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Fuji t’o Bam: 40 make quarter final

By Daniel Anazia
02 July 2016   |   1:52 am
At Nigerian Breweries Plc, respect is one of our core values and as a reflection of that, Goldberg in 2012 inaugurated Fuji t’o Bam competition, to promote the cultural values of the Yorubas.
One of the contestants Bukola Omoyajowo from Ado-Ekiti

One of the contestants Bukola Omoyajowo from Ado-Ekiti

In its continued determination to raise the bar for Fuji music, Goldberg Lager, a product from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc has through its Fuji t’o Bam talent hunt competition, screened over 400 aspiring Fuji artistes out of which 40 have scaled the preliminary hurdles a and move to the next round in the ongoing competition.

The lucky contestants emerged from auditions and selection parties held in eight cities — Sango-Ota and Sagamu (Ogun State), Egbeda (Lagos), Ilesha (Osun), Akure (Ondo), Ado-Ekiti (Ekiti), Ibadan and Oyo main town (Oyo State), all in the Southwest part of Nigeria, where the genre hold sway.

Twenty contestants were picked at the audition held in each of these cities, while the figure was reduced to five at the selection party for each zone. The favoured budding artists have qualified for the quarter final of the competition, which is schedule to hold at Durbar Stadium in Oyo town next month, July.

Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Lager & Stout Brands, Nigerian Breweries, Emmanuel Agu, expressing satisfaction with the quality of renditions by the contestants, said they all showed very high level of determination to proceed to the next stage of the contest.

According to him, it is impossible for all participants to qualify in competitions like this; he, therefore, advised those who did not make it to the quarter final to go back and improve on the areas identified by the judges.

Agu disclosed that of the 40 contenders, 20 would be eliminated in the quarter final, and another 14 would be eliminated in the semi-final bill to hold in Ado-Ekiti, while the last six would proceed to the final slated for Ibadan, this month.

Corroborating him, Corporate Communications/Brand PR Manager, NB Plc Patrick Olowookere, disclosed that as part of the activities lined up for the quarter-final of the competition, the Goldberg team would visit the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, and the Owa Obokun of Ijeshaland, Oba (Dr) Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran II, during the semifinal, while a courtesy visit would be made to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji as part of activities for the final.

He said, “At Nigerian Breweries Plc, respect is one of our core values and as a reflection of that, Goldberg in 2012 inaugurated Fuji t’o Bam competition, to promote the cultural values of the Yorubas. This initiative is, therefore, a testament to our resolute determination to contribute to the socio-cultural development of the people of Southwest Nigeria.”

“Four years down the line, the initiative has continued to grow from strength to strength, with notable Fuji artistes now part and parcel of the project. It is our belief that as the music activation continues, Fuji ’o Bam will continue to discover more Fuji talents that will fit into the shoes of icons like KWAM1, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Saheed Osupa and others,” he added.

Highlight of this year’s contest so far was the appearance of the reigning WURA 1 of Fuji t’o Bam, Akeem Okiki at the selection party held in Ilesa, Osun State. Okiki, an Osun State-based Fuji artiste, who won the grand prize for the Season 3 of the yearly contest at the Trans Amusement Park, Ibadan, advised the contenders to be focused and disciplined on stage so as to ensure their success.

According to him, anybody who would triumph in the contest must be ready to satisfy the judges, who he said are veterans in Fuji music.

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