A bigger car, a bigger ear
A promise was made to Joey B in May at the Accra International Conference Centre, when he beat his fellow new entrants to win the New Artiste of the Year award at the 2014 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.
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Last Friday the promise to him was fulfilled as he was presented with a brand new car by the Managing Director of Midland Savings and Loans, Mr. Michael Adjovu at a brief ceremony held at the forecourt of Midland Head Office at East Legon.
Other people present at the ceremony were the Minister for Tourism, Culture & Creative Arts, Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare (Mrs), MUSIGA President, Obour, Nii Ayite Hammond of Charterhouse, Samini, Tic Tac and MUSIGA Administrator Daddy Bosco.
On the awards night when Joey B was announced as winner of the New Artiste of the Year category, during his acceptance speech, he said he was going to give his car to his mother saying that being a tall person there was no way his long legs were going to fit into a small car like a Hyundai i10.
The surprise on Friday when the car was to be handed over to Joey B was that instead of a small car, he was presented with a roomier Hyundai Elantra. It was a surprise to eberybody, including Joey B himself, his grandma, his mother and his sister who were present. A brand new Hyundai Elantra was presented to him by Midland Savings and Loans.
Giving out a car to winners of a select category at the annual Ghana Music Awards commenced last year and it was MUSIGA’s initiative. Last year, winners of the Artistes of the Year, R2Bees were presented with the maiden edition.
In as much as the idea was brilliant, I thought that, giving the car to already established musicians was flawed and I suggested that the New Artiste winner should rather be presented with a car.
After many debates, the people involved in making the decision concerning the car presentation met and a decision to offer the car to the new artiste was arrived at. That decision was announced during the awards launch at Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra.
I was particularly excited when in his speech at the presentation ceremony last Friday, MUSIGA President Obuor singled out my article captioned “Car for GMA 'Artiste of the Year': I Disagree!” as the basis for reaching that decision.
Mr. Michael Adjovu before handing over the keys to the car said, “Sponsoring the car prize is a token of our love for Ghanaian music; and as part of our corporate social responsibility, we are committed to supporting this industry for a long time to come.”
Also, the Midland Savings and Loans boss shared an experience he had when he travelled to America to pick an award for his company. He was surprised at the preference of Ghanaian songs at the event before and after.
His experience touched my heart because a week ago, I also experienced the same thing whiles I was in Mauritius and also whiles I was on a South Africa Airways flight from Mauritius to South Africa after the biggest content showcase by MultiChoice Africa in Mauritius.
Many airlines offer fine in-flight entertainment from the latest blockbusters to news, music, interactive games and South Africa Airways was no exception.
There were enough materials to choose from, so I decided to scroll through for anything Ghanaian and to my surprise there weren’t, not even a song and a movie from Ghana. Aside foreign content, there was enough material from Nigeria and the rest of Africa there to be enjoyed. But no show from Ghana.
This is where I wish to suggest that something be done about it. All the airlines offering lon-haul flights from Ghana must be approached about the need to put Ghanaian content in there. Obuoir has demonstrated that he is a listening president, so I urge him to take onb this new project. Wouldn’t it be nice to listen to Ghanaian or watch Ghanaian movie as you travel to whichever destination?
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