Much Ado About Awards. . . For Nothing!

If one had to sit and count the number of times red carpets get rolled out in this town called Gidi, for Award shows to be ‘armed out’ to gawking talent-free recipients, one would probably be as worthless as the gongs doled out every other weekend in this town. It struck me that one of the key reasons why the show biz industries (mainly creative with particular focus on entertainment) do not get any attention beyond the shores of the old Kuramo beach (even that has now been washed up), is simply because. . .

. . . most of the time required to craft the art of creativity itself is spent vainly hobnobbing in and around one banquet hall or the other, commemorating – I don’t know what. Not to say that certain honors are not deserving, but AMA Awards, SoundCity Awards, City People Awards, Headies Awards, Encomium Awards, Future Awards, Nigerian Entertainment Awards, Kora Awards, Complete Fashion Awards, PMAN Awards, Fame Awards, Terracotta Awards, Dynamix Awards, Beffti Award. . . . ? The list goes on.

C’mon guys, so many gongs that you wonder; when do the nominees get the time to actually hone the craft itself? Do yourself a favor and switch to the land of the free – well, that’s what they once dubbed it – you’ll find honors with purpose there: Oscars, Emmys, Tony’s and a few other relevant accolades which have been consecrated by credible bodies or collectives all to the improvement of the art in earnest. Meanwhile, every – well, almost every – guguru Award in Gidi is set up for a ‘blue chip sponsorship license’. . . those in the know. . . know. Some of these Awards fanatically claim to be rewarding talent, but when you peer closely into the modus of its processes, it becomes clear that it is more towards rewarding. . . err, well, you get it!

Now, there was a particular incident in Cannes in 2012 where an alleged Award winning Gidi Filmmaker decided to interject in an industry forum filled with the who is who of the movie world, to vent his frustration on the giants of the movie kingdom on why they supposedly boycott his movies on a regular basis, movies which he said had allegedly won numerous awards around, well er. . . Gidi of course. For several minutes the hall was silent as the gatekeepers gazed at one another, wondering how they could have missed such a bright spark of opportunity, but just as quickly – as is always the case – there was a parallel awakening that begged the query of, ‘who in the world is this guy? Why has no one in the accredited circles heard of his work or his person for that matter, and why is he speaking. . .?’ Well, a quick smart phone scan would reveal the veracity of truth as it did on that very day in Cannes, and I am sure you know how the rest of the story ended.

The moral of my gentle frenzy over one too many unregulated self acclaimed accolades awarded around Gidi simply being. . . when good work is done, it speaks for itself. Let’s put more focus into the work we do and not toward the serenading that comes afterwards.

Even though it’s common knowledge that everyday is a party in Gidi, let’s party for the right reasons. . .