Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has enjoined the nominees of the 2016 African Music Awards to feel relaxed and at home even if they are far from their countries, stating that the State is renowned for its peacefulness.
Ambode stated this when the AFRIMA nominees and organizers, led by the Managing Director, Mike Dada, paid him a courtesy visit on Saturday at the Government House, Ikeja.
Ambode also used the medium to thank the organisers of the event for the great initiative.
He urged all the nominees to feel already like winners, irrespective of whether they get the award or not.
Some of the nominees also used the opportunity to express their satisfaction and thanked the Governor profusely for the hospitality the state has shown them since their arrival.
Rikki Stein, the former Manager of late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, stated that both the Grammy’s and the Oscars award are done at a particular place, but that of AFRIMMA is being rotated among the various African countries, which lends credence to the unity in diversity of Africa.
The Eagle Online reports that both Governor Ambode and his wife, Bolanle Patience Ambode, and the Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Idiat Adebule, were presented with the AFRIMMA’s 3.0 t-shirts.
The Eagle Online also reports that the nominees equally visited Freedom Park, where they were taken round the vicinity by a guide telling them some of the harsh treatment meted out to slaves taken from the country in the past in the park.