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Obi Asika — The Man with Kinetics and Master Keys for Arts, Culture and Entertainment
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
Obi Asika’s journey reads like the blueprint of a cultural architect: an Onitsha boy with global eyes, a detribalised Nigerian with deep heritage, and a visionary who carries the rare kinetics — the energy, force, intelligence and motion — required to transform Nigeria’s arts, culture and entertainment landscape. Few individuals have held as many master keys to the creative economy as he does. From music to film, festivals to archives, heritage to global diplomacy, he stands today as one of the most influential culture-builders of modern Nigeria.
Family and Early Roots: The Onitsha Foundation
Born on 3 October 1968 into the historically respected Asika family of Onitsha, Obi grew up within a home soaked in leadership, heritage and intellectual discipline. His father, Anthony Ukpabi Asika, was Administrator of the East-Central State during a complex post-civil war era. His mother, Chinyere Edith Asika, was a scholar, computer scientist and celebrated collector of Nigerian fabrics, arts, ornaments and material culture. She built a 3,000-piece archive over five decades — a legacy that shaped Obi’s reverence for culture.
From this home, he learned the value of identity, memory, elegance, and people. He also learned inclusion. Today he is widely seen as one of Nigeria’s most detribalised figures — deeply Igbo by birth, fully Nigerian by spirit, and proudly married to Yetunde Asika, a Lagos-rooted Yoruba woman. His closest friends and professional networks cut across Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, minority groups and the global black diaspora. He is, by all standards, a global citizen with a Nigerian soul.
Education and Formative Exposure
Obi’s early education began in Enugu before he moved to the United Kingdom. He attended Ashdown House in East Sussex and later Eton College, where he served as prefect and led multiple cultural societies, including the Political Society and Film Society.
He proceeded to the University of Warwick where he earned an LLB (Hons). More important than the degree was what university life sparked: he became a DJ, radio host, student promoter, and leader of African cultural societies. The campus became his first laboratory of entertainment kinetics — learning how music moves people, how narratives shape opinion, and how culture creates identity.
Storm: The Birth of Modern Nigerian Pop Culture
Upon returning home, he co-founded Storm Productions (later Storm 360), one of Nigeria’s earliest and most powerful entertainment engines. Storm was not just a record label — it was a movement, a renaissance and a creative revolution.
Through Storm, Obi helped launch and develop stars such as Naeto C, Ikechukwu, Sasha P, General Pype, L.O.S, Tosin Martins, Yung6ix and a generation of performers who shaped modern Afrobeats culture.
He introduced global-standard artist management, branding, reality-TV integration, and live-event architecture before they were common in Nigeria. Many insiders agree that without Storm, the current Afrobeats global wave would not exist in its present form.
Obi himself once said:
“We did it because it needed to be done — we were creating a new Nigeria through music.”
Reality TV, Content Power and Cross-Media Expansion
Beyond music, Asika produced and co-produced some of the biggest reality shows in African history:
Big Brother Nigeria
The Apprentice Africa
Dragons’ Den Nigeria
Glo Naija Sings
The Voice Nigeria
Ignite Africa
This cemented him as a master of multi-platform entertainment — a man who understood how to connect music, television, culture and commerce in one ecosystem.
Companies and Global Connections
His companies include:
Dragon Africa — a strategy, communications and events powerhouse
OutSource Media — content, production, media architecture
Iba Ajie Asika Resource Centre — heritage, archives, tech hub, museum, memory lab
Storm 360 — music, talent development, entertainment engineering
He sits on global advisory boards, collaborates with international institutions, and links Nigeria’s creative industry to the Caribbean, UK, USA, Europe and the diaspora.
His global networks span entertainment giants, heritage institutions, sports organisations, culture festivals and diplomatic circles.
DG of NCAC: A New Mandate Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
In 2024, President Tinubu appointed Obi Asika Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), entrusting him with the responsibility of re-engineering Nigeria’s soft-power infrastructure.
Since assuming office, he has reimagined the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) as a strategic showcase of “Naija First”:
fashion,interior décor,dance and choreography,drama,and,theatre,children’s,cultural,segments,visual,arts,culinary,traditions,community,crafts,creative entrepreneurship
The festival has become a national statement of Tinubu’s cultural agenda: unity, national pride, economic creativity and diversity. Under Obi’s leadership, participation increased, media coverage expanded, and the festival regained prestige.
Building the Future: The New Creative Economy Blueprint
Obi Asika is pushing a new mission — not just culture for spectacle, but culture as a $280 billion industry. His ambition includes:
- Monetizing Nigerian Icons
He is encouraging Nigerian singers, actors, comedians, dancers and influencers to adopt global merchandising systems — T-shirts, perfumes, sneakers, memorabilia, accessories — creating new income streams and boosting GDP.
- Global-scale Concert Infrastructure
He envisions Nigerian concerts with 80,000–100,000 fans, matching Brazil, Europe and American stadium culture. His work aims to make Nigeria the entertainment capital of Africa.
- Integrating Sports, Tourism, Culture
From football to traditional games, he is merging sports with culture to build destination tourism and national festivals that attract global audiences.
- Intellectual Property Revolution
He is championing a national IP framework:
an entertainment database
rights management
revenue tracking
archives and content preservation
This is the backbone of a real creative economy — measurable, bankable, investable.
- The World’s Largest Entertainment Hub
In his long-term vision, Nigeria will host the world’s biggest entertainment, arts and cultural district — a hub connecting studios, archives, museums, markets, performance arenas, digital labs and talent academies.
Character: The Humble Giant
Despite elite schools and global connections, Obi is warm, approachable and deeply loyal. Friend to the powerful, the mighty, the creatives, the hustlers and the ordinary people. He respects heritage, honours elders, supports youth and listens to everyone. To many, he is a builder of bridges, not walls.
He represents what a detribalised Nigeria looks like — a man comfortable in Onitsha, Lagos, Abuja, Kano, London, New York and Kingston. A husband, father, thinker, strategist and global icon.
Final Note: Nigeria to the World
Obi Asika carries the kinetics, the master keys, the networks, and the vision for a new cultural Nigeria.
A Nigeria whose music, arts, fashion, drama, history, children’s culture, tech and identity stand proudly on the world stage.
A Nigeria where creativity becomes wealth.
A Nigeria where the creative child can dream big again.
A Nigeria ready for global spotlight.
Obi Asika is not just participating in this renaissance.
He is unlocking it.
Buratai Pays Tribute to Ihejirika at 70, Hails Mentorship and Legacy of Leadership
Former Chief of Army Staff and Nigeria’s immediate past Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Tukur Yusuf Buratai, has paid a glowing tribute to his predecessor, Lt. Gen. OA Ihejirika, as the retired General marks his 70th birthday.
In a heartfelt message released in Abuja on Friday, Buratai described Ihejirika as not only a distinguished soldier and statesman, but also a commander, mentor, and “architect of leadership” whose influence shaped a generation of senior military officers.
Buratai recalled that his professional rise within the Nigerian Army was significantly moulded under Ihejirika’s command, citing key appointments that defined his career trajectory.
According to him, the trust reposed in him through early command responsibilities, including his first command posting at Headquarters 2 Brigade and later as Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, laid a solid foundation for his future leadership roles.
“These opportunities were not mere appointments; they were strategic investments in leadership,” Buratai noted, adding that such exposure prepared him for higher national responsibilities.
He further acknowledged that the mentorship and professional grounding he received under Ihejirika’s leadership were instrumental in his eventual appointment as Chief of Army Staff and later as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Benin.
Buratai praised Ihejirika’s command philosophy, describing it as professional, pragmatic, and mission-driven. He said the former Army Chief led by example, combining firm strategic direction with a clear blueprint for excellence that continues to influence military leadership practices.
“At seventy, General Ihejirika has earned the right to reflect on a legacy secured,” Buratai stated, praying for good health, peace, and enduring joy for the retired General as he enters a new decade.
He concluded by expressing profound gratitude for the leadership, mentorship, and lasting example provided by Ihejirika over the years.
The tribute was signed by Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, who described himself as a grateful mentee and successor, underscoring the enduring bonds of mentorship within the Nigerian Army’s top leadership.
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