By ‘Dayo Showemimo
The just-concluded 6th edition of the BON Awards which held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Thursday, October 17, 2014, has been enmeshed in intense controversy.
Although a number of people including Okey Bakassi, AY and others have discredited Elvis Chuks’ outbursts just as the organiser of the awards, Seun Oloketuyi has responded to the allegations.
Looking at the future of the awards and all the odds that are likely to play out against it, NET examines a couple of reasons that might tell against the award in future:
The tales of ill treatment, which allegedly emanated from one of the nominees, Elvis Chuks, is not portraying the awards ceremony in a good light, passing BON off as an unserious event in which adequate arrangements are almost non-existent.
State governors, who have been willing hitherto to accommodate and sponsor the awards ceremony, might start having a rethink after the saga that followed the 2014 edition in which Gov. Rotimi Amaechi was said to have insulted Nollywood practitioners.
The awards ceremony, which is in its 6th year, has largely depended on state governments, with a total of three editions having been hosted by Ogun, Delta and Rivers States apart from the three other editions which held in Lagos without any major sponsorship.
Having held in Ogun State during the Otunba Gbenga Daniel administration, Delta State in 2013 & Rivers State in 2014, it might be impossible to go to another state as governors might not want to be associated with the kind of drama that have followed the 2014 edition of the award.
The last two editions have been marred clouded by post-event controversy which might lead to Nollywood celebrities staying away from the award in future.
BON had lacked corporate sponsorship since inception except for few endorsements of some categories by brands like Lipton, Sunlight & Annapurna Salt & with the current development; intending corporate organisations might not find it suitable to partner with BON in the nearest future.
