Entertainment
Behold, Nigeria’s Mega Artistes – How Much They Earn
It is no gainsaying the fact
that most top Nigerian entertainment celebrities and show-biz personalities have been raking in millions of naira from endorsement deals with various corporate organisations, blue clip companies and telecommunication giants across the country. These categories include musicians, comedians and Nollywood stars. In this report, we unveiled some of the celebrities with the most endorsement deals and how much they are worth. They include the following:-
-GENEVIEVE NNAJI:-She is one of the richest actressses in Nollywood and she achieved the feat not only by starring in high budget films, but also by promoting several blue clip brands. Some of the brands she is representing or has represented include LUX, Cintrion Energy drink, Range Rover Evogue, Etisalat, Polo and Amstel Malta.
The Etisalat deal alone earned her N100 million, the polo deal is put in the region of N 70 million, while the Cintrion Energy Drink rakes in 50 million for the super actress.
This excludes her fees in movie roles worth millions of naira.
-DON JAZZY:- Don Jazzy has become a very wealthy man even making Forbe’s List as the richest artists in Nigeria. The CEO of Mavin Records is not only making money from his star studded record label, he also has very lucrative endorsement deals including one with Loya Milk where he got nothing less than N50 million, his N25 million deal with MTN and his mouth watering endorsement with Samsung Africa which rakes in millions of naira.
-WIZKID: His deal with Telecommunications network NTN is worth N45 million, he also has endorsement deals with Pepsi worth about N350,000, he has another endorsement deal with Guiness. No wonder the “Jaiye Jaiye” Crooner could afford to replace his crashed 25 million naira Porsche panamera with a brand new one just two weeks ago.
-FUNKE AKINDELE:- Funke Akindele shot into prominence with the release of her smash hit movie “Jenifa” where she made over N60 million. Since then, she has become queen of endorsements with numerous brands- using her to advertise their products. Her ensorsements include: Vita foam where she got N20 million, telecoms giant, Globa com, Jobberman. Com, Qlichy. Com, Klin detergent, Lagos Inland Revenue Service and Nigeria’s premier detergent, Omo are among those paying the A-List actress mouth watering sums of money to represent them in one capacity or the other.
IYANYA:-After winning MTN Project Fume, in 2008’ Kukere’, Crooner Iyanya made a lot of money from his jaw dropping endorsement deals with top brands. His endorsement deal with MTN is worth N60 million, he also has a $ 350,000 endorsement deal with Zinox computers and a N35 million deal with phone manufacturing company, Solo mobile where he also received a 2014 Pradosuv suv.
OMAWUMI:- She shot into limelight after becoming 1st runner up at the 2007 West African idols. Omawumi is now one of the highest paid female artiste charging up to N5 million per show. She is also one of the singers with the highest number of endorsement deals.
Glo deal is said to be worth N25 million, others include Konga worth between N5 to N10 million Mortein and Malter Guiness.
-TIWA SAVAGE: Apart from her very successful music career, the first lady of Marvin records also has a number of juicy endorsement deals worth several millions of naira. Her MTN deal is reportedly worth N30 million. Other deals include contracts with Pepsi, Forte Oil and Maggi worth millions of naira.
-DAVIDO:- ‘Aye crooner, Davido has deals with MTN Pulse and Guiness Nigeria. While the Guiness deal has not been declared, his MTN contract is reported to have made the ‘Omo-Baba Olowo “N30 million richer.
-BANKY W:- RnB Singer, Banky Wellington, popularly known as Banky W. is smilling to the bank with his jaw dropping N100 milion endorsement deal with samsung mobile as well as his endorsement deal with MTN.
KATE HENSHAW: The A-List Nollywood actress has an endorsement deal with Samsung as the face of Samsung. She has other mulit-million naira endorsements like face of Blessing perfume and face of Onga.
JOHN OKAFOR (MR IBU):- He has been entertaining movie lovers for a very long time . Just recently, he got two very lucrative endorsement deals, one as ambassador for sports betting company, Merry Bet and another one as brand ambassador for GoTV.
SAKA:- He is known for his strange roles in movies. The funny actor is known for his” I don port “campaign and he received a whopping N20 million when he switched from Etisalat to MTN. He also has a lucrative deal with Soul Mate hair cream where he had appeared in a number of their adverts.
D’BANJ:- D’banj’s deal with Glo is said to be in the region of N100 million while P-SQUARE’s endorsement deal with GLO is worth N140 million.
MIKE EZURUONYE:- Just few months after he was dropped as Glo ambassador, Mike ported to Airtel in a very lucrative endorsement deal running into millions of naira.
BURNA BOY AND WAJE: They have multimillion naira endorsement deals as Glo mbassadors while ‘Limpopo” Crooner KCEE and
CHIDINMA are both MTN Ambassadors with lucrative deals worth over N20 million each.
FLAVOUR:- Flavour N’ Abania has become one of the most sought after Nigerian artistes and charges nothing less than N4.5 –N5 million for shows in Nigeria and N8 million to perform at international events. He has multi million naira endorsement deals with well known brands such as Globacom, Harp Larger Beer and Onga seasoning.
Additional report from Bravo Magazine.
Spotify yesterday revealed a significant surge in heartbreak song streams in Nigeria during the Valentine’s Day season, with a 626 percent increase between 2022 and 2024.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Lagos, Nigeria by Spotify’s Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa Phiona Okumu.
Okumu said, “Spotify data reveals a surprising trend, a massive surge in heartbreak song streams.
“Nigerians are turning to their playlists to express their emotions, with a staggering 626 per cent overall growth in heartbreak streams from 2022 to 2024.
“This Valentine, the sound of love is accompanied by the sound of heartbreak, and the data shows it’s louder than ever before.”
She said on Valentine’s Day, most surprisingly, male listeners streamed heartbreak songs at a significantly higher rate than female listeners, with a 362 per cent increase compared to 169 per cent among women.
“This could suggest that men resonate with the feeling of heartbreak more and turn to music as a private outlet for processing emotions.
“Whatever the reason, one thing is clear, when love is in the air, so is heartbreak and Nigerian men are pressing play on their pain more than expected.
“While Valentine’s Day is often celebrated with grand gestures, heartbreak is a common theme on Valentine’s Day -more than what’s publicly shown,” she said.
Nigerians will join their counterparts across the world to mark the 2025 Valentine’s today.
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has joined MLS side San Diego FC’s ownership group as a club partner.
SDFC announced today that Tems joined the ownership group through her company, The Leading Vibe.
In the process, Tems became the first African woman to be involved in MLS ownership.
“We are delighted that Tems has joined San Diego FC as a club partner,” SDFC chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour said in a statement.
“Tems is a globally significant artist who will help us reach new audiences and spread the word about our unique project, which, of course, has its foundations in sub-Saharan Africa through the unique Right to Dream organisation.”
Reacting to her addition as the latest partner in SDFC’s ownership group, the singer said: “I am thrilled to join San Diego FC’s ownership group and to be part of a club that celebrates creativity, culture, and the power of community.
“Football has a unique way of bringing people together, and I am excited to help build something special in San Diego, a city that thrives on diversity and innovation.”
Fashion and beauty entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, has claimed she is enduring back pain and that her spine is degenerating.
Lawani revealed this in a video posted on social media last Tuesday.
In the clip, she opened up about her experience with epidural anesthesia, an injection administered to pregnant women in the spine to reduce pain during childbirth.
The mother of three claimed that since receiving the injection, she has not felt like herself.
She accused doctors of not fully informing women about the long-term side effects of epidurals.
According to Lawani, she received the anesthetic injection during the birth of her last two children.
She said, “When you hear ‘epidural,’ run. Doctors tell you about the side effects but do not tell you about the long-term effects on your body. I have about three friends having the same issues that I am having.
“Like, I am just 42, how did I end up with spine issues? I have a degenerating spine. I have implants in my spine. I go paralyzed. I can’t stand for a long time. I can’t even breathe properly sometimes because it affected so many things in my body when I had the surgery.
“They will not tell you because you just want the pain to go away. I have had two epidurals. I had my first as natural birth. The last two were epidural. The last one I had epidural because I had to undergo a surgery and I had no choice.
“See, the pain does not stop. My back is killing me and my spine is degenerating.”