USA, MTV, Tekno, The Headies all show that we are fallible humans

What a week it has been!

First we had Donald Trump grab the entire world by the P****, before going on to be the 45th President of the United State of America, with zero experience in politics, but with charisma and talking advantage of the fears and hate that exist just beneath the surface of the American public.

Trump got his country, we got our voices competing all over the media for who had the best angle and analysis to share….while TB Joshua, well, TB Joshua, or connected to the wrong source for inspiration. For the first time, the Nigerian prophet and seer was blind to a Trump presidency, and had his entire reputation as a clairvoyant put on the line, and bashed.

Away from that, the music gods decided to bless Wizkid during the past weekend with 4 awards. The Nigerian singer who is working at breaking through to wider markets, had the top honors at the AFRIMA, MOBO, and two from the MTV EMAs, where he won the customary Best African Act, and then Best Worldwide act, together with 6 other stars drawn from various parts of the globe.

But before the week reached an end, the people of Tanzania, who pretty much felt like all of those who voted for Hillary, refused to lick their wounds, roll over and die. No. Instead, they chased and harried MTV, the organizer of the EMA, to point out that Alikiba, their crown jewel of music, had trumped Wizkid via the transparent voting process.

Their voices was heard, they had a legitimate case, and as a beacon of credibility, MTV withdrew Wizkid’s win, stripped him of his crown, and handed it to Alikiba, with a shiny press release, social media awareness and more gift-wrapped explanations about how ‘an error’ led to the wrong handover.

They got their flak too. Such a move to strip Africa’s pop king of a deserved trophy, while handing it to a singer with a comparably limited influence on the continental music scene is bound to generate controversy. Mix that in with the prevalent dislike of Nigerians that exist all across Africa, and the robust arrogance of Nigeria on social media, and what you have is pure ugliness and anger, in form of conversations and arguments. It was open season of Wizkid, MTV and Nigeria, and we gave as well as we got.

Before this, the Headies Awards aka the Bringer of controversy held were doing their best to dominate proceedings in the controversy department. An integral part of the Nigerian music industry, the awards which still stands as the most credible platform for rating and rewarding music art and the creators in Nigeria, and so is according to many, is our version of the Grammy’s.

This time they came through with a nominations list steeped in controversy and errors too. From people’s best works not appearing to wrong classification of content, it was all on offer at the Headies.

But none can be compared to Tekno, who wouldn’t be blamed for feeling like the biggest loser from the awards show, before it even began. The year in review for the Headies 2016 states that every project released in the time frame of July 2015 – June 2016 will be considered. Tekno’s hit songs did not fall in the dates. ‘Duro’ was released in June 2015, essentially disqualifying it from consideration, and our current pop drug, ‘Pana’ was let fly in July 2016. That means his singles were released a month before and a month after consideration.

That has to hurt. Everyone understands that. But it is no one’s fault. But as consolation and a representation of his current status, he is nominated for the prestigious and rewarding Next Rated category, which is a voting category for the most promising upcoming act in the year under review.

But it could have been more for him. Without the eligibility of ‘Duro’ and ‘Pana’, which are sure-fire award-winning materials, it feels a bit short for him. In many ways, he is the biggest loser of the Headies, who will be left ruing what would have been.

But instead of taking this as a mistake, and graciously accepting his nomination with thanksgiving, he had to rubbish it too, disrespectfully. The ‘Pana’ hit-maker has now questioned the sense in his nomination as a contender for the ‘Next Rated’ award with a post on Instagram. ‘Next rated after how many years! Let’s be honest pls’

The Next Rated category is for officially unreleased artistes in the year under review. This means, no matter how good or popular your song may be, how many hit singles or how many good music videos you may have, if you have not recorded and released an official album, you are still eligible to be nominated for that category.

In the same vein, you may start your career a year ago, as long as you have released an album, will not be eligible for nomination in the Next Rated Category. Tekno does not have an album, and so he is eligible for it.

In all, it has been a very entertaining week for fans of music on the continent, and a tough one for the people of the USA, MTV and the Headies. All three sets of people with different jobs can all hang their heads and say it was all human error that led to the week that happened. We humans are a fallible species, extremely prone to mistakes and indiscretions that come from a lapse in judgement, discernment and many more.

But with mistakes come consequences and the severity of the results of our actions. The people of America will live through the next four years having Trump’s fingers romancing the nuclear buttons and the economy, which in reality, would feel like an eternity. They will hope he surprises them all, and turn out to be the exact opposite of what he has displayed during his campaign of hate and fear.

As for the Headies and those at MTV? What’s regret and fear? They probably have no recollection of these events. What a world!