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?
Thats 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.
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.
