Nigerian rapper, Jude ‘MI’ Abaga has alleged that some music stars in the country were being funded by internet fraud.
MI Abaga, in a recent podcast interview, claimed that some artistes rely on proceeds from cybercrime, popularly known as ‘Yahoo Yahoo,’ showing the lack of proper funding structures for the creative sector.
“There’s a lot of controversy when people talk about ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ because a lot of artistes, that is the funding that they have,” he said.
“What I’m trying to say is that it’s an indictment on our country that we have such talented musicians and that the major funding for the industry comes from the West and this other industry.
“It’s an indictment. It shows that something is wrong. Hopefully, we can do better. Think about it, let’s even say I’m a ‘Yahoo boy’, I’m not, but let’s say I was and I just made N100 million. Okay, I’m now a criminal who made N100 million but still don’t have to give it to an artiste, I can blow it however I want, or I can put it in real estate.
“What I’m trying to say is that, the fact that it goes to artistes and that is one of the major ways that artistes can get investments into them. Like there’s no place else, it happens to be other young people who just happen to have money.
“Society will criticise the method of legal money, but what is relevant is that, there are other young people who have money and are just trying to help because they’re seeing their talented friends, and that is a statement about Nigeria,” he added.
