Nothing unveils failure like excellence. Sometimes, you don’t know you’ve done something wrong until you see someone else do it right.
Nigeria has had to swallow bitter pills watching other African countries host the American streamer (Ishowspeed) on his just concluded African tour. One could wonder, he’s just a kid—and yes, he is. But he is a kid that 50 million people across the world watch. He is not just an individual; he is a platform. We were handed this platform, and we didn’t put on our best show. What could have gone wrong?
When you ask this question, several names come to mind. Simply put, these people didn’t act cool. They lost composure. That was it.
There are deeper layers that fueled Nigerians’ attitude toward the streamer: the guy who offered the American streamer condoms because he was “going to have a blast” with Nigerian girls; the man who felt entitled to $10k; the dude who forced him to skate; the artist who pressured him to buy a fit at his clothing store; the fellow streamer who chased after him on a horse demanding collaboration because he had “suffered”; or the interviewer who inflated himself as Nigeria’s biggest interviewer. At every corner, the rope of ego and entitlement was flung at a boy who had just turned 21—yet, kudos to him, he displayed the self-awareness of someone far more mature.
We could single out names to blame, but to what end? They simply misunderstood the assignment. They were unprepared to engage with profiles like iShowSpeed because they aren’t used to it. What else is there to say? It is what it is. Moving on.
3 Ways iShowSpeed’s Nigeria Tour Flopped & What to Do Next
- He Was Gatekept
He was surrounded by too many egos. iShowSpeed was not treated like a tourist curious about African culture; he was treated like a product—a commodity. No one wanted to share. He was treated like a cake everyone selfishly wanted a piece of, for personal profit and status elevation, and to no greater good for Nigeria’s image. - The Wrong Locations
Lagos was not the wrong location per se, but the places they took him to in Lagos were not best suited to the theme of the stream. Like I said earlier, nothing unveils failure like excellence. Sometimes, you don’t know you’ve done something wrong until you see someone else do it right—which leads us to the next flawi. - Misunderstanding the Concept of the Tour
It is important that we have detailed reflections and reviews like this, so we can spotlight areas where we must do better as a nation and as a pillar of African culture. The idea of the stream was to collaborate with Speed to entertain his global audience. We were supposed to be collaborators, helping him tell a story to his audience. We didn’t understand this. And even if we did, to be honest, we didn’t care—we saw him and treated him as our own entertainment.
If we can’t develop structures that host high-profile guests and give them the best cultural Nigerian experience; if we are losing touch with that experience ourselves; if we are being too “cool” for our own culture; if we can’t take pride in our authentic heritage; if clubs and clothing stores are the only places we take guests to—then there is a huge problem. Still, it’s not too late.
What to Do Next
- Understand the profile and the intent
Why exactly is this person coming? - Align with the right people and brands
Work with those who can truly deliver the experience suited to a specific guest or profile. But when there is gatekeeping, and when collaboration and shared intelligence are ignored, incompetent people take the lead—and their incompetence is displayed, unfortunately to the shame of all. - Get storytellers and cultural pillars involved
Once again, get the right people involved. It’s that simple.
Trust Nigerians to find humor in anything. Soundbites and clip-worthy moments involving Peller and Egungun have gone viral and will definitely be among the most memorable cultural moments—and we are laughing about it. In 2026, ahead of the 2027 elections, with so much horror unfolding within the country and the world, at least anything or anyone that can pull us together to reflect, tell ourselves the truth, and—most importantly—laugh, should not be treated too harshly.
We are Nigerians. We are Africans. We’ve still got it!. We just need to organize ourselves better—and it starts with conversations like these.
