‘Why Lagos was chosen to host third AFRIMA’

Lagos will host the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) for a third time come November. The African Union Commission (AUC) made the announcement on Monday, August 15, in Lagos with officials of the African Union (AU), members of the international committee of AFRIMA, the awards 2015 winners, top government functionaries, stakeholders in the creative/ entertainment industry in Africa, media executives, and music artistes present.
AFRIMA 2016 will hold from November 4 to 6.
Formally declaring Lagos as the official city to host AFRIMA 2016 edition, AUC’s Head of Culture, Ms. Angela Martins, said 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.
The other cities considered are Calabar (Cross River State), Port Harcourt (Rivers State) and Uyo (Akwa Ibom State).
Martins said the AU 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 that Lagos possesses all these factors and we arrived at our decision.”
To give the acceptance speech on behalf of Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, was the Commissioner for Information, Steve Ayorinde; and Special Adviser to the Governor on Culture, Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola.
Ambode expressed delight at emergence of Lagos as the official host city, adding that the state would not only throw its weight behind AFRIMA and partner the AU but also provide facilities to make ‘AFRIMA 3.0’ a success.
His words: “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 AU’s vision aligns with that of Lagos.
“The reason 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,” he added.