Sixteen leading African artists who will be part of the 9th edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) have arrived in Nigeria, with Lagos State saying it is committed to positioning entertainment and culture as drivers of development.

AFRIMA, hosted by Lagos State, is a week-long event that started on Wednesday, January 7, and will wrap up on Sunday, January 11, 2026. On Friday, January 9, a high-calibre musical concert will feature African superstars performing and show-stopping performances from Africa’s biggest stars.

On the final day, Sunday, January 11, there will be a spectacular live broadcast of Africa’s premier music awards, with dazzling performances and world-class production. The Awards will be held at Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, while Ikeja City will host the concert.

Speaking at a briefing on Wednesday to herald the event, the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, said: “The All Africa Music Awards has, over the years, grown into one of the most influential platforms for recognising African musical excellence, first-stream cross-cultural collaboration, and promoting Africa’s great economy on the global stage.”

She added, “Lagos State is proud to continue its support for initiatives that elevate African talents and position culture as a driver of development.”

She acknowledged other partners, especially the British High Commission, for their sustained collaboration and commitment to cultural exchange and creating diplomacy.
“This type of partnership reinforces our shared vision of using arts and culture as tools for international agreement-making.

“This edition of Africa will bring together artists, producers, industry leaders, policymakers and creative entrepreneurs from across Africa and beyond.

“It will also underscore the growing relevance of the creative sector as a contributor to employment, tourism, youth empowerment and global African visibility,” the commissioner stated.

While congratulating the nominees and participants, she noted, “Your creativity, discipline continue to showcase Africa’s strength, its diversity, its global competitiveness and its creative space.
“Africa remains a platform that not only celebrates excellence but also amplifies African voices and stories to the world.

“Lagos State remains Africa’s cultural and creative capital. Through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, we are forming, creating and enabling environments that support creativity, encourage investment and position Lagos as a hub for arts, entertainment and cultural tourism,” she added.

President of AFRIMA, Mike Dada, noted, “The African Union deemed it fit, after some deliberations, to give the hosting right to the beautiful city of Lagos for this edition. And with the powerful understanding of true development by His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, he generously accepted to host the ninth edition of AFRIMA on behalf of Lagos State.

Dada explained that the idea is to showcase the talents of African music, showcase the capacity and to serve the rest of the world and to tell the world that “we are full of excellence and that we don’t stay on trees. We also use that platform to integrate our people on the continent.

“You know the power of music to create peace and integration. And we also use this platform to say that it’s possible to use music to take young people away from the streets. Those are the key benefits of AFRIMA.
“And of course, we know that so many of us know London, Paris, New York more than we know Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi. The idea is to use AFRIMA’s platform to promote Africa’s cities and destinations to the rest of the world. And that’s why we broadcast to 24 countries around the world.”

He stressed that the event would not be for jamboree and entertainment alone, “that we must seek economic benefit for our people and must be a tool, a platform for economic transformation for our people.
“Many of the artists you know live famous, but they die in poverty on the continent. So, what we have tried to do over the last 20 years is to figure out how to reverse that so that most of our people can benefit from their handiwork, and, of course, reduce poverty on the continent through culture.

“Culture means music, food, fashion, fame, etc. The young love tech as well as, of course, sports. But out of these things, culture is the biggest. So we use it, we see it from the point of view of digital art. How can we leverage the cultural and music spaces to ensure the development of our people?

“Because the difference between the young people in Africa and the young people in the Western world is access to opportunities and access to finance.

“So the Music Summit is dealing with Africa, it’s going with the global partners across the world to see how our people can benefit more from the growing African music.

“All over the world they are listening to our music, but is the money coming home? Is the government of Nigeria getting taxes from those revenues? Those are the issues we are discussing. Or are the governments of African countries getting the right taxes? Because those taxes and revenues are not coming to Africa. So those are the things we discuss,” Dada added.