It was a long night of fun,
camaraderie, swashbuckling last Saturday night, in Kigali, Rwanda,
when Africa Movie Academy Awards,AMAA, hosted Rwadan celebrities,
business executives and their Nigerian counterparts during the 2017
AMAA nominees party in the East Africa country.
The nominees party is a precursor to
the main awards which will hold in Lagos on Saturday, July 15, 2017
at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre and it's being officially hosted
by the Lagos State Government as part of a year-long celebration of
Lagos at 50.
The party which took place under a well
decorated marquee at Camp Kigali was opened by Arthur Nkusi, a Rwadan
stand-up comedian who wowed the ecstatic audience of revellers with
his rib-cracking jokes after which he called The Maestros, a Nigerian
live band from the stable of Bolanle Austen Peters creative
enterprise.
The crowd gyrated, sang along and
danced to many popular hit songs from Nigerian pop stars performed by
the band. It was a pulsating night of celebration of the nominees
into all the categories of the continental awards.
The nominees were announced earlier in
Kigali on May 15, by the Academy Jurors. According to the founder of
the awards, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the nomination party was a
celebration of the progress and breakthrough that African film makers
and those in diaspora have made from when AMAA started in year 2005.
Adding, she said that AMAA team also chose Kigali for the event to
further promote the cultural, social and economic ties between
Nigeria and Rwanda.
“In the spirit of African unity and
oneness of the people of Africa we came to Kigali for this event and
it has been amazing the kind of support we got from the government of
Rwanda and the relevant government agencies. We got support from
Rwanda Development Board and RwandAir. I cannot continue to say the
level of cooperation and massive support we got from Frank Murangwa,
CEO of Rwanda Convention Bureau and Belise Kariza, Rwanda Chief
Tourism Officer who pulled in corporate sponsorship from MTN and
other companies.
“We thank Raddison Blu and Convention
Centre for the support and Grand Legacy Hotel. Coming to Kigali has
been a great and humbling experience for us at AMAA and it further
confirms we Africans as brothers and sisters. I want to say thank you
Rwanda and thank you to President Paul Kagame for the great work he
is doing to transform this country.”
In his address, Mr. Murangwa, Chief
Executive of RCB underscored the importance of the event to the
tourism development of his country and friendship between Nigeria and
Rwanda.
He noted that the event has what
cooperation between African countries can achieve for the continent
and her people adding that his government looks forward to hosting
the main AMAA awards whenever the organizers want.
Ugandan music star, Ykee Banda also
proved his status as a regional pop music star with his sterling
performance. He sang his hit songs such as Nipe, featuring Urban
Boys, Byonkola and Munakampala among other songs which Rwandans sang
along with him with the accompanying dance steps. Much earlier during
the day before the party started, the Nigerian delegation which
include Joke Silva, Olu Jacobs, Paul Obazele, Tony Anih, Doris Simon,
Chinedu Ikezie {Aki}, Bolanle Austen Peters, Tonye Princewill,
businessman and Executive Producer of the film 76, Izu Ojukwu, Osita
Iheme { Paw Paw}, Ghanian Lydia Forson, Chidi Nwokebia, Obodozie
Valentine, Okezie Chibuike among others had a Rwanda Tourism Agency
organized Luxury Bus City tour around Kigali.
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