It is the second time Wizkid will disappoint his Ivorian fans.
Hours after disappointing his fans in Ghana by failing to perform at a concert he was billed for, Nigerian superstar Ayo Balogun has repeated the same in another West African country.
The Nigerian star was to perform at a concert in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on Sunday but did not honour his appointment and had his fans waiting for long hours.
Even though his fans paid 100,000 CFA francs, approximately N71,000, to obtain a ticket, and waited endlessly, Wizkid failed to show up.
According to reports, Wizkid had a show in Abidjan, after which he was billed to perform in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Despite reports that he was in a jet on his way to Abidjan, the singer didn't show up.
Instead, he went to perform in Cotonou. He was also recorded in Cotonou, saying he would see his fans in Abidjan soon.
Wizkid and King Promise performing in Cotonou, Benin after failing to perform at WizkidLiveAccra and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. pic.twitter.com/rVNnvqEmIs-- SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) December 12, 2022
According to the information, Wizkid didn't show up even though he and his team were reportedly fully paid. The venue was fully paid for as well.
His team members were said to have been held and not allowed to leave Abidjan if he didn't show up for his performance.
It is the second time the singer will be disappointing his Ivorian fans. In June 2021, in Abidjan, Wizkid postponed his concert because one of his staff members was affected by COVID-19.
Ghana too
Last Saturday, the singer was billed to perform at the Wizkid Live concert scheduled for the Accra Sports Stadium.
It was to be the first time the Afrobeats sensation would be headlining a concert in Ghana.
About 40,000 fans were expected at the Accra Stadium, the event venue, most of whom showed up.
The show was also supposed to be the singer's first performance of his new album, 'More Love Less Ego' in Africa.
The Final Entertainment Group, the parent company of Live Hub Entertainment, put together Wizkid Live.
Wizkid, who was expected to perform a two-hour, non-stop performance of some of his repertoire, failed to show up.
He later blamed it on safety and production issues.
Reactions
Nigerian music writer Motolani Alake, in a series of Tweets, suggests that Wizkid has done no wrong.
Going by his tweets, Mr Alake implied that the agreement reached by the 'Joro' singer was that the venue of the event must be packed. But this wasn't the case.
He wrote, "Not sure why some people are dragging Wizkid sha. If a clause in his contract, as my brother Olele Salvador suggests, states that the venue must be packed, and it wasn't, he didn't breach his agreement; the organisers did.
"Now, you might make an argument for human decency. But he had no obligation to fulfil any clause of that nature. If he had done it, it would have been great. But now that he hasn't done it, it's not a problem either. Making a case for ego is a long thing. Let's focus on specifics. Contracts exist for a reason."
Not sure why some people are dragging Wizkid sha. If a clause in his contract as my brother @OleleSalvador suggests, states that the venue must be packed and it wasn't, he didn't breach his contract, the organizers did. Now you might make an argument for human decency.-- Motolani Alake (@OneMotolani) December 11, 2022
A Twitter user, Samuel Now, on the other hand, said that the singer has no respect for his African audience.
He respects the African music market now. He's getting better and bigger shows in the western market now, so how will he place value on the African market? Such a shame," he tweeted.
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Clearly he's got zero respect for African music market now. He's getting better and bigger shows in the western market now so how will he place value on the African market ? Such a shame!-- Samuel Ntow. (@SamuelN81521319) December 12, 2022
Background
The singer has toured several cities to perform his latest album, 'More Love Less Ego'.
The Grammy Award winner and Nigerian star had held similar sold-out concerts at the Accor Arena in Paris and New York's Madison Square Garden (November 16).
He also had a gig at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands (November 24).
He is also expected in Lagos on the 30th of December for a headline concert tagged 'Vibes on the Beach With BigWiz' set to be held at the La Campagne Tropicana beach at Oniru.
