2025: The Year to Beat or Be Beaten
Femi Akintunde-Johnson
As another whirlwind year settles into the annals of Nigerian entertainment, it’s clear that 2024 did not come to play. If anything, it reaffirmed our knack for turning our quirks into cultural currency and our chaos into global capital. It’s not for nothing they say, “Naija no dey carry last”. From the dizzying heights of Afrobeats to the unstoppable Nollywood exports, we have mastered the art of rolling with the punches and turning lemons into five-star lemonades. But where exactly are we headed in 2025? Let’s set the stage.
Music, the heartbeat of Nigerian entertainment, remained our most significant export in 2024. The triumvirate of Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido still held the fort, but newcomers like Rema, Ayra Starr, and Asake were no mere fillers. They solidified their status as heavyweights, pulling off record-breaking streaming numbers and globe-trotting tours. If the stories behind Asake’s explosive live performances and Rema’s catchy yet introspective hits taught us anything, it is that the world remains enamoured with the audacious swagger and unrelenting grind of Nigerian music stars. Even the Grammys, those once-elusive golden statuettes, now feel like family heirlooms.
Yet, it wasn’t all rosy. The tussle between art and commerce continued to be a major talking point. With accusations of payola clouding radio playlists and the stubborn rise of ‘sameness’ in Afrobeats production, the genre risks creative fatigue. Let’s not forget the growing mutters of disenchantment among core fans who want more depth, originality, and storytelling from their favourites. If 2025 is to be a watershed year for Nigerian music, it must address these cracks before they widen.
Nollywood, as ever, thrived under its dual identity – one foot in the grassroots and the other in Netflix’s glossy boardrooms. The high-budget epics of 2024 were cinematic spectacles, but who can forget the small, personal stories like ‘Gangs of Lagos’ or ‘Brotherhood’ that packed a punch in both emotional depth and box office appeal? Streaming platforms doubled down on exclusive Nigerian originals, and while not all productions struck gold, the sheer volume testified to a burgeoning ecosystem.
Yet, Nollywood’s Achilles’ heel – distribution and piracy – remained unrelenting. Theatres outside major cities struggled, and for every film that dazzled in cinemas, there were two that ended up on pirated USB drives before their opening credits rolled. As we periscope into 2025, the battle for better financing models, intellectual property protection, and global partnerships will be key. Perhaps this is the year Nollywood finally makes a long-overdue play for an Academy Award, not with glitz but with grit.
Live events in 2024 felt like therapy for a nation perpetually on edge. From Burna Boy’s ‘Love, Damini’ tour stops electrifying Lagos and London alike, to the opulent stage designs of Tiwa Savage’s return to live music, these events underscored the power of shared experiences in uncertain times. Yet, there’s no ignoring the class divide. Ticket prices that could pass for monthly salaries raised questions about inclusivity and accessibility. Is live entertainment in Nigeria becoming a luxury experience only for the privileged few?
On a brighter note, 2025 promises more interactive, immersive live events. Technology, notably virtual reality (VR), is beginning to seep into event production, and there’s talk of homegrown music festivals rivaling international staples like Coachella. Could a fully VR Nollywood premiere or a holographic collaboration between legends and rising stars be on the horizon? Knowing Nigeria’s penchant for outdoing itself, these speculations might not be far-fetched.
Beyond the glitz and glamour, the influence of entertainment as a socio-political tool reached new heights in 2024. Whether through Falz’s biting lyrics or the fiery, meme-worthy dialogues in Kunle Afolayan’s latest opus, our creators held a mirror to the country’s political discontent. Even the most escapist of content couldn’t escape the reality of subsidy removals and exchange rate nightmares. With an election year on the horizon, 2025 will see even more politically charged art forms. Perhaps the question isn’t whether Nigerian entertainers will speak truth to power, but whether power will finally listen.
On the subject of trends, the retro-renaissance gained traction in 2024, with highlife, Juju, and Fuji enjoying overdue revivals among Gen Z and millennials. In 2025, we expect these genres to find even greater fusion with modern styles. Who wouldn’t pay to hear a Grammy-nominated Fuji-Amapiano collabo? Similarly, Nollywood might embrace more historical narratives, capturing tales of the nation’s colourful past in gripping, dramatic strokes.
And then there’s the wildcard: artificial intelligence (AI). From songwriting to script analysis, AI is poised to reshape the industry’s creative process. But Nigerians, being who we are, will likely use it to make things even juicier – perhaps a fully AI-generated Nollywood star or a viral TikTok tune written by ChatGPT? The possibilities are endless, but they’ll only succeed if creators harness this tech without losing the soul that makes Nigerian art truly unique.
Looking ahead, 2025 might also be the year of great deals. Record labels will scramble to outbid one another for artists, while Hollywood studios are expected to deepen their collaborations with Nollywood. Even live-event sponsorships are poised for an upgrade, with global brands showing increased interest in our market. However, creators must tread carefully; the Nigerian knack for short-term wins mustn’t sabotage long-term growth.
Ultimately, what makes the Nigerian entertainment scene so exciting – and at times exasperating – is its unpredictability. It is an industry fuelled by passion, ingenuity, and a stubborn refusal to bow to odds. If 2024 was a year of consolidation, 2025 looks to be one of bold reinvention. In a country where tomorrow is never guaranteed, the ability to dream – and create – becomes both a necessity and an act of defiance.
As Nigerians often say when discussing our perpetual state of flux, “We dey manage”. But if 2024 proved anything, it’s that mere survival is no longer enough. It’s time to stop managing and start dominating, to trade our habitual endurance for audacious innovation. Nigeria is not just a country of possibilities; it is the possibility. And if there’s one prediction worth staking on 2025, it is this: Naija will not only shock the world (again) – this time, the world might finally have to catch up with us.
