In 2015, Skepta jumped on the remix of Wizkid’s “Ojuelegba” and delivered a line that would become a rallying cry for a generation of African creatives: “I had to tell my story cause they’d rather show you black kids with flies on their faces on the television.”
Ten years later, that mission has manifested in Wizkid: Long Live Lagos, an HBO documentary that premiered on Showmax in December 2025. At the center of its production is Seni Saraki, co-founder and CEO of NATIVE Networks, whose decade-long commitment to authentic African storytelling made him an essential voice in shaping how Wizkid’s journey would be presented to the world.
For Saraki, this wasn’t just another celebrity documentary. It was a continuation of work that began in 2016 when he, alongside Teezee and Sholz, launched NATIVE to document African culture on African terms. The documentary, directed by Karam Gill and executive produced by Bill Simmons as part of HBO’s Music Box series, follows Wizkid in the months leading up to his historic 2023 performance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where he became the first African artiste to sell out the venue.
But the film’s significance extends far beyond breaking attendance records. It represents a shift in who gets to tell African stories and how those stories reach global audiences.
The Cultural Moment
When asked about the intention behind telling Wizkid’s story at this particular moment, Saraki’s response connects personal achievement to collective progress. “Nigeria has been experiencing quite a cultural renaissance since I would say around 2015, and Wizkid has been one of the flagbearers for this incredible period,” he explains.
The timing was deliberate. Leading up to the Tottenham stadium show, another groundbreaking moment for both Wizkid and Nigerian music as a whole, the documentary offered an opportunity “to show his audience an intimate look at the man behind the legend, and to educate potential new audiences about how we got here.”
“How we got here” carries weight in that phrase. This is Wizkid’s story, certainly, but it’s also the story of how Afrobeats moved from the streets of Surulere to commanding stadiums in London. Nigerian artistes transformed global music culture without waiting for permission, and a generation of creatives refused to let others define their narrative.
Saraki’s NATIVE has been documenting this evolution in real time. In 2020, the magazine dedicated four different covers and an entire issue to Wizkid called “Wizmag,” chronicling his rise to global stardom. When director Karam Gill began researching the film, NATIVE kept coming up in his searches. He stumbled upon Wizmag, and that discovery led to Saraki’s involvement as co-producer.
Beyond Stereotypes
The question of representation sits at the heart of Saraki’s work, both at NATIVE and on this documentary. When discussing how the film’s themes influenced the Lagos segments, he circles back to that Skepta line from “Ojuelegba.”
“At NATIVE, we have spent the last decade telling our own stories, rather than have our stories told to us,” Saraki says. “That cuts across how Lagos is shown visually, how our artistes are spoken about and presented, and much more. Karam completely understood this, working with a brilliant crew at home to execute this.”
This wasn’t a theoretical concern. Western media has long trafficked in reductive images of African cities, focusing on poverty, chaos, and dysfunction while ignoring the creativity, complexity, and cultural richness that define places like Lagos. For Saraki and his team, ensuring Lagos was presented authentically became non-negotiable.
“In this film especially, we felt this was our duty to ensure Lagos was presented authentically and how we have always done across our work,” he emphasizes.
The Lagos that appears in Long Live Lagos is vibrant, layered, and essential to understanding Wizkid’s identity. “Wizkid truly is a Son of Lagos,” Saraki notes. “So much of his musical identity is proudly rooted in Lagos, and showing that from the film’s opening was very important.”
Collaboration Across Continents
One of the documentary’s strengths lies in how seamlessly it integrates Nigerian and international production expertise. Saraki speaks warmly about director Karam Gill’s approach to collaboration, which created space for local voices to shape the final product.
“Karam is a truly brilliant director, not just for his eye, but as a leader, he fostered a spirit of collaboration that allowed myself, my team, and the Nigerian crew as a whole to truly contribute to making this film what it became,” Saraki explains.
This collaborative spirit meant that the Nigerian crew’s contributions went beyond logistics. Their local expertise, cultural knowledge, and understanding of context fundamentally shaped how the story was told.
Among the standout moments during filming in Lagos was the story of Starboy, the Wizkid superfan featured in the documentary. “The story of Starboy, the Wizkid super-fan, was one that meant a lot to me,” Saraki reflects. “Super fans as a concept have been so influential in the growth of Nigerian music, and having one as passionate and authentic as Starboy was special.”
Super fans represent something larger than individual devotion to an artiste. They embody the grassroots energy that has propelled Afrobeats globally. These are the communities who championed Nigerian music long before international media took notice, the people who saw greatness in their artistes when the rest of the world wasn’t paying attention.
The Man Behind the Music
Despite knowing Wizkid for over a decade, Saraki found the documentary process revelatory in its own way. “I’ve known Wiz for over a decade, so I can’t say there were a lot of surprises,” he admits. “That being said, being in close proximity to someone like him is always a welcome reminder of what it takes to get to the very top.”
What stands out is the work ethic and genuine love for music, elements that go beyond God-given talent. “His work ethic and genuine love for music is a true joy to see,” Saraki says.
This observation matters because it counters narratives that attribute African artistes’ success solely to natural talent or cultural trends. The documentary shows the discipline, preparation, and relentless commitment required to sustain a career at Wizkid’s level, humanizing the superstar without diminishing his achievements.
Contextualizing Success
One of the film’s achievements is how it places Wizkid’s personal story into Nigeria’s broader historical and political context. The documentary addresses colonial legacies, misrepresentation by Western media, and how music has become a tool for cultural reclamation.
When asked how the film balances these heavy themes without overshadowing Wizkid’s personal narrative, Saraki credits the director’s skill. “I think Karam did an excellent job in contextualising Wizkid’s success within a broader picture of Nigeria pre and post independence.”
This contextualization prevents the documentary from becoming either a hagiography or a sociological lecture. Instead, it shows how individual artistry and collective cultural movements reinforce each other. Wizkid’s success both reflects and accelerates Nigeria’s changing global image.
What It Means for the Movement
For Saraki, the documentary contributes to an ongoing global conversation about Afrobeats, African identity, and cultural ownership. His hope is modest in framing but meaningful in ambition: “I hope it can provide further context and understanding of a culture and movement that continues to soundtrack dancefloors and moments all over the world.”
That understated ambition reveals something about how Saraki approaches his work. He’s less interested in hyperbole or grand pronouncements than in ensuring that when people move to Afrobeats, when they sing along to Wizkid, when they celebrate Nigerian music, they understand where it comes from and what it represents.
Looking back on the entire process, Saraki expresses pride in the collaborative nature of the project. “I’m extremely proud of the whole film, and especially the collaboration between all the companies involved: James Lopez & MACRO, Karam & MGX, Bill Simmons & The Ringer, and NATIVE.”
These partnerships demonstrate that authentic storytelling doesn’t require sacrificing production quality or global reach. Cultural integrity can coexist with working with major platforms like HBO. Nigerian stories can be told without compromising to fit Western expectations.
For the Home Audience
When asked what he hopes Nigerian audiences specifically take away from the documentary, Saraki’s response is simple but profound: “I know how proud we are all to see our stories told on the biggest stages, and I hope that feeling remains here.”
That pride isn’t naive or uncritical. It’s the pride of seeing your reality reflected accurately, of watching someone from your neighborhood command a stadium in London, of knowing that your culture is being presented on your own terms rather than filtered through someone else’s limited understanding.
For Nigerian audiences, Wizkid: Long Live Lagos offers validation and visibility. It says: your stories matter, your city is beautiful and complex, your artistes are world-class, and you don’t need permission from the West to claim your place in global culture.
For international audiences, the documentary serves as an education and an invitation. It provides context for a musical movement that has already captured global attention, explains the cultural forces that shaped it, and challenges viewers to rethink their assumptions about Africa, Nigeria, and Lagos.
The Bigger Picture
Seni Saraki’s involvement in Wizkid: Long Live Lagos represents the maturation of a vision that began nearly a decade ago. When NATIVE launched in 2016, the idea of Nigerians telling their own stories through high-quality, internationally distributed media was still emerging. Today, it’s increasingly the norm.
Saraki himself has evolved alongside this shift. The 28-year-old son of former Nigerian Senate President Bukola Saraki recently won his first Grammy for his work on the Bob Marley: One Love soundtrack, which won Best Reggae Album in February 2025. He also served as executive producer on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack in 2022, earning Grammy recognition there as well.
These achievements position Saraki as part of a new generation of Nigerian creatives who operate comfortably across borders, who understand both local context and global platforms, who refuse to choose between authenticity and reach.
Wizkid: Long Live Lagos benefits from that dual fluency. It’s a film that could only be made by people who understand Lagos intimately but also know how to communicate that understanding to audiences in London, Los Angeles, and everywhere in between.
The documentary arrives at a moment when Afrobeats has already conquered global charts, when Nigerian artistes headline festivals worldwide, when Lagos is recognized as a creative capital. But it also arrives when questions about cultural ownership, representation, and who profits from African creativity remain urgent.
Saraki’s work on the documentary reflects his broader philosophy: that telling our own stories isn’t just about pride or representation, it’s about power. It’s about controlling the narrative, shaping how the world sees you, and ensuring that when your culture goes global, you remain at the center of that conversation.
Ten years after Skepta’s verse on “Ojuelegba,” the work continues. Flies on faces have been replaced by stadium performances, but the mission remains the same: tell your own story, on your own terms, with excellence and integrity.As Saraki puts it simply: “At NATIVE, we have spent the last decade telling our own stories, rather than have our stories told to us.”
Wizkid: Long Live Lagos is proof that this approach works, the stories are reaching the biggest stages, the world is listening, and most importantly, Nigerians are telling them.
The interview was facilitated by Jennifer Ukoh-Osamwonyi, PR Manager, Showmax Nigeria.