As Nigeria prepares for the 2023 general election, NECLive, one of Africa’s biggest and longest-running gatherings of entertainment and creative industry professionals, will be discussing how the creatives and entertainment industry can be a vehicle for driving social change in Africa.
ID Africa, a leading communications advisory and media company, announced on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, that the ninth edition of the annual entertainment conference will be held on Friday, April 29, 2022, in Lagos, Nigeria.
According to ID Africa, this year’s edition of NECLive will return in-person for the first time in three years as a hybrid event.
Themed “Sustaining The Africa Momentum”, NECLive9 will delve into the role of creatives and the entertainment industry in nation-building in light of Nigeria’s upcoming 2023 general elections.
“In the past two years, we’ve seen how powerful entertainment and pop culture can be in influencing social change and driving narratives,” NECLive Convener Ayeni Adekunle said. “NECLive has been at the forefront of conversations around moving the entertainment industry forward and maximising its potentials; and for the ninth instalment, we’re continuing with this mission by engaging relevant stakeholders in discussions that will set the tone for the future of not just the industry but our continent as a whole.”
While Nigeria prepares for its next general election, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said would hold in March 2023, in other parts of the continent, military coups leading to the forceful takeover of government are on the rise. The year 2022 has already recorded a military coup in Burkina Faso and another failed coup attempt in Guinea Bissau.
Ahead of Nigeria’s election in 2023, more than seven presidential aspirants have declared interest to succeed Muhammadu Buhari, whose eight years tenure as President expires in May 2023.
In an election where dwindling economy, insecurity, mistrust for older politicians, rising unemployment and the 2020 EndSARS protests will dominate conversation, the Nigerian creatives and entertainment industry are taking it upon themselves to use their influence to get the young population actively involved in political activities ahead of the 2023 elections.
Nigerian music acts like Falz, Davido, Wizkid, DJ Switch, comedian Debo ‘Mr Macaroni’ Adebayo, among many others, who were at the forefront of the EndSARS protests in 2020, have been leading advocacy to mobilise young Nigerians to actively participate in the 2023 general elections.
Past election statistics show that many young Nigerians who are eligible voters are not registered voters, while those with Permanent Voters Card (PVC) do not show up to vote on election days. In the 2019 general election, only 28.6 million people voted out of 84 million registered voters.
However, the level of political orientation among young Nigerians increased significantly after the EndSARS protests in October 2020, and it is expected to keep rising with the involvement of entertainers in the advocacy. A Neusroom survey, polling 7,000 young Nigerians, conducted shortly after the protests in November 2020, revealed that they now have a strong mistrust for older politicians and want young people to assume the position of leadership.
As young Nigerians become increasingly interested in politics and the kind of leaders elected to run the nation from 2023, Femi Falodun, CEO, ID Africa, said, “Creativity, pop culture, technology and youthful energy are some of the most powerful forces that can create meaningful social and economic change in Africa today and tomorrow.”
According to him, this is why NECLive will be bringing together key industry players from across Africa to explore how entertainment can be used as a vehicle for driving social change on the continent.
