Popular Ghanaian Afrobeats star King Promise has sparked controversy online after a viral video surfaced showing him claiming that Lagos, Nigeria, is larger than the entire nation of Ghana.
The statement was made during a chat with Nigerian TikToker Peller in Accra, where King Promise was discussing the population differences between the two countries and their influence on music streaming numbers.
“Nigeria is bigger than Ghana; as a matter of fact, the whole of Ghana isn’t bigger than Lagos. Lagos is bigger than Ghana, and it’s not even Nigeria’s capital,” he said, adding that “Ghana has 24 million people while Nigeria has about 300 million.”
His comments triggered a wave of backlash from Ghanaians on social media, who accused him of confusing population with land area. Many users mocked his statement, with one person on X (formerly Twitter) writing, “Bro is still quoting social studies from 2013,” while another commented, “The level of ignorance is unbelievable.”
Official figures, however, paint a different picture. Ghana’s population was recorded at 30.83 million in the 2021 census and is projected to reach 33.7 million by 2025. Meanwhile, Lagos State’s population is estimated at just over 22 million. In terms of size, Ghana covers roughly 238,000 square kilometers, compared to Lagos’s 1,171 square kilometers.
Some social media users took a more diplomatic approach, attempting to clarify the confusion. One wrote, “Lagos isn’t bigger than Ghana; it’s just more populated,” while another added, “Someone please tell King Promise that population and land size are not the same.”
The incident underscores how quickly a celebrity’s casual comment can ignite widespread debate and attract public fact-checking in today’s digital era