It was a move that was as surprising as it was touching. But Beyonce Knowles, the star act at the First THISDAY Music Festival, which ended early this morning had mastered her craft and left the crowd enthralled.

Following her introduction Saturday night, she had danced for a while then paused. "I am nervous. I don't know how to begin this but I hope you people will help me by singing along," she said as the crowd waited.

The ecstatic members of the audience, most of who had anticipated that Beyonce was about to render one of her popular songs were dazed when she began, in her uniquely sonorous voice, to sing a familar tune: "Arise O Compatriots..."

As Beyonce sang the Nigerian national anthem in a way many had never heard before, emotions were high with some people in the audience moved to tears.

With the presence of many eminent Nigerians including President of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani, Lagos and Delta State Governors, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Chief James Ibori respectively, not a few expressed surprise as to how she mastered the song.

According to a senator "there can be no better advertisement for the country than what this young lady has done. I have never heard anyone sing our anthem like this. I hope the Ministry of Information will exploit it to boost the image of Nigeria abroad, this is a class act."

Other eminent personalities who graced the first night like Senator Udo Udoma, Senator Adolphus Wabara, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Bayo Ojo, also expressed their delight. So did the Presidential Adviser on National Assembly, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa.

The Music Festival continued last night with Snoop Dog Doggy, Missy Elliot, Busta Rhymes, King Sunny Ade, Weird MC, TuFace and Majek Fashek thrilling the crowd.

Like the first day of the festival, the mood was electrifying with crowd even more than they were on the opening day.

Among the stars who performed before press time yesterday were, the son of the music icon, Seun Anikulapo-Kuti, Asha, Dare Art-Alade, Weird MC, Tuface Dibia, D. Banj and Busta Rhymes.

D. Banj and Tuface Dibia thrilled the highly elated crowd with their popular tunes.

The crowd were anxiously waiting for Snoop Dogg, Sunny Ade, Majek Fashek and others at about midnight yesterday.

The governors and senators who came to the show with a retinue of aides rolled up their sleeves and put on their dancing shoes, encouraging the teeming audience to follow in their footsteps.

Sharing his vision for a greater Nigeria, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman, Leaders and Company, publishers of THISDAY Newspapers, promoter of the show described his effort as an attempt to return Nigeria to the centre stage of world reckoning. "We are here to demonstrate that good things can still work in Nigeria. We are here to show that if we work together we can score great goals and surpass unreachable targets", he said.

Obaigbena reeled out a list of deserving partners who worked with THISDAY to realise the dream. They include Mr. Joe Fletcher, Mr. Thomas and Elisa Matusa who represent the lead act of the show, Beyonce Knowles. He also acknowledged the contribution of Hammond Entertainment and the La Roda Group responsible for the stage, lighting and sound that enlivened the show.

Setting the tone for the commencement of the maiden edition of the annual THISDAY Music Festival, En Vogue, an all female group which opened the curtains got the audience dancing and screaming for more by the time they finished their 30-minute show.

As Master of Ceremony, Mr. Tony Okungbowa announced the next act, Ciara; the ecstatic crowd went into spasms of joy, shouting wildly to welcome her on stage. She went straight into business with her team of dancers that mesmerised the crowd. In a brief interval that preceded the second phase of her performance, Ciara showed that she had been doing some research on her own about Nigeria.

Twice she spoke in Yoruba, saying, "mo ni ife yin" (I love you) and when her time on stage was up, she signed off with "e se" (thank you). Explaining how much she cherished the show, she said, "you don't understand how much this (visit to Nigeria) means to me. It is my first time here. Unfortunately, I can't stay longer this time, but I am coming back."

Promoter of the show, Obaigbena had the privilege of bringing on stage the second co-headliner of the show, Jay-Z. His arrival was expectedly noisy with catcalls, wild cheer and burst of smoke that emphasised the amazing technology brought to bear with creative lighting.

As Jay-Z sang some of his hits to which the crowd demonstrated familiarity by crooning along, the large screen behind the stage intermittently displayed the Nigerian green and white colours.

This demonstration of national pride triggered a comment of solidarity from Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce, Chairman, Silverbird Group who depicted the show as one of the greatest things to happen to Nigeria's image at this time.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Tokunbo Modupe, CEO of TPT International whose company had the responsibility of providing effective public and media relations for the event said the show was the biggest endorsement for a clean bill of health that Nigeria can get. He argued that the THISDAY Music Festival, which features eight international music stars, is the current lead story in the entertainment world.

"The effect of this on the country's tourism and business environment can never be quantified and we hope that in the future editions, the federal government will seize the opportunity by participating fully in the festival", Modupe said.

Peter Bakare, This Day (Lagos)

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