On the evening of Saturday, August 20, the expansive State House in Marina Lagos played host to a constellation of stars. These August visitors were guests of Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who hosted them to a dinner in support of the 15th edition of The Headies Awards to be held Sunday, September 4 in Atlanta, United States.
Addressing the cream of Nigerian entertainment present at the classy event, Sanwo-Olu affirmed his administration’s commitment to the growth of entertainment and tourism through strategic interventions and support for all players in the sector. He explained that it was not an afterthought but a continuation of his government’s commitment to entertainment and tourism development as contained in his T.H.E.M.E.S agenda.
Sanwo-Olu added that the Lagos Government’s support for The Headies was a strategic intervention to take Nigeria’s music industry to more global audiences.
The governor, who listed other strategic interventions of his government, including skills development partnerships for Lagos youth interested in filmmaking with EbonyLife, Del York Film Academy and African Film Academy, reiterated that he would not treat entertainment with levity. According to the Lagos helmsman, if the state can support people in the tech space, those in the entertainment sector will also get government attention. He then charged the entertainers to dwell more on positive developments in the country, noting that there are problems everywhere but entertainment is one of the things that can help turn the negativity into positivity. Earlier, the Executive Producer of The Headies, Ayo Animashaun, thanked Sanwo-Olu and all other supporters of the Awards, while stressing that the creative industry needs government support.
Spotlight gathered that Lagos will also host another in Atlanta besides the weekend’s event while the state will be supporting the organisers with the movement of some nominees from Nigeria.