POINTED OUT: The Backstage Disrespectful Presentation Of BET Awards To African Stars

Much Ado About BET Awards – Kingsley Momoh

African acts are presented their awards backstage hours before the main event.

Davido: Fooled To Fool Himself?

On th 29^th of June 2014, Nigeria’s Omo baba olowo O.B.O. – Davido was presented the BET Award for Best international Act: Africa at the award which held at the Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles, United States. This award came after he won multiple awards at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards held in Durban, South Africa.

2013 Winner Ice Prince

With the BET Awards, Davido joins fellow compatriots, Tuface, Ice prince and silent rival in the industry who have at one time or the other clinched the award.

However, it is not also a secret that they never got presented on the big stage alongside other world stars in the full glare of the world. The award for the best act from Africa has always been presented hours before the main event which te organizers feel is the business and crux of the whole deal.

Led The Winning Streak

African stars based in Africa are relegated to the back stage deal because they are yet not considered as global stars and not good enough to be sold to the international community.

Addressing Nobody After The Backstage

The BET awards according to sources are made specifically for the American audience who has paid for it. It is one of the shows that attract the largest audience on Cable Television according to Nielson Company as it recognizes the exemplary skills of entertainers and athletes across 19 different categories. The whole awards show is a business and the terms must be adhered to. And that surely means that a Two minutes showcase of the award for the best act from Africa will spoil the whole BET award soup. The organizers want Africa and Africans to regard the “squeezing in” of the African award as a kind gesture.

The problem is that even the Nigerian acts are grateful for the backstage award presentation and do not even care if a plaque is not presented as long as their name is attached to the winning. They come back to Nigeria and use it as a tool for marketing.

Their publicist will ensure stories about their clients begin with clichés like “Best African act at the BET Awards, Africa’s……” or “Just fresh from the BET awards in Los Angeles, USA…” and others.

And then?

You don’t have to search for too long, and the next thing is that they try their best again to get nominated for another backstage award!

 It is high time, African acts; particularly Nigerian acts come together and decide to do what we call in the local parlance ‘bone” these guys and their curious back stage ploy. Or are we not good enough to conquer the world with our originality?

TO BE CONTINUED