Well, i didn’t write it but one Chinwe Opara who was there had this to say about it, enjoy piece below:
Don’t you just feel bad when you already had your day planned and
circumstances take a better part of it. These things just never go as
planned.
Things such as a D’banj event. It should have been noted in my
subconscious when we were told the event was slated to start at 7pm.
Maybe I was giving them the benefit of a doubt? What was wrong with
that? After all, it’s his 10th year in the industry, everyone should be
eager to celebrate him enough to be early? No?
That’s was what I thought when I arrived the scene and it was scanty.
Typical, so it wasn’t such a big deal. In an hour or two or three,
things should get better and people should turn up? So I thought. I’m
sure at this juncture a lot of people are wondering what I was
expecting, this is what is obtainable at Lagos events. Right? You’ll
know in a bit.
The choice of event is still bewildering to me. What is D’banj’s love
for sand? He seemed to have registered a thing for it since his last
event. Going in from the carpet to the venue became a journey on its
own. Something of a deja-vu. Only thing that made it better and
different was the distance.
Having finally made it to the venue, I looked around, a couple of
guests had started arriving. Celebrities, not actual guests who
purchased the tickets that started at 20,000 for regular. Which really,
if you are a die hard – and more emphasis on die hard – you know the
rush that comes when you know you’re about to attend a Cold Play event
and you’d pay anything for it kinda situation, it’s shouldn’t be a big
deal to get. But not when it was announced barely days to the event.
| Sound City presenter interviewing Hip TV reporter…lol |
The vast majority of the crowd were made up of media crew. At a
point, they started interviewing co-presenters. Do you blame them? They
have to make up for content somehow. With one guest by the hour, it was
impossible to work with. The red carpet became more active by 12am. And
when I say active I mean, the number had increased from one to two and
three.
When I heard a ten year anniversary celebration, I pictured an O2
Arena kind of gathering for a kick off. Even made better and confirmed
when it was revealed ex-stripper, Amber Rose was headlining the event.
So imagine my surprise.
Every other thing went in a blur as time passed with nothing going on
except a lot of bored people showing off their frustrations at 1am
standing around doing nothing.
The interior, though small looked really well decorated with dazzling
ornaments. The stage well lit in anticipation of what should be
happening but isn’t. People littered the corners sipping on drinks
provided with the exchange of a voucher going for 3,000naira. For a 10
year anniversary apparently D’banj didn’t want a mammoth crowd hence his
choice of venue.
Then the moment came when people started leaving. Managing Director
of Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie probably didn’t stay up to 11pm before he
took his leave. Followed by some other people. First in their twos, then
threes. Just as they had come.
Then somewhere between 1:50 and 2am, there were loud sirens and a lot
of chaos and we knew the hosts for the show had arrived and finally
too.
The moment Amber Rose had arrived on the red carpet much to the
delight of the photographers who didn’t eventually get a good shot and
swore under their breathes later, the show had begun for some and ended
for most. As they had finally achieved why they came.
All this while, no one noticed Sheyi Shay arrive in the midst of the ruckus.
Even at that the show didn’t really kick off till much later into the
morning. What baffled me though was that aside some celebs such as
Teebillz and Tiwa Savage (who arrived the venue separately by the way),
Ice Prince, Wizkid, Davido and some new acts, no one from the beginning
of his 10 year professional career showed up to celebrate the supposed
icon in the industry regardless of any existing rift.
That’s how the cookie crumbled for Bangalee.
