Nigeria struggles with dream to rule Africa’s eSports

A gamer wears a virtual reality headset to play during an eSports tournament in Lagos, on June 17, 2023. – Nigerian eSports and game enthusiasts were treated to unparalleled gaming experience, networking and all-around fun during a two-day eSports tournament organised by GamrX Africa to promote gaming, and unify gamers and eSports industry stakeholders across the continent. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

At the very last second, the Lagos professional gamer wins his battle of “Street Fighter”, sending the crowd into roars of joy, a scene unimaginable a few years ago in Nigeria, where eSports is now in full bloom.

In a room decked out in futuristic decor in an upscale district of Nigeria’s economic capital Lagos, several thousand visitors gathered for a giant video game tournament on Saturday.

Whipped up by an emcee, crowds of young spectators cheered all day in front of the competitors whose games were interspersed with concerts of local Afrobeats stars, Victony and Crayon.

Competitors battled it out in popular eSports games like “Call of Duty: Mobile”, “Street Fighter” and “FIFA”.

The bling of the “Nigerian-style” show lived up to the ambitions of Africa’s leading economy as it looks to establish itself as an eSports –- electronic sports –- leader despite the economic and logistics problems the country faces.

South Africa is now crushing the African eSports scene, thanks to numerous investments, followed by Egypt and Morocco, then to a lesser extent by Senegal, Ivory Coast and Kenya.

But Nigeria has something to make its neighbours swoon because its strengths — and its challenges — are immense.

Immense especially in size: it is the most populous country in Africa with more than 215 million inhabitants, renowned for being