Founder of the Silverbird Group, Ben Murray-Bruce has said the 1983 military coup that removed former President Shehu Shagari destroyed his concert promotion business.
Mr Murray-Bruce spoke on Wednesday at the Infrastructure Dialogue 2026 held in Abuja.
He said he started Silverbird in 1980 with a N20,000 loan borrowed from his siblings after returning to Nigeria.
According to him, he organised about 20 concerts between 1980 and 1983 before the military takeover disrupted his business.
“By 1983, the military overthrew the government of Shehu Shagari. Once Shagari was overthrown, all hell broke loose. In those days, when a coup d’état occurred, the first thing they did was to cut off your phone. That was how they ruined my concert business,” he said.
Murray-Bruce said the economic situation after the coup also affected the entertainment sector, with rising foreign exchange rates and lower turnout at shows.
“My ticket rates when I started were N5 to N10. In 1983, my last show was N15 to N20, and I lost 25 percent of my audience. That was how my concert promotion died,” he said.
The former senator said Nigeria had limited entertainment infrastructure at the time, adding that concert promotion was difficult because there were few media platforms and only one major concert venue.
“There was only one television station in the country – NTA, one radio station – FRCN and four newspapers,” he said.
He added that most entertainers including King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti and Ebenezer Obey performed mainly in clubs during that period.
Despite the challenges, Murray-Bruce said he lost money on only one out of the 20 concerts he organised.
He also recalled his time as director-general of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to him, he introduced 24-hour broadcasting at NTA after he assumed office.
Ben Murray-Bruce advised young entrepreneurs not to give up on their goals despite challenges.
