A TRUE STORY: The Ridiculous Demands Of Ghanaian Entertainers | Using Kojo Antwi, Sarkodie & Efya As A Case Study

First of all, let me state that I am not in any way asking Ghanaian entertainers to compromise on quality. But rather when do they have to give more weight to their fans when establishing the next line of action…

Out of the failure of the various advertised artistes to show up at the recent Ghana Music Awards Europe (except Kojo Antwi who attended but did not perform), GhanaCelebrities.Com decided to poke for answers as to what caused the great flop/non-attendance. And what we found out was beyond SHOCKING…

As much as the organizers tried to pull in the various artistes they advertised and nominated, the outlandish demands of some of these artistes including Sarkodie and Efya caused the inability of these artistes to be present at the event—-we are reliably told.

Apparently, negotiations to fly Kojo Antwi, Sarkodie & Efya to London for the Ghana Music Awards Europe started a bit late. When agreements were nearly reached, the ridiculous demands of Sarkodie and Efya became an obstacle.

With legend-Kojo Antwi placing more weight on the need to be there for his fans and thereby compromising on a lot including fundamentals, Sarkodie and Efya stood on their grounds—-probably saying to hell with fans and your awards, our demands must be met.

Sarkodie’s Ridiculous Demands

For Sarkodie to fly from Ghana to London to perform at the Ghana Music Awards Europe where he was also a nominee, he demanded the following alongside his performance charges;

• Visas for 9 people—-and these people included his manager-Sammy Forson and sister.  He wanted to come to London with an entourage of 9. What business has his sisters and the other people have out here in London?
• Business Class return tickets for himself and manager—-however, the last time Sarkodie attended the Channel O Awards in South Africa, the organizers flew him and his manager via Economy.
• Accommodation for about 4 of the above people.

Efya’s Ridiculous Demands

• Visas for herself and 2 others who have nothing to do with her musical performance…She probably needed them for company while in London—-we are told.
• Business Class return tickets
• Accommodation for the 3 of them…

What Then Happened…

Kojo Antwi secured his own visa, intending to use a band he requested the organizers to pull together for him in London since things were getting tight for the organizers. He was very much concerned about not disappointing his fans, GhanaCelebrities.Com has learnt.

Though the organizers were ready to satisfy the above ridiculous demands, it became obvious that they did not have enough time to go through the normal visa acquisition process and therefore decided to use the fast track route.

For a person to qualify to use the fast track service in Ghana, such a person must meet certain requirements which only Sarkodie and his manager met. And when it came to Efya, none of her ‘baby-sitting’ friends/team members met the criteria…

Using the fast track route, the organizers acquired visas for Sarkodie & his manager, and Efya.

We are told that upon receiving her visa, Efya told the organizers she wanted to go with her 2 people and since this was not met, she was no more interested….

The question is; what about her fans and when must she compromise?

Similar to Efya’s position, Sarkodie also made a jump—claiming that if visas could not be acquired for the other 8 people, then there is no way he is going to be at the event.

Again, the question is; what about his fans and when must he compromise?

Now Kojo Antwi—The Most SHOCKING Of All

With Efya and Sarkodie taking up the above stance, Kojo Antwi pulled a shock when he decided to place emphasis on what the outcome will be for his fans and brand should he pull out—when he could compromise and still deliver a good performance…

Kojo Antwi asked for a band to be put together in London for him and he flew alone from Accra to London for the event. Without any manager or aid, he handled his luggage himself.

My Questions…

If a legend like Kojo Antwi thought about his brand and fans, and proceeded to compromise, why couldn’t Sarkodie and Efya do the same for the fans? After all, most of the people they wanted to bring had nothing to do with what they were coming to do out here…

Am I the only one who thinks the request to bring an entourage of 9 people to London by Sarkodie is absurd?

What about Efya’s request for visas to bring her 2 people who were not necessarily going to be instrumental to her performance?

Note: GhanaCelebrities.Com reached out to both Efya and Sarkodie in relation to the above.  Efya’s manager phoned to explain that, there was no way the management was going to let Efya travel alone.

According to the manager-Jimmy, the two people Efya insisted the organizers secure visas for are members of her team who needed to travel with her to protect her brand—-not to babysit her.

Jimmy added that though they were ready to compromise on a lot, they couldn’t allow Efya to travel to London alone. She needed these two people to be by her side to protect her brand as a lot of people exploit and abuse Efya’s brand…

As to why Efya and her management did not notify the fans that Efya was not going to be at the event, the manager conceded they made a big mistake. Efya will therefore record a special song for her London fans—-to appease them.

No one from Sarkodie’s camp has made any contact yet…

One thing I’ve come to realize out of this is that, no one really cares about the fans. Most of the artistes care about their cash/brand, and event organizers are only interested in making some quick bucks…

The fans will always be let down, unless you are a fan of someone like Kojo Antwi.