By Ian Ortega
I wanted to speak about Ugandan Awards!!! I have been containing myself from saying something about most Ugandan Awards but I think I will have to speak out now.
First, I don’t take most Ugandan awards serious, especially those that aim at recognizing people in the entertainment or social fields. There could be a little bit of sanity in some few awards, but that’s the exception not the general rule.
First, I have never been a believer in awards as an indicator of accomplishment in a specific field. Some of the best musicians I know of, never walked away with more than 2 awards, some had to be recognized long after they were dead and gone. Some of the best writers I know of, didn’t even make it closer to an awarding ceremony.
Yet the situation in Ugandan awards is not just nauseating but also repulsing. There’s a lack of professionalism in most of these Ugandan awards. They are the new business ventures of those looking to make a quick buck. Organize awards, convince sponsors to come on board, walk away with your profit at the end of the day.
Others have turned them into a family, friends and in-laws affair. Organize some awards, award your friends, award your family members, and get your in-laws recognized.
Of course, I should also speak of an award where one of those nominated was the one who was managing the online voting platform. The nominee would turn off the voting platform, go in the back-end and vote for his group, then turn back the platform to be accessed for the general public when he’s back in the lead.
To solve this, we need to give up on this whole Awards trend for at least five years so we can put our own houses in order. Musicians won’t stop singing if awards go away. Presenters won’t give up on their TV or radio shows in the absence of awards.
Ugandan awards suffer from the same ills, the same syndromes, each following in the paths of the former. Why do we enjoy forcing life? If something is not working, why keep doing the same thing as before? Isn’t that insanity?
I have always retained some of my sanity by turning down invitations to most of these awards. Because I believe something in me could tempt me to pull off a Kanye West stunt, only in this case, my anger would be directed at the organizers.
Then we can speak of people who get nominated in categories that are unlike their own. A reggae artiste gets nominated in a pop category. Then we get organizers nominating certain personalities because their absence in a category could demean the authenticity of the awards.
But above all, I am a believer that awards kill drive and purpose, because, if creatives are making awards as the end of their mission, then we shall continue to have mediocre artistes who win awards and get to think they are the best thing that has happened to their specific industry. Which is not usually the case!!!
Awards should come as a bonus to a work well-done, they shouldn’t define whether a work is well-done or not. Tesla was never recognized despite doing better work than Thomas Edison. Steve Jobs didn’t get as much recognition as Bill Gates despite being the greater revolutionary. Elon Musk is unknown by most people, yet he’s highhandedly enabling the human race to colonize Mars through SpaceX.
For the sake of our entertainment industries, let’s give up on awards. They serve no body other than the organizers. We don’t need awards. They are overrated. We can do without them.
Or perhaps we need them to continue creating the illusion of we are doing well as an industry, with a Nigerian Presenter officiating at a Ugandan award ceremony. Right?
I raise my middle finger to Ugandan awards!!!