October 28, 2015 – Former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu will on Sunday, November 15, 2015 be honoured as Pillar of Arts and Culture by African Union Commission(AUC) at the All African Music Awards(AFRIMA 2015).
The International Committee of AFRIMA made this known in Lagos. The honour was conveyed to Tinubu in separate letters from AFRIMA and the African Union as signed by Commissioner for Social Affairs, AU, His Excellency, Dr. Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko.
In his acceptance letter, Tinubu stated, “I accept this honour and look forward to the award. I identify with the mandate of AFRIMA working through the instrumentality of the African Union to showcase, preserve and globalise Africa’s rich heritage in the aspects of music and culture”.
Confirming the award, President/Executive Producer of AFRIMA, Mike Dada, stated that AFRIMA is again aligning with the AUC’s values of promoting African identity and celebrating cultural diversity, creative industry for social change in Africa. “We are happy to welcome His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA 2015 in November,” he said.
The award which is billed for Eko Hotel & Towers will be broadcast live to over 80 countries across the world with African superstars billed to perform during the ceremony. Billed for the grand performance are Ladysmith Black Mombazo, Davido, Diamond Platnumz, Yemi Alade, Busiswa, AKA, Sakordie, Charlotte Dipanda, Ahmed Soultan, Flavour, Alikiba, Vanessa Mdee, Olamide, Cassper Nyovest and Dark Suburb among others.
Tinubu was governor of Lagos State from 1999-2007. “He’s known to have stimulated conversations among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the globe about the potentials and values of the African culture and artistic legacy for the purpose of creating jobs, reducing poverty, inspiring social change and development, calling attention of world leaders to Africa and promoting the positive image of Africa to the world for global competitiveness”, the organisers said.
According to AFRIMA, Tinubu is a staunch supporter of arts, culture and creative initiatives for social change for decades. He supported “Fela on Broadway” staged for the first time in Lagos, Africa in 2011.
Tinubu was finally selected among a pool of hundreds of illustrious sons and daughters of Africa being considered for the award, who are lovers of arts and culture for social change.
In partnership with the African Union Commission, (AU), the All Africa Music Awards, (AFRIMA), is a music and cultural initiatives designed to celebrate, reward and showcase the rich musical heritage of African race and seek to reward excellence in the continent’s music and media industry as well as maximally expose African tourism and culture to a worldwide audience.
Emmanuel Ukudolo
