Grammy stage. Hence, it is needless to emphasize why he needs to be protected on stage: he is a national treasure and must be guarded. And same goes for every artist that shared the stage with him that night.
Queen of Afrobeats, Tiwa Savage had performed in iconic venues of the world even before the King of England. She is a living icon. WizKid is no longer a young Surulere studio rat. He is a Grammy-winning singer- highly bankable too.
Back to Burna, he is a student of music history. He must have read about former Beatles singer John Lennon and how he was killed by a supposed fan who wanted a bit of fame- or infamy. Burna was born and raised in Port Harcourt, Lagos, parts of London where he experienced crime and gang culture. By default, he is wary of anyone in his personal space. For an artist, the stage is sacred. Anyone managing the theatre or performance space needs to prioritise the security of the artist. If he was performing a dramatic monologue, a little interruption could have destroyed his whole performance. That’s why the mainstage and backstage are screened and scanned thoroughly before a show begins.
Now, a concert venue in Lagos recently fell apart and there was no report on the legal implications for the organisers of the show. OdumoduBlvk and his team couldn’t perform as the Nativeland festival stage collapsed to the horror of the terrified audience.
Security is a major concern for our home-grown international artists. They have a reputation for giving cash to lucky fans so it is almost unexpected that fan frenzy will be commonplace. But if an artist demands for his personal space to be respected while performing, then he has the right to leave the stage at the first sight of breach of security.
That said, Burna Boy’s temperament when he returns to Nigeria is different from when he engages foreign audiences. He seems to be too comfortable – if not condescending- when addressing his audience. But Burna had not always been like this. Many think it is arrogance. But it seems the recent ‘Diddy Oil joke’ was a little bit too much for Burna. He doesn’t take jokes well in general. He shouldn’t have taken Speed Darlington aka Akpi seriously when he started the Diddy oil jokes. Everyone who can identify true talent knows that Burna has earned his place at the Grammys. Aside from selling out concerts, Burna has an incredible voice that’s rare. So, why pay attention to Akpi when you can focus on making more global hits?
Burna needs to heal from the pain of lack of home acceptance. Unlike his peers, he couldn’t boast of a fan base nomenclature for a long time. Recently, a handful of his fans online started to identify with the name “Outsiders” but they are not to be compared in terms of size and loyalty with WizkidFc or 30BG.
Let’s even step away from this security issue and examine the quality of stage infrastructure for these artists. In my opinion, I think it’s a slap on Nigerians’ faces to have a low-budget show at Detty December. The government has the means to bring local bands to perform alongside the artists which can be an opportunity to discover new artists. This “DJ Track Two” model is an eyesore. We have come too far to be on that pedestal. This is 2025; let’s begin to act like we have new thinking in stagecraft.
