While Nigerian pop music and musical talents were growing prodigiously in the early 2000s, Martin Mabutho was silently at the centre of it. Between 2005 and 2008, Mabutho, using his position as the brand manager of Mnet Africa, worked quietly but dedicatedly to export Nigerian music to other parts of Africa, building the foundation for its spread around the world, and attracting international interest and investment.
Martin Mabutho believed that Nigeria has abundant talent that the world needed to see. Photo: Jean-Claude Petit/Instagram.
This ultimately led to Nigerian songs getting more exposure on Channel O which was one of the dreams of many African artistes at that time. Many of them excitedly sang about being proud that their songs were being played on Channel O. Mabutho made it possible.
Mabutho made this dream a reality for many Nigerian artistes, marking the beginning of the expansion of Nigerian music to TVs and radios across the continent and laid the foundation for the explosion of Nigerian music globally.
It wasn’t just music; Mabutho also played a crucial role in the recognition and expansion of creative talents in Nigeria through the MultiChoice Talent Factory and BBNaija reality TV. He never did any of this for personal credit or gains. What gave him joy was the growth of the Nigerian entertainment industry and how he contributed to fanning the ember that became a multi-billion naira industry.
When MultiChoice Nigeria where Mabutho served as chief customer officer announced that he passed away on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, in Cape Town, South Africa, after a brief illness at the age of 47, the news shattered many hearts in the Nigerian entertainment industry. With his position, he was able to act upon a long-standing dream of contributing significantly to Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
Mabutho was born on September 25, 1973, in Mafikeng, a town bordering South Africa and Botswana but many would argue he was Nigerian by heart. South Africans too called him their own. Such was his hearty continent-wide contribution to entertainment that everyone wanted him to adopt their nationality. He was a people’s person.
He attended the University of Botswana between 1993 to 1998 before doing a one-year programme in International Marketing at the University of South Africa between 2004 and 2005. He got an MBA in International Business from Henley Business School in 2014 and did an organisational leadership programme in 2018 at THNK School of creative leadership.
Martin loved Nigeria and its people very dearly – Geoffrey Mothooagae. Photo: Obi Asika/Instagram
Mabutho, the Nigerian from another country
“Nigeria is full of fantastic opportunities for creative people and multimedia content creators. Beyond the size of the population, Nigeria’s rich cultural diversity also provides an unlimited supply of untold stories and exciting ideas that people at home and abroad continue to fall in love with.”
These words from Martin Mabutho reflect how much he believed in the huge potential of the Nigerian entertainment industry and his immense love for it. He was a man of few words and many actions and it reflected in his dedication to his work which he put so much effort into until he passed away.
Mabutho’s success did not come by chance. Before attaining this position, he climbed steadily through the ranks – working as the Brand Manager at M-NET from 2003 to 2007, before serving a two-year stint as the Sales and Marketing Manager at DStv Mobile.
He was subsequently promoted to the position of Head, Marketing and Sales (Sub Saharan Africa) for the same company. Next, he worked as the General Manager, Sales and Marketing for MultiChoice Nigeria, before settling in to become the company’s Chief Customer Officer in October 2018.
Mabutho’s remarkable success in the entertainment industry can be attributed to his keen knowledge of understanding customer needs while also driving and motivating a great team as he himself admitted.
He said: “As a leader, my job is to inspire my team to see the endless opportunities that the market offers, while doing our possible best to keep satisfying our customers and partners, by giving them so much more.
“We have an awesome dedicated group of people constantly listening to customer feedback and working together to build the DStv and MultiChoice brands in Nigeria and across Africa.”
To Mabutho, customer satisfaction was the key to delivering quality service and this has been the driving force behind MultiChoice’s success.
“The goal has always been and will always be customer satisfaction. This is the driving force behind what we do at MultiChoice, and it guides our direction and decisions as a brand.”
Mabutho’s seed in Nigeria’s entertainment industry has grown over the years providing a platform for undiscovered talents and up and coming creatives to shine. He strongly believed that the Nigerian entertainment industry despite its huge place in the continent was still an untapped market as there remained many more stories to be told.
In 2013 for example, when not many Nigerians knew who Burna Boy was, Mabutho tweeted that he had just listened to his song and described it as “something fresh outta Naija.” Burna Boy would go on to win a Grammy award.
Mabutho’s love and conviction in the Nigerian entertainment industry were unparalleled. His friend, Geoffrey Mothooagae, who attended the University of Botswana with him told Thenet.ng that “the man (Mabutho) loved Nigeria and its people dearly.” The love was not something he expressed only in words as he worked hard to see to the growth of something he believed in.
Obi Asika, Nigeria’s entertainment entrepreneur in a post on social media confirmed Mabutho’s tireless effort to giving Nigerian singers opportunities to be heard.
He wrote: “Speechless to be saying RIP to my man @igmartinmabutho , one of the ‘realest’ people I ever knew, a true brother and who I long adopted as my Naija brother from Botswana…God bless you bro until we meet again.
“I remember how between 2005-2008, you ran a personal courier service moving Nigerian music videos (must have been over 500) on our behalf to give our Nigerian talent exposure on Channel O. Without you and #Joehundah I am not sure we would have been able to break our artists, but we had people like you who promoted Naija music and agreed to support it everywhere and always. I will never forget that among many other acts of grace.”
Martin promoted Naija music and agreed to support it everywhere and always – Obi Asika. Photo: Obi Asika/Instagram.
It is no surprise Mabutho personally pushed for the growth of Nigerian music in his own way. After all, music has always been his desire according to his friend, Mothooagae.
“He loved music and during his spare time, he was a member of a popular music group at the time called Tribal Monks, as well as being very close to DJ Ski, who was the leader of the troupe and the up and coming DJ Fresh at the time, who went on to make it big in South Africa as we all know.
“The story goes he loved to brag in his usual jolly way about how he made the sound be the best it was, working behind the scenes as some “Sound Manager/Engineer” for all the foregoing, hence the nickname Sounds.”
Mabutho had as much interest in the music industry as he had for Nollywood. He believed that Nigeria has an endless pool of talent and that someone had to constantly provide a channel for bringing those talents to the screen to meet the huge demand of Nigerians, Africans and the rest of the world.
He said: “As Africa’s leading storytellers, our mission at MultiChoice is to empower Nigeria’s creatives to tell these stories in the best possible way, and to reach as many people as possible, across the continent and beyond.”
A heart of kindness and gold
Social media has been filled with tributes for Martin Mabutho since news of his demise was announced. Ebuka Obi-Uchendu who is the host of BBNaija and has worked closely with him in the past expressed shock at the news of his death, describing him as a “top, top guy.”
Tosin Ajibade, one of Nigeria’s leading bloggers, who has also worked with him on the BBNaija project in the past, recalled her last meeting with him.
She wrote: Yesterday, we lost Mr Martin Mabutho who was one of the liveliest, bubbly and easy-going men. I saw him last month at the press conference of BBNaija and he was like ‘Olori, we see once in a year now due to covid’ and I replied Yes.
“I remember having trouble with work in 2018 and he spoke to me, helped me with the issue and I saw it in a different way…When Mr Martin is giving a speech, you are laughing throughout because he cracks jokes in between and still delivers the message. I cried when I saw the news yesterday. It was unbelievable. I mean, we saw last month. I can’t watch the press conference video because he started it off. My head is spinning as I have questions about life, death and people we meet. My heart goes out to the Multichoice family (S.A and Nigeria). My consolations to his family and friends…I pray God rests his soul. My heart is broken.”
Asika told Thenet.ng that Mabutho was a true Nigerian who helped to grow the country’s entertainment brand.
He said: “Martin was a born Nigerian, a true brother, one of the most positive souls you could ever meet and he became family. Many of our music superstars and their fans don’t know his unseen but critical role supporting us to export over 150 Nigerian artists and their music videos onto Channel O between 2005-2008. He was a huge advocate and supporter of our music across all the Multichoice platforms and even beyond his core work and his friendship that must be acknowledged.
“We will miss him hugely and only have positive memories of this unselfish man from Botswana who everyday dreamt of better things for Naija, his adopted home. No words can fully capture Martin and his personality but all you have to do is ask anybody, do you know the Naija man from Botswana? Good night bro, rest up.”
Tosin Ajibade told Thenet.ng that “Mr Martin was a jolly good fellow. This is tough as I cannot put my words together. He had an aura of good vibes and he was a happy fellow even while on the job, you can’t help but laugh while he delivers his speech on stage. This is tough.”
Nigerian singer, Seyi Shay in her tribute expressed sadness over his death saying he changed her life twice.
“They say ‘the good die young/early/too soon’ I’m actually starting to believe this! Can someone please explain this paradox… Lost too many good ones too soon this year already. My heart can’t take it anymore! RIP Martin @MNet . U changed my life twice. We will miss u.”
Beyond his widely recognisable contribution to entertainment in Nigeria, Mabutho remained a people-first person, something that was evident in how he related with people professionally and personally.
John Ugbe, CEO, MultiChoice Nigeria, described him as someone who “was well-loved by everyone for his energy and hard work, his warmth, good humour and the creativity and positive attitude he always brought to the team.”
Mothooagae recollected that on his birthday, he surprised him by asking Nigerian footballer and former Manchester United Footballer, Jude Ighalo, to record a birthday message for him. He revealed that his nickname, Sound, came “about because of his love of being MC at events, energetically doing the mic sound check with his towel always hanging off the back pocket.”
At the memorial service organised in his memory, IK Osakioduwa, who is a radio and television on-air personality recalled how Mabutho made him feel at home in Calabar and knew places in the country many Nigerians didn’t even know existed.
He said: “Martin has done a tour of most states in Nigeria. I remember one incident when we were both in Calabar for different reasons. He was there on business while I went there on a government-sponsored programme. When I told him I was not comfortable at the hotel I was at, he quickly made arrangements for me to be at his own hotel and paid for it despite me telling him not to bother.
“Later in the evening of that day, he took me out to not the city centre but the hinterland to a place where we ate fish with our hands. He was truly a Nigerian.”
Beyond entertainment, he was a lover of football and was in the process of registering an accredited Manchester United supporters’ club in Nigeria before he passed away.
“Martin Mabutho loved football and was an ardent supporter of Manchester United. Photo: Brand Communicator/Instagram.
He will be missed by his wife Thato and their four children, his parents, colleagues, friends and the Nigerian entertainment industry at large because he truly touched the lives of everyone he came in contact with.
