The African Union Commission (AUC) has announced Lagos State
as the official Host City of the third edition of The All Africa Music Awards.
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.
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.
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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