Building the Future, One Cable at a Time
AI shakes Afrobeats, Enekwechi wins shot put gold, Daddy Showkey turns 50, Lagos redraws Lekki map, fibre hits 101,000 km.
Good morning,
A producer in Port Harcourt generated an entire Afrobeats album in three days for $500. That is the power of AI (spoiler: I use AI to edit this newsletter). It is also the terror of an industry watching its foundation shift. At the Build AI Summit in Lagos, producers, lawyers and artists clashed over vocal cloning, AI-driven production and a legal framework that cannot keep up. Voice-cloned deepfakes of Wizkid, Burna Boy and Asake rack up millions of streams. The Copyright Act 2022 was drafted before the generative AI explosion. There is no explicit language preventing AI companies from scraping Nigerian sound recordings to train their models. The world’s second-largest Black music export economy is defending its multi-billion-dollar catalogue through angry tweets and social media callouts. The creators are not demanding a ban. They want opt-in licensing and compensation. The technology is moving at lightspeed. The regulators are standing still.
Speaking of people from the pre-AI world. Daddy Showkey is celebrating 50 years in music. The galala pioneer has announced a milestone anniversary concert on August 9 at Eko Hotels and Suites. Five decades of influencing Nigerian music and youth empowerment across Lagos mainland communities. He is a legend. The question is whether we will show up to honour him.
While the industry fights for its soul, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi has won gold. The African record holder threw 21.07 metres to win the men’s shot put at the Commonwealth Games, edging out New Zealand’s Tom Walsh and England’s Scott Lincoln. It is Nigeria’s eighth gold medal in Glasgow. Enekwechi’s victory adds to an impressive haul in athletics, weightlifting and para-powerlifting. For a moment, the news is about triumph. For a moment, we remember what we are capable of.
And Lagos is redrawing the Lekki land map. The state has issued allocation letters to 98 beneficiary villages in Sangotedo and Ibeju-Lekki, part of a 16,300-hectare master-planned urban community. Governor Sanwo-Olu said the future of Lagos cannot be built on unplanned expansion. The letters convert customary land claims into documented allocations. It is a significant step towards orderly urban growth. The question is whether the plan will be implemented or remain on paper.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s fibre optic cables have surpassed 101,000 kilometres. The focus is now on last-mile distribution to connect 130 million citizens currently lacking high-speed internet. The infrastructure is being laid. The question is whether the government can connect the people.
Warmly,
Lolade