Superstars Who Dropped Out Of School

More than ever before, Nigeria’s music scene is increasingly getting saturated with stars and superstars who abandoned their various educational institutions in a quest to pursue fame and stardom. Contrary to what formerly obtains, where education is given utmost priority before anything else, a larger percentage of young people now care less about getting ‘educationally certified’ before venturing into the music business on a full scale. They practically leave their studies at different levels when the demand from musical career becomes overpowering to manage while schooling. One of the major motivations behind this strange move, which is fast becoming an acceptable practice even amongst the parents of some upcoming musical acts, is the bountiful financial gains the career promises. Factually, the benefits that await any recording artist whose music becomes widely accepted are pretty numerous. Aside the huge revenue that comes in from the sales of the music album, income from corporate branding, vast attention, popularity, respect and fame gained from the media, artists also rake in a huge chunk of money by performing at different corporate shows within and outside the country. All of these and a whole lot more contribute to igniting the burning obsession that makes almost every average young scholar crave such a glamorous lifestyle. iCampus takes a look into the lives of these superstars and presents you the story of their journey from ‘drop out’ to ‘sought out.’

 

WIZKID

Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, widely known as the Wizkid actually started off his singing in church at the early age of eleven in church under the name Lil Prinz before he was dully repackaged in 2006 as a secular artiste to meet the standard practice and expectations of the industry. In 2010, Wizkid broke fully into limelight with the release of his hit single Holla at your boy, and suddenly couldn’t meet up with his academic demands as a 200 level International Relations student of Leadcity University. This eventually prompted his decision to opt out of school to concentrate on his musical career as he couldn’t cope with the school activities and the same time doing music.

TUFACE IDIBIA

Innocent Ujah Idibia better known as 2Face, was born in Jos on September 18 1975 to Michael & Rose Idibia. 2Face had his O’ Levels at Mount Saint Gabriel's Secondary Makurdi in 1992 and also attended the one year pre-degree remedial programme at University of Jos in 1994. In 1995, he was admitted into the Institute of Management & Technology (IMT) Enugu to study for a National Diploma (ND) in Business Administration but had to drop out of the ND programme to pursue a career in music. As with most young men, 2Face had a dream. His was to pursue the Higher National Diploma (HND) in 1996 after scaling through the Ordinary National Diploma (OND) programme. However, in broad daylight, that dream evaporated like a mirage leaving him on the entertainment stage with a microphone in hand. Asked why he had to give up schooling, the hip hop maestro responded, “We were not born with silver spoons in our mouths. So, from day one, we had to look inwards for survival when we started. “No support was coming from home. If we were to survive, we had to follow our music first.”

D’BANJ

Born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria to a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment and a church dignitary mother who hailed from Shagamu in Ogun State, D’banj had to move several times within Nigeria and eventually to England, due to his father's profession. D'banj was expected to follow his father's military career and was enrolled to the Nigerian Military School at age eleven. However, D'banj resisted the system and disenrolled from the school after three years. While at the Military school he was a member of the elite drum corp of the Nigerian Army. From the Nigerian Military School he proceeded to another military owned institution Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ibara, Abeokuta where he completed his secondary school education. However since then, the demands from music have made it impossible for D’banj to get a University Degree.

9ICE

Born on January 17, 1980, 9ice (Abolore Adegbola Akande is a very popular Nigerian Musician with a classic style of music. He is a south-westerner from Ogbomoso in Oyo State who grew up in the district of Bariga in Lagos. At the March 2008 edition of the The Headies held in Nigeria, 9ice won the Revelation of the Year award and the Best Male Vocal Performer. A month later at the first SoundCity Music Video Awards, 9ice was nominated in the category of Best New Artiste. 9ice's biggest single is titled "Gongo Aso". 9ice attended Abule Okuta Primary School and CMS Grammar School after which he got an admission into Lagos State University. He however dropped out from his Law course at the Lagos State University due to his academic shortcomings to concentrate on music. He grew up in a polygamous home of five wives and nine children. His parents found about his singing career a year after it started around 2000. Before then, 9ice wrote his own songs dating back to when he was just 14 years old.

   

MI

Jude Abaga, better known by stage name M.I., meaning Mr Incredible, is arguably Nigeria’s leading rap artist who has won Several Awards including the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009 and was nominated for BET 2010 Awards for the Best International Act Category. He rose to prominence in 2006, when his song "Crowd Mentality" became popular in his hometown Jos. He is signed to Chocolate City music label. On the 11th of December 2008, M.I released his critically acclaimed debut album, Talk About It. Jude was born in Umuahia Abia State where he grew up with his parents, Mr and Mrs Abaga, both of Nigerian descent. He attended Baptist High School, Jos and later proceeded to Calvin College, Michigan, USA to pursue a career in Business and Economics, but had to drop out for financial reasons. According to him, “I didn’t conclude my studies there because I couldn’t afford it after a while. What the school does is that if a student can’t pay his tuition fees, he’ll be dropped from status. So I was out of status and it became tough for me to get back. I had to withdraw and return home. And when I returned, it became a long process and in that process, I started doing music again. That was how M.I emerged.”

 

TERRY G

Despite his eccentric and weird persona, Gabriel ‘Terry G’ Amanyi is not just an admired musician but also a wise businessman. Although he hasn’t got any multimillion naira endorsement or label signing, the Akpako Master commands his wealth through the good use of his self harnessed creative skills. Shortly after gaining dominance into the industry, Terry G has built a befitting home for himself in the Iju area of Lagos. His Terry G Production outfit is a money-spinner as he is still sought after by many up and coming artistes. He launched his own shoe line, TGP shoes, which according to him, sells for N40, 000 a pair. Interested in his educational background? Terry G has this to say, “I finished O’ level but didn’t continue thereafter. There was no money to take me further. After secondary school, the money for higher education was just too much for my parents. They couldn’t cope. But now, I am back to school already, I’m currently in UNIBEN.”

 Whether this trend is to be encouraged or not is a conclusion left for your intuition, but what gets more pronounced is the huge success, exploits and international exposure garnered by most of these so called ‘drop-outs’ who have now become popularly demanded in high profile gatherings across the nation.