By Manny Ita

A Nigerian musician residing and plying his trade in the United States of America, Lord Fabo has disclosed that Nigeria at this time needs to invest massively, especially on infrastructure, in order to accelerate the nation’s movement towards economic independence and prosperity.

However, according to the light-complexioned singer, wooing investments from Nigerians in the diaspora would require improved leadership in the country, non-partisan legislature and unbiased rule of law. This he said would create the kind of atmosphere where there will not be fear of investing.

”First before you can advise Nigerians in Diaspora to come and invest back home you should make Nigeria safe for them first with better leadership, non-partisan legislature and unbiased rule of law. That way one won’t come and try to lobby before he can get proper approval for building what he is only trying to use to enhance his own people.”

Analyzing the important role that the Police must play in ensuring a safe business environment that would favor such investments, Fabo did not mince words about the need for proper training of police personnel as it is done internationally.

According to him, “The police should be properly funded and given more appropriate training like their international counterparts”.

Speaking further, Fabo averred that Nigerian music was one of the fastest and biggest exporting commodities from Africa apart from crude oil, gold and diamonds,” and I think it is appealing because of its uniqueness and also because it is rich in instruments and lyrics’ and also the melody just makes you feel like you’re out of this world and about to join Jeff bezos & Elon musk in some Space Adventures.”

He admitted that even though he has not been to Nigeria for almost a decade, Nigerian music has come a long way and was a commercial success with little reservation on the management and business aspects of the profession.

Fabo who faced teethy challenges as with many like him, was so broke at some point and had no dime to his name as he tried to establish his brand, and had to contend with odd  jobs to make ends meet and support self, career and family. Today with Dj’s in Atlanta where he is based spinning his biggest hit ‘Mula’ and several others, Fabo says, “that gave me so much joy and fulfillment and made me discover my sound finally and ever since then I’ve been exploring and maintaining my sounds, feeding my fans with hits back to back.”

Abandoned by his father at a young age, Fabo was raised by his mother and given proper education. After studying Film directing at the University of Port Harcourt, Fabo relocated to the US where he studied Information and Technology.

 Influenced by an array of stars and bands including New Edition, Michael Jackson, Eric Donaldson, Ras kimono, Bob Marley, Majek Fashek,  Heavy D, 2 Pac, BIG, Jay Z, Nas, Nelly, Fabulous, Jarule, DMX, the Ghanaian VIP group, Plantasion boiz, Mohits and lots more, Fabo describes his brand of music  from a very wide range “because I listen to a very wide genre of music from Hiphop, Gospel,World Music,   Latin Music, Reggae, rmb and Jazz. My music is more of an infusion of Afrocentric touch with HipHop, while my brand is more of an Elite Style, because I rap and sing a lot about wealth and prosperity, and that’s because I hate poverty. I feel like poverty is a cause that should be discarded.”

Also a film maker, tech investor, real estate and fashion entrepreneur, Fabo has his sights already in 2023, when his next projects; Wave of Glory, Ascension 2.0 and Story from Africa will be launched.

For Lord Fabo, there just are no limitations, but sometimes coarse steps and bumps on the way to success, which should be seen as stepping stones or motivators, as only one can limit themselves.

Following the recent unveiling of calendar of activities for the 2018 edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in Accra, Ghana, which included a courtesy visit to the President of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo by officials of African Union, International Committee of AFRIMA and African music stars, entry submissions for the annual continental music awards opens today, Friday, May 25 in commemoration of Africa Day.

From May 25 to August 1, 2018, the 5th edition of AFRIMA will be receiving on its online portal www.afrima.org, works, songs and videos recorded or produced by African music professionals and publicly released within the eligibility period of August 1, 2017 to August 1, 2018. These entries will compete for possible nomination by the AFRIMA Jury in one or more of the 36 categories of the awards.

The AFRIMA Jury, consisting of 13 members, with vast experience and practice in African music and culture is charged with overseeing the AFRIMA Adjudication process to ensure a thorough and fair screening, categorizing, assessing and selecting process of AFRIMA 2018 nominees. Nominees are expected to emerge to populate the Regional and Continental awarding categories of AFRIMA in different genres of music ranging from African contemporary to electro, traditional, reggae/ragga/dancehall, hip-hop, R n B, rap and rock.

Furthermore, AFRIMA uses the onset of the 2018 entry submissions to commemorate the 55th edition of Africa Day, a day set aside annually by the African Union Commission to strengthen the idea of unity among African countries. One of the objectives of AFRIMA is to celebrate Africans who channel their energies towards various acts of dynamism in the creative industry and contribute tremendously to the growth of the social environment.

Music and arts have been one of the core proponents where Africans have successfully shown immense passion. From the days of traditional folklore to the present day transition of music into the modern studio recorded album, Africa has produced world record holders in the music industry, where music is not only used to promote cultural heritage, but also for education and entertainment.

Music artistes, managers, producers, record label owners, recording companies, video directors, publicists and entertainment/music journalist are eligible to submit their works or submit on behalf of their clients in any of the relevant award categories. Further details on entry submission guidelines are available on the AFRIMA website – www.afrima.org.

In partnership with the African Union, the All Africa Music Awards is a music property that recognises and rewards the work and talent of a myriad of African artists from the old to the new generation of musicians. Through its conference, AFRIMA also stimulates conversations among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the world about the potential of the creative arts for real humanising enterprise on the continent, contributing significantly to social cohesion, national, regional and continental integration as well as sustainable development in Africa. Annually, the award show is broadcast to over eighty countries around the world.

The All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, experienced the warmth of the music and culture industry of Ghana on Monday, May 21, 2018 when the calendar of events for the 5th edition of the biggest awards event on the continent was unveiled by the African Union following a meeting and courtesy visit to His Excellency, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Welcoming the visiting delegation led by the Head of Culture, African Union Commission, Mrs. Angela Martins, at the Presidential Office, Jubilee House, Accra, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, lauded the initiative of AFRIMA in conceiving a platform that showcases Africa positively to the world through the creativity of the music talents and the distinctive African cultural heritage.

“The people of Ghana are proud to host the 2018 AFRIMA World Media Calendar Unveiling event and to receive the delegation of officials of AU and AFRIMA as well the talented artistes and the media. I’m excited to hear AFRIMA is engaging the rest of the world on an intellectual platform with conferences and the music awards. We hope you have had a remarkable experience of Ghanaian hospitality. Our hope is that we will host the main awards ceremony”, the President stated.

Other officials of the government of Ghana who received the AU-AFRIMA delegation included the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Hon. Catherine Abelema Afeku; Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo; Principal Personal Assistant to the President, Saratu Atta:  Chief Director, Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Dr. Joel Sonne; Director, Tourism Council, Ghana, Chief Nana Anim and celebrated Ghanaian music artistes such as veteran Nana Kwame Ampadu who joined artistes from other African countries for the courtesy visit.

The President further prompted the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Catherine Afeku to see to the completion of the formalities required to enable Ghana ratify the Charter on African Culture Renaissance.

Earlier, while delivering the AU’s remarks to President Akufo-Addo, Mrs. Angela Martins expressed gratitude to the government and people of Ghana for the commitment and support displayed towards hosting the 2018 AFRIMA Calendar Unveiling.

“We cherish the partnership with the government of Ghana since it will enhance the pan-African nature of the AFRIMA initiative. The AU also uses the AFRIMA platform to voice key messages related to the Arts and Culture and other social issues for example the campaign on Ebola in 2014”, she buttressed.

The international Committee of AFRIMA was represented at the courtesy visit by President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr. Mike Dada; Director, Brand Communications, AFRIMA, Ms. Matlou Tsotetsi; AFRIMA Regional Director, Central Africa, Mr. Ernest Ewane; AFRIMA Regional Director, West Africa; Mr. Don Obilor; AFRIMA Co-Producer/Country Director Nigeria, Mr. Kingsley James; AFRIMA Country Director Ghana, Mr. Francis Doku, AFRIMA Jury Member (West Africa), Mr. Olisa Adibua and AFRIMA Consultant, Regional Partnerships and Sponsorship, Dr. Bukola Bello-Jaiyesimi.

Meanwhile, the Calendar Unveiling of the 5th AFRIMA took place later in the day at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra where the theme of the awards “Africa is Music” was also revealed to the large gathering of African and international media.

The ceremony, well-attended by record label owners, culture industry practitioners and music artistes such as Sarkodie (Ghana); 2Baba (Nigeria); Victoria Kimani (Kenya); Becca (Ghana); Ahmed Soultan (Morocco); Stanley Enow (Cameroon); Seyi Shay (Nigeria); Emtee (South Africa); Falz (Nigeria); Fancy Gaddam (Ghana); Stanley Adjetey (Ghana); Dark Suburb (Ghana); Zeynab (Republic of Benin) and Jah Phinga (Ghana), among others, featured a two-part interactive discussion session on the theme “Enhancing Music Business in Africa”.

This conference preceded the formal unveiling of the 2018 AFRIMA Calendar by Mrs. Angela Martins and Director, Brand Communications, AFRIMA, Ms. Matlou Tsotetsi, The 5th AFRIMA Calendar details build up and main events activities leading up to the 5th AFRIMA Main Awards ceremony slated for November 25, 2018. Build up events include musical conferences and concerts around the different regions of Africa but more importantly, on May 25 (Africa Day), the 2018 AFRIMA opens the call for submission of works/song by African music professionals released within the eligibility period to compete for possible nomination in one or more of the 36 categories of the awards. The submission will end on August 1, 2018

Panel discussants including Ghanaian artistes and artistes from different African countries and culture/creative industry executives, professionals and practitioners discussed the challenges faced by the creative industry in Africa while also proffering inventive solutions to enhance the future of the music business on the continent. Some creative industry discussants included President, Creative Arts Council, Ghana, Mr. Mark Okraku Mantey and AFRIMA Regional Director, West Africa, Mr. Don Obilor.

According to Kenyan music diva, Victoria Kimani, “Before now, the world of music, fashion and arts were not being taken seriously unlike politics, but the progress that have been registered in today’s music industry makes it easier to have a more confident ecosystem that encourages the production of good music around the continent”.

Nigerian Afro pop singer, Seyi Shay, shared how the African music industry has empowered her as an artiste and how the system has given most artistes the control over their music,

Encouraging artistes to focus on building an authentic music brand, Ghanaian rap star, Sarkodie, talked about increasing the numbers of professionals in the music business that can provide structure and technical music production where everybody can in turn make more money through music business.

Nigerian artiste Falz encouraged artiste to not only have musical collaborations with fellow artistes but also with huge brands with whom artistes can share ideas and initiatives for support to help them grow in music business.

Giving his submission on the discussion theme, Innocent ‘2Baba’ Idibia said proper structure must be put in place to ensure that investors in the music industry can get returns on their money.

The AFRIMA 2018 Calendar Unveiling event was hosted by the government and people of Ghana as part of the AU policy to achieve its objective of promoting social integration in the five regions of Africa. The 5th AFRIMA will also feature high-octane music concerts tagged “Turn Up Africa” which objective is to connect fans and followers of African music with their favourite Africa music stars of the traditional and contemporary genres.

In partnership with the African Union, the All Africa Music Awards is a music property that recognizes and rewards the work and talent of myriad of African artists from the old to the new generation of musicians. Through its conference, AFRIMA also stimulates conversations among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the world about the potential of the creative arts for real humanizing enterprise on the continent contributing significantly to social cohesion, national, regional and continental integration as well as sustainable development in Africa. It is broadcast live to over 84 countries.