According to Brymo, the Igbos are not to blame for the AFRIMA's defeat.
Olawale Ashimi, a.k.a. Brymo, a self-described first-sonic artist, has shared his feelings about not winning the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).
Brymo lost the award categories for "Best Songwriter of the Year" and "Best Album of the Year" in the 8th iteration of the music award, dubbed the "Teranga Edition," which took place in Dakar, Senegal, from January 12–15, 2023, instead of its usual November date.
The musician was asked in an interview with The Cable about his thoughts on losing the awards, tying it to the unrest that around the time of his candidacy and the petitions that were levied against him.
The interviewer enquired: "What did you make of the fact that, following a social media discussion, over 40,000 individuals had signed a petition to revoke your candidacy for the 8th AFRIMA? Did you hear from the award about it?"
Brymo retorted that he actually anticipated triumph. He continued by saying that a lot of circumstances contributed to his loss rather than the petition or the issues that came before it.
He remarked, "I believe I announced months ago that I was no longer a musician but a sonic artist. It implied that I was no longer qualified for musician awards. But after AFRIMA nominated my piece "Esan," I put all of that behind me and eagerly anticipated the occasion. But in all honesty, I didn't want it since I'm no longer a vocalist.
"There’s a songwriting category but they shouldn’t nominate sonic artists. I was looking forward to it anyway, and then something happened. I got into trouble talking about Biafra leaving and staying. So I stayed out of AFRIMA and didn’t attack the award afterward. Not winning had nothing to do with the southeast fracas. Everything only just came together."
What did Brymo do?
Many criticized the singer for making remarks about the Nigerian Igbo tribe, claiming that they did not deserve to have a claim to the presidency, in the run-up to the general elections of 2023.
The remarks drew condemnation from other celebrities and fans, but Brymo stuck to his guns and demonstrated his unrepentant attitude by retweeting the original series of tweets that sparked the controversy.
After that, Charles Ogundele started a petition to remove the alternative musician's candidacy.
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