Africahit - Nigerian Music Awards: A Laurel Feast for Home Boys

On July 29 – all things being equal – the Nigerian Music Awards (NMA) will be holding in the UK.� That this event is already being heralded with much optimism even before its maiden edition is a credit to the organisers. The main anchorman of the organising team, Abiodun Olusesan cited “the interest of the Nigerians in the Diaspora” – especially those in UK – as well as the feats of Nigerian musicians like Tu Face Idibia within the last two years as the motivating idea behind the awards.

“Nigerians in the Diaspora are really hungry for all these artistes,” he enthused before a gathering of art-biased news hounds. “There are always concerts held in the UK and most of the other European countries.”

It was during one of those archetypal media briefings held recently in a Victoria Island (Lagos)-based venue. The dramatis personae had arrived and were already seated at the high table while some of the invited media guests sauntered in, in trickles.

Also at the high table with the UK-based Olusesan were the media luminary Soni Irabor, Tewa Onasanya (the Exquisite Magazine publisher) and one of the sons of the Nobel Prize Laureate Wole Soyinka, Lemakin.

The proposed event predictably also courts the interest of the culturally uprooted second generation of Nigerians born in the UK who wish to identify with their country of origin. “They are proud to be Nigerian. They are always flying the Nigerian flag. They want to be associated with the Nigerian culture and they’ve never really had the chance to get out of the country and come to Nigeria and be part of the culture.”

Olusesan hopes the NMA will bring the culture to these long-lost Nigerians. For an event that “guarantees the best Nigeria can offer in music and unbridled entertainment” in its website, the organisers hope it will also complement the on-going efforts at bolstering the unenviable international image of the country. Just to think of what bringing together the crème de la crème of the Nigerian and the African Caribbean communities with all the glamour, panache and style would do for the country.

The maiden edition of the NMA will take the form of live performances, an award party, a fashion show, a dinner party, a presentation of the special dignitaries, traditional dances, awards presentations, games and cultural displays, among others. Nominations, which are already on going through its website, will be concluded by the midnight of June 25. This will be followed by voting, the result of which will be announced on the awards night. Fans and music industry insiders have the opportunity to nominate musicians in different categories.� Their nominees are expected to be those they feel deserve their special recognition and have made important contributions to the Nigerian music industry. Thereafter, the first three in all categories will be pitched against each other by public vote. The coveted awards will eventually go to the nominees with the greatest number of votes in their categories.

Olusesan’s optimism hinges on the enthusiastic response of the Nigerians in the Diaspora as well as on the groundwork, which the organisers have done in the UK. The project, he said, started three years ago with a lot of background research work. It is obviously this that informed the choice of the UK as the venue of an award that is designed to be the Nigerian equivalent of the Grammy Awards.

According to him, it will give Nigerian artistes the opportunity to showcase their talents to the Western media. “This will help eradicate the negativity perpetrated by the Western media about Nigeria.”

Besides featuring in a BBC radio interview, Olusesan has made efforts to co-opt the partly Nigerian owned BEN TV in the project among other individuals and organisations. Explaining his presence in the organising team, Lemakin Soyinka, traced his involvement to one of the partners in England, Ayo Oyewusi. “Initially, I was informed but I got the details from him, which explains the objectives of the awards. I felt it is something that should have been done a very long time ago. I know that Nigerians in Diaspora are very important factor in branding Nigeria projects.”

Like Olusesan, he thinks that there has been a lot of interest in Europe in the musical exploits of Nigerians. “Of course, in the early days, it was the likes of Fela Anikulapo Kuti and King Sunny Ade who presented us with what has been very meaningful, and after them nothing much has come from Nigerians. So, with this present outing of younger artistes who are beginning to get some attention, I thought it is very important to be involved in such things that could positively impact upon Nigerians abroad. That is basically why I am involved.”

�Soyinka is also impressed with the technology-based method of selecting the winners, which he says, “ is scientific … very objective and … of a high standard".

�Onasanya said her magazine’s involvement was based on the fact that the NMA is the first of its kind in the UK and in Nigeria. “We felt that it is a great opportunity for Nigerians in the Diaspora to be a part of the music exhibition in which Africans are now being recognised everywhere they go. We also felt that it is an opportunity for people – particularly the Nigerians that are living abroad – to get together, to know more about the African music, appreciate it, and listen to the Nigerian music.”

The Exquisite Magazine heads the planning department to ensure that things are done properly. Onasanya promises that, come July 29, “it is going to be a well- packaged show, and winners are going to be chosen in a different and unique way".

She allayed fears on the transparency of the selection process. “We have three stages; we are trying to be as transparent as we can. We do not want our judgment to be questioned at the end of the day that is why we are bringing in professionals in the music industry. The first stage which we have already started is to open a website which is www.nigeriamusicawards.com. We encourage every Nigerian all over the world to nominate their favourite artiste.”

Irabor unveiled the efforts so far on partnership and collaboration with corporate bodies. He explained that the steps to reach out to some notable companies have yielded very positive response. “Before long, we should be launching our publicity campaign in earnest,” he said.� “That means we will have planned advertising in Nigeria and also in the UK.”

An unwholesome proliferation of awards already exist in the music world. But NMA offers the fact that it is a Nigerian event as its unique selling point. Granted that there are a few awards in the local scene. But none can hope to wield the clout the proposed event will enjoy among Nigerians at home and abroad. It is probably the genuinely Nigerian window of opportunity the talent-glutted Nigerian musical scene has been waiting for.