BET AWARD TO SARKODIE & WIZKID: Recognition or Ridicule?

After news of the details surrounding the presentation of the award for best international act to our homeboy Sarkodie reached home, many different reactions have greeted it.
This year’s BET awards ceremony was held at the Shrine Auditorium in LA where it has been held since 2006. The nominees for Best International Act (Africa) were Africa Camp Mulla (Kenya), Ice Prince (Nigeria), Lira (South Africa), Mokobe (Mali), Sarkodie (Ghana) and Wizkid (Nigeria).
The Best International Act (Africa) award went to Ghana’s Sarkodie and Nigeria’s Wizkid. This award was reportedly presented backstage.
Many people are of the opinion that, the fact that two different artistes picked from 2 dissimilar countries had to jointly win a single award shows the gross disregard BET has for Africa, especially by presenting the award backstage. Maybe BET is not different from the many ‘naive’ Americans who think Africa is just one big country.
We cannot tout this as a mistake, since the same thing is said to have happened last year when D’Banj and 2face were the joint winners.
Though many Africans have expressed their dissatisfaction in the manner BET is handling the Best International Act (African) category, others are of the opinion that, we are jumping ahead of ourselves since other artistes were also awarded backstage.
Besides, BET usually gives out several awards backstage every year. I have heard some local artistes bashing Sarkodie for going to the ceremony, although I know they would be running there if they were nominated.
Shouldn’t we be grateful for the award instead of complaining endlessly? BET doesn’t owe us anything…right? So for them to acknowledge us, should we not embrace it as a way forward?
Are you one of the many who feel our African artistes deserves more and should have been treated better?
Do you think Sarkodie and Wizkid should not have shown up? After all, BET could have posted their plaques to them which would have been no different from receiving them backstage?
Chris-Vincent’s Comments;
I have to add my personal comment to this piece written by Edith Faalong of GhanaCelebrities.Com.
First of all, I do not see this as a total disrespect or disregard, though I find it absurd. If the whole of Africa has ONLY a single category (I stand to be corrected) to compete for; then for the fact that all we got is one,  it should have been announced on stage to give the artistes the opportunity to proudly walk to pick up the award, unless the purpose of the award is not to throw shine on Africa-Recognise Africa music…
A single category for a whole continent must be given priority…If BET cannot find 5 mins for the whole BIG AFRICA on stage, then they should not invite us NEXT TIME! We have other important things to do down here…Even if nothing at all, we got monkeys to chase and climb trees with!

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