The African Union Commission (AUC) has announced Lagos State as the
official Host City of the third edition of The All Africa Music Awards.
Director, Brand and Communications, AFRIMA, Matlou Tsotsesi
Unveiling Lagos State as the Host City for the 2016 All Afrca Music
Awards (AFRIMA 3.0) in Lagos, recently.
The announcement ceremony, which took place at Protea Hotel, GRA,
Ikeja in Lagos on Monday August 15, 2016, amidst pomp, was attended by
officials of the African Union; members of the international committee
of AFRIMA; AFRIMA 2015 winners; top government functionaries;
stakeholders in the creative/ entertainment industry in Africa, media
executives, and musical artistes.
L-R: Head, Culture Department, Social Affairs Division, African
Union, Ms. Angela Martins with the Executive Governor of Lagos State,
H.E Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode at the State House, Alausa during a courtesy
visit by Officials of AU and AFRIMA Executives at the State House,
Ikeja, recently
Formally declaring Lagos as the official city to host AFRIMA 2016
edition, the Head of Culture, African Union Commission, Ms.
AngelaMartins posited that taking a decision on the Centre of Excellence
was a herculean task because all the cities targeted were equal to the
task in terms of infrastructure, tourism potential and richness of
culture but Lagos State has an edge in key areas.
L-R: President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mike Dada;
Coordinator, Secretariat of the African Union Panel of the Wise, AU,
Ms.Yvett Ngandu; Head, Culture Department, African Union, Ms. Angela
Martins; Executive Governor of Lagos State, H.E Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode;
AFRIMA 2014 Winner, 2face Idibia and Director, Brand and Communications,
AFRIMA, Ms. Matlou Tsotsesi during a courtesy visit by Officials of AU
and AFRIMA Executives at the State House, Ikeja, recently
Prior to the prestigious occasion, AU had targeted four cities as
potential hosts for the continental awards ceremony. These cities were:
Calabar (Cross River State), Lagos (Lagos State), Port Harcourt (Rivers
State) and Uyo (Akwa Ibom State).
According to Martins, the African Union was pushing forward its
developmental agenda and policies through the AFRIMA platform. “Also, in
choosing the host city, we considered factors such as the willingness
to create value and deep brand equity not only for Nigerians but
Africans.
Also, there was the consideration of which state has the most
motivation to host AFRIMA in line with its values; which has the
strongest vision in tourism, culture and entertainment. Then, the state
must have the most adequate facilities, surrounding infrastructure,
security and tourist attraction to host the event and should have hosted
successful events in the past that attracted both national and or
global audiences as well as government’s responsiveness. It was
discovered Lagos possesses all these factors and we arrived at our
decision.”
To give the acceptance speech on behalf of the the Governor of Lagos
state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, was the Lagos State Commissioner for
Information, Mr. Steve Ayorinde and Special Adviser to the Governor on
Culture, Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola.
In his speech, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, expressed delight at
emergence of Lagos State as the official host city, said the state would
not only throw its weight behind All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA and
partner the African Union but also provide facilities and infrastructure
to make AFRIMA 2016, tagged AFRIMA 3.0, a success.
He said, “I understood that the emergence of the host city was keenly
contested by four states and the transparency shown so far is
impressive. With the third edition taking place in Lagos, this will be
the first time that AFRIMA will enjoy the full participation of the
Lagos State Government.”
Explaining why Lagos would support AFRIMA, Governor Ambode said
African Union’s vision aligns with Lagos State’s. He said, “The reason
why Lagos State is partnering with AFRIMA should not be far-fetched.
More importantly, the vision of AFRIMA is a veritable platform to
celebrate the best of talents in African music industry which aligns
with the vision of the African Union to foster peace, unity and
development through cultural expressions and creative enterprise.
“Moreover, these values are also in sync with the Lagos State vision
of being an undeniable entertainment capital of Africa, as well as being
the hub of creative expressions in the continent. The aim is to open up
the state for performing arts to blossom and we are ready to partner
with credible organizations to ensure that Lagos remains the destination
of choice for arts and entertainment, for artistes and for those who
make the business of arts to thrive.
Highlighting the activities of the 15-month-old Ambode-led
administration, the Ambode government, which is mindful of excellence,
has demonstrated undeniable commitment to promoting artistic project in
order to promote the state as one with an artistic soul. Moreover, the
AU officials, AFRIMA officials and some artistes later paid a courtesy
visit to the Governor’s office in Alausa, Ikeja Lagos.
Thanking the Lagos state government for accepting the right to host
AFRIMA 2016, AU Head of Culture, Angela Martins, also commended the
state’s support artistic enterprise.“This is a great achievement for
Africa which also promotes the development of culture and an advancement
of the creative industry,” she said.
In response, the Lagos State Governor Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode welcomed
the guests especially the artistes and AU officials who he said were
visiting him for the first time. He also promised that Lagos would
always be in support of the arts, culture and entertainment.
He said, “We want to promote African artistes and we believe that
Africa is blessed with talents and resources. Lagos is ready to partner
with AFRIMA and support the creative industry because Lagos is the new
face of the world and we are ready to partner African Union on AFRIMA
back-to-back.”
The third edition of All Africa Music Awards will hold on November 4-6 in Lagos, Nigeria.
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