The Chief Executive Officer of Trending Musik, Segun Ogunjimi, has kicked against the ongoing move to establish an African version of the Grammy Awards.
In a chat with journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, February 27, at the formal launch of the $617 million Investment in Digital Economy and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Fund, an initiative aimed at promoting investment in creative industries and information and communications technology (ICT), the Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, had confirmed discussions were on with the Recording Academy, organisers of the Grammy Awards.
According to her, countries such as Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa are in the forefront, championing the move to establish an African version of Grammys, and Nigeria, being the home of Afrobeats, must be counted among the founding members of African Grammys.
Her words: “Yes, we are in talks with the organisers of the Grammys, obviously, to see how we can work together. The Grammys Africa is coming to Africa anyway; it has founding members which are Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa. And if the Grammys is going to have a version of itself in Africa, I think it would be a crying shame for Nigeria not to be part of those founding members.
“Of all the African countries now, none is making the kind of waves that Nigeria is making, and Afrobeats is here in Nigeria. Even Amapiano has been adopted by Nigeria. You know, Nigeria is at the forefront of music at the moment not only in Africa, but global music. So if a brand such as Grammys is coming to Africa and signing with permanent members of countries that do not have the musical strength of Nigeria, I think it would really be dropping the ball for Nigeria not to have that conversation with the Grammys to see how we can be part of it,” she said.
Reacting, Ogunjimi said: “This is a clear case of misplaced priorities. It’s shocking how the minister could endorse the adoption of an award by an entity that doesn’t understand our culture and heritage. It reeks of neo-colonialism, and many of us in the industry see it as a perpetuation of a culture of waste that could harm our economy.”
He asked: “Why bring in an American entity when we have well-established music award institutions that have tirelessly celebrated and honoured our music icons in an authentic African manner, gaining global acceptance in the process? Instead of supporting homegrown initiatives like The Headies, All African Music Awards (AFRIMA), Soundcity MVP Awards, and Trace Awards, among others, the minister has opted to prioritize foreign involvement.
This is unacceptable and should be condemned by all those who love this country and the burgeoning creative industry. “There is a movement within the music industry to reject this vexatious initiative by Musawa and we are calling on President Tinubu to prevail on the minister to bury this idea forthwith,” he added.
