By Ayo Olumilua
It has been a very eventful month for singer cum songwriter Kizz Daniel. The Nigerian hitmaker was arrested in Tanzania on Monday, but it seems his nightmarish start to the week has come to a favorable end.
According to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Oluwatobiloba Anidugbe, popularly known as Kizz Daniel, has been released from police custody in the East African country.
A video that went viral on social media on Monday showed the moment Tanzanian authorities were arresting the singer. According to NIDCOM via their media platforms, “We are presently engaging our Mission to see what can be done. We will keep the public posted with our investigation. Thank you.”
They later added: “B Kizz Daniel has been released. His legal team will, however, report back to the police tomorrow while he will subsequently return to Nigeria.”
No official statement was issued by the authorities, but it is speculated that the arrest may be connected with the singer’s failure to perform at an event in the country. This is not Daniel’s first brush with show promoters and organizers.
In recent times, many stories have circulated on the internet about the singer’s tendency to not show up for performances he had been slated to execute.
Steven Uwa, the show promoter responsible for Kizz Daniel’s Tanzania show, complained about the reason the singer gave after he failed to perform and why he got him arrested.
In an interview he did with radio personality/presenter Daddy Freeze, Mr Uwa claimed that Kizz Daniel decided not to perform because the airline he flew with did not bring all of his baggage.
Steven Uwa also revealed that Kizz Daniel was booked for $60,000. According to Uwa, “He [Kizz] only said the airline didn’t bring his bag; that was why he couldn’t perform because his gold chain was not there.
“He had one gold chain on his neck, but he wanted everything. So he said just because the airline didn’t bring one of his bags, he cannot perform without his gold chain.”
Uwa was also vocal about the cost of putting the whole show together. According to him, he spent no less than $300,000. In his words:
“A regular table for that show was sold for $5,000, and the highest table was sold for $10,000.”
He added that fellow show promoter Paul O (who was also involved with the show) fruitlessly tried to get Daniel to perform.
Even though recent events have soured the taste of his trip to East Africa, it wasn’t all gloom and doom. A couple of days before his arrest in Tanzania, he performed in front of a packed audience on Saturday, 6th August 2022 at Uganda’s Lugogo Cricket Oval in Kampala. His set was packed with hits like ‘Woju’, ‘Lie’, ‘Pour Me Water’, ‘Eh God’.
The biggest roar of the night was heard when his latest hit ‘Buga’ was eventually played, as fans erupted and sang the lyrics word for word. Kizz Daniel has had a busy year. His North America and UK tours were a resounding success, while he keeps on churning out hit after hit like it’s nothing.
Hopefully, this whole ordeal is just a bump in the road for the crowd rocker. He probably has yet another radio candy cooking in the oven, so watch out.
First published in https://africamusiconline.com/2022/08/14/a-postponed-rock-concert-in-tanzania-and-bouts-of-kizz-daniel-mania-causes-a-row-in-dar-es-salam/