Introduction
All over the world, young people grow up in different socio-economic, educational and cultural backgrounds, and with varied perceptions and priorities. Yet, certain resemblance can be found among these youths, one of which is the fact that they are still in their informative years and as such are easily influenced by whatever takes place within their social environments. The emergence of new media and communication technologies, particularly the internet has created a world in which young people, irrespective of their background, consume almost the same form of popular culture. The presence of these new forms of communication technologies have also made celebrity culture easily accessible for youth’s consumption, thereby resulting in an increase in youth’s fascination and obsession with celebrities.
In today’s globalised society, more than 70 percent of young people are exposed to various forms of media content and in the same vein are exposed to celebrities from different walks of life and in different sections of youth popular culture. Youths often regard celebrities as role models, depending on them for movie/music choice, fashion advices, career choice and their overall way of life, and as such, are usually gullible at accepting and emulating both the positive and negative aspects portrayed by these celebrities.
Celebrities now play a significant role in influencing people especially concerning how they relate and act, their communication and dressing pattern as well as their attitudes, beliefs and values. While this in itself is not a bad thing, it becomes worrisome and poses a great concern to the society if the behaviour being emulated does not reflect or lead to positive social development. Using the Marlian Empire as a case study, this article therefore explores celebrity culture and its impact in the lives of Nigerian youths.
The Marlian Empire
In contemporary times, majority of Nigerian youths now reside in what can be referred to as the “marlian empire”. The marlian empire has its root in the person of Afeez Adeshina Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, who is also the president of the fan base known as ‘marlians”. Naira Marley is a Nigerian young singer and songwriter famous for his Afrobeat and hip-hop genre of music and the use of the blend of English, Pidgin and Yoruba language in his songs. He became known for his 2017 song titled “Issa Goal” featuring Olamide and Lil Kesh, which was also used by the Super Eagles as their theme song during the 2018 FIFA World Cup (Onyekwena, 2018). He has also become famous for his songs and dance steps, some of which include Japa (2019), Am I a Yahoo Boy (2019), Opotoyi (2019), Soapy (2019), Mafo (2019), Tesumole (2019), Coming (2021), Kojosese (2021), Koleyewon (2021), amongst others.
The marlian empire is characterised by certain noticeable features, some of which can be grouped under criminality, substance use and irreverent youth culture. One of the foremost components in the marlian empire is criminality especially in the form of cybercrimes. Yahoo-yahoo has become widely acceptable by youths in the marlian empire who see it as a response to the failure of Nigerian leadership and as a means of taking back what has previously be taking from them by the Nigerian colonial masters. Furthermore, because youths often mirror the behaviour of their celebrity role models and as such, the excessive portrayal of drugs and alcohol by these artists in the music videos of artists may increase the chances of young people indulging in such reckless health behaviour. In a similar vein, there is sustained objectification of the female gender through his songs and social media contents. He proposed in one of his tweets that it is more marketable to have a big butt than to have a master’s degree. In another tweet, he stated that good girls are just bad girls that don’t get caught”. These have become trending issues in Nigeria and have led to a collapse of our valued societal norms and standards.
Impact of Celebrity Culture on Nigerian Youths
The age of media globalisation and new media technologies have brought celebrity culture to the doorstep of most Nigerian youths, with this having several impacts on their lives. For one, celebrities can act as positive role model for youths, teaching them and making them feel confident about their appearance and body image, without having to worry about been judged by their peers. Some celebrities however often portray an image that pressures youth to achieve an unrealistic level of perfection like the men and women that they see in television, magazines, music videos and other media outlets. These celebrities, the epitomes of physical perfection, create a message that equates beauty with happiness, driving young people to keep trying to meet up with the impossible standard set up by these celebrities, thereby creating a prevalence of anorexia and bulimia among younger generations.
In a similar vein, celebrities are often recognised as spearheading the latest trends in fashion and young people tend to emulate these celebrities by dressing like them. While it is true that some celebrities have excellent taste in fashion and dress modestly, it is also true that the dress styles of most of these artists have also driven youths into seeing rugged/torn jeans, tight/pencil trouser as the new code of dressing, which they must emulate if they want to be regarded as being fashionable.
Celebrity culture also tends to have implication on the behaviour of most young people. This behaviour usually follows the impression of “I don’t care”. Naira Marley has a negative impact on youth’s behaviour and attitude. His songs often encourage a lot of obscenities among youths who see being a “marlian” as being the acceptable norms. Songs like “Soapy” and “Am I a Yahoo Boy” promote social vices like criminality, illicit drug use, internet fraud etc. Today, there is an increasing decay of morality in the society today, with youths no longer having respect for elders or people in authority.
In terms of career choices, the images portray by celebrities in their music videos and various social media platforms often give youths the impression that the entertainment industry offers them better financial opportunity and benefits than the educational sector and as such, most young people no longer see any value in education or in going to school. They believe that the moment they compose and release a song, uncountable fame and wealth will locate them, not taking into consideration the fact that celebrities are often about “showbiz” and that things are not usually, as they appear to be on screen.
Celebrity culture also has impact on traditional cultural values. Today, all sorts of cultures that are alien to Africa have found their way into the Nigerian space. Lesbianism, homosexuality, and other forms of LGBTQ are gradually finding their way into Nigeria and celebrities are making such practices seem acceptable. Today, we have people like Bob Risky who have made it seem as if it is okay in Africa to be transgender. Celebrities are also guilty of objectifying women in their videos and even in movies, which have given youths the notion that it is okay to treat women like trash and that it is okay to be a baby mama and to engage in premarital sex or sleep with multiple partners. In one of his tweets, Naira Marley stated that, she is not your girlfriend; it is just your turn’. As a result of this, the younger generation has lost sight of our traditional beliefs about sexuality, morality and marriage.
Conclusion
Nigerian youths are extremely exposed to celebrities especially those in the entertainment industry and that youths try as much as possible to emulate the behaviour, attitudes and lifestyles of these celebrities.. Using the music industry and Naira Marley as a case study, we have seen that while certain celebrities in the Nigerian music industry play a positive role in the social lives of youths, inspiring them to be self-confident and successful, some celebrities also play a negative role in the lives of these youths.
We therefore recommend that the Nigerian artists and celebrities should see themselves as positive role models to the younger generation and try their best to imbibe good moral values that young people can emulate. The paper also cautions parents and members of the Nigerian society to try and monitor the type of culture that young people consumes to avoid spurring a generation that will not be able to contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of the country.
References
For the full paper, see: Effevottu, E.S., Adumati, B.O., & Oje, E.T. (2020). “The Marlian Empire”: Exploring celebrity culture and its impact on Nigerian youths. In. S. Matheson., S.O. Okpadah., & P.E. Raj (Eds) Locating transnational spaces: Culture, theatre and Cinema (pp.148-158). Canada: International Association of Theatre Critics and Faculty of the Arts, Business and Science, University College of the North. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344477529_4_The_Marlian_Empire_Exploring_Celebrity_Culture_and_its_Impact_on_Nigerian_Youths