Tiwa Savage, the award-winning Nigerian singer, has spoken out about challenges in the music industry, describing it as “filled with darkness.”

During an Instagram Live session, the You 4 Me crooner said her faith in God has helped her remain grounded and prevented her from “falling” despite the negative influences she has observed.

She explained:
“This industry is filled with so much darkness. I wish you guys knew, so much darkness. But I thank God that I’ve kept my eyes on Him. I haven’t fallen.”

Savage also addressed reactions to her latest project This One Is Personal, revealing that some critics dismissed the album because it lacked “big-name features.”

According to her, she intentionally chose to create a deeply personal record without club hits, focusing instead on authenticity. She emphasized that she values having genuine supporters more than having a massive fan base.

She said:
“When I put out the track list of my album, I saw so many people saying I didn’t feature the big names from America or the A-listers.”

“They just automatically concluded that because I don’t have those features on the album, it’s not going to be good.”

“I wish people understood music the way I understand it. Yes, I don’t have huge cosigns, and I wasn’t actively seeking them. All I have is all I have, isn’t it?”

“Honestly, having you guys is enough for me. Sometimes, like they say, you don’t need a lot of people, you just need the right people. I don’t need millions of fans, I just need the right ones.”

Reflecting on the album’s journey, she disclosed that it took more than two years to complete and involved many setbacks, doubts, and discouragement from those who felt a vulnerable project would not succeed commercially.

“There were so many hurdles I wish I could tell you guys about—the fights, the challenges, the people who doubted me and told me that doing this type of vulnerable record wouldn’t work, that nobody would listen or care.”

“People just want to hear gbedu, bangers, and club records. I don’t have any club records, and they said it wasn’t going to work, that people wouldn’t stream it.”

This is not the first time Tiwa Savage has raised concerns about the music scene. Back in January, she had described the industry as being “filled with dangerous sharks.”

During Nigeria’s President Tinubu’s state visit to Brazil, Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), met with Gabriel Galípolo, President of Brazil’s Central Bank. The discussion underscored the potential of Brazil’s Afro-Brazilian community—the world’s largest population of African descent outside Africa—to significantly increase remittance flows between the two nations.

A press statement from the CBN confirmed that the meeting featured wide-ranging economic dialogue focused on monetary policy, regulatory cooperation, and financial stability.

Cardoso emphasized the need for deeper institutional connections and knowledge-sharing between the central banks. He highlighted opportunities in payment systems, fintech development, and mobile money, stating:
“Nigeria is building a more resilient financial system to attract capital, harness diaspora remittances, and create a stable environment where trade and investment can thrive.”
He also noted:
“Brazil’s experience in financial inclusion offers important lessons, just as Nigeria’s fintech sector has insights of its own.”

Galípolo welcomed the discussions, affirming Brazil’s interest in expanding collaboration to support mutual financial stability and prosperity.

Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has urged Nigeria to review its work calendar to reflect the importance of Friday prayers for Muslims, describing the current setup as discriminatory.

In a Facebook video posted on Friday, Omokri argued that before colonialism, Fridays were recognized locally as a rest day for Muslims.

He noted that while Christians enjoy Sunday as a public holiday, Muslims are still expected to work on Fridays, despite its centrality to their religious practice.

As a solution, Omokri proposed an adjustment in working hours. He suggested offices could begin earlier from Monday through Thursday, allowing workplaces to close at midday on Fridays. According to him, this arrangement would make it possible for Muslims to observe Jumu’ah prayers without any drop in national productivity or GDP.

He explained that such a schedule would create a fair balance between Christian and Muslim worship practices within Nigeria’s work structure.

Omokri said:

“I don’t think it is fair for the Muslim Ummah for us to have Friday as a working day in Nigeria. Originally, before colonialism, it was not like that.

“Now we have Sunday as a non-working day and Friday as a working day. I think that we can achieve a compromise. What we can do is that instead of work beginning on Mondays all the way to Friday at 9am or 8am, we can start work at 7:30am on Mondays to Fridays and then on Friday we close at 12 o’clock.

“So the time we are going to lose on Friday we are going to gain it back from Monday to Thursday. So it is not going to affect our productivity as a country and our GDP. And then the Muslim Ummah can close at 12 noon and go for Solat Jumaat. That way, there would be a more equitable balance of our workday lives in Nigeria.”