We will never know the exact amount Mariah Carey was paid by Access Bank to be present at their end of year Christmas party which also served as a send-off party for the bank’s outgoing Managing Director Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede in Lagos yesterday.
But one thing we all know is that, to fly Mariah Carey to Nigeria will kill the pocket of not less than 2 million dollars and Acesss Bank which capriciously charges customers even on savings accounts has made enough profit—capable of affording Mariah Carey to appear at their end of year party.
Just few months ago, customers of this same Access Bank went on a protest against the bank’s many ‘frivolous’ charges. The Punch at the time reported that; “So many other customers that day in the banking hall were furious. Despite the directive from the CBN about not making deductions for the use of ATMs, I am being charged for email alerts, account balance, SMS, ATM usage and another N1,000 for maintenance” a customer said.
Corporate greed is everywhere in the world, but when it comes to Africa we mix it up with plain wickedness and misplaced priority.
You can shout that; it is the bank’s money so they can do whatever they want with it—-but do not forget that, it is the same Nigerians living on less than 1 dollar a day who will pay for this in unnecessary bank charges.
Whatever amount that was spent on Mariah Carey’s performance which would have been enjoyed by a selected few could have changed the lives of thousands—for good and for the better of Nigeria.
Individuals and corporate bodies have the means to make substantial impact in the lives of the people from who they’ve made their fortune from in Africa. But most ignore their responsibility towards these people and those who acknowledge it, just do the minimum even when they can do far better…
Mariah Carey will have fun with the rich; she will be driven in an expensive car on probably a feeder road or a road full of pot holes.
She will go through a disorganized Nigerian airport and come face to face with some extremely hungry people.
Finally, when she takes off in the provided private jet, she will see a city well segregated with millions suffering and a few unconcerned people splashing cash on luxury—including her performance. There, she may realize what a curse it is to be born in Africa and have such individuals as your leaders…
Do not get me wrong, Mariah Carey is a legend but I think every reasonable person will see the lives of the many suffering in Nigeria more important than her well written music…
Thunder fire ur mouth…a local disorganised airport in nigeria is beta dan d onli international airport in ghana..wen dey bring stars to ghana wiv outrageous sum even in d face of glaring poverty,u dont go about whinnin like a pig n gruntin like a overfed goat but wen it coms to Nigeria,ur tongue bcoms loose n u start cryin more dan d bereaved…na u go tire..idiot
@echa, Are you for real ? Why don’t we like the truth as Africans? This is why our leaders think we are fools and continue to do injustice to us. So you support what access bank is doing? stealing from customers to make huge profits to pay 2 million dollars to mariah for less than 2 hours performances? you must have drunk some kerosene +
@Jesus, u must b very daft frm ur response…did u read d article veri well olofofo?d imbecile of a blogger is not so sure about d amount paid to bring ha. gullible readers like u v taken his words for a fact…wen chris brown was brot to ghana wiv a veri outrageous sum,dis idiot of a blogger did not go about rantin hw disorganised ur airport is or how hungry lookin n poverty striken ghanaians r n hw d money wud v helped ur aid dependent country but he can open wide dat gutter he calls a mouth to talk about anoda country..i am neva in support of any frivolities of any kind but i hate d double standard n hypocrisy of dis idiot blogger wiv comments from shallow n veri myopic commentators like u wen it coms to anyfin nigerian..remove d dirt from ur eyes first b4 pokenosin into so0bodi’s else affairs…bunch of busibodies
@Jesus,How much did Guinness pay Big Sean and Akon when they visited Ghana recently? What has Guiness ever done for Ghana’s poor masses?
Our people must stop being hypocrites especially as it concerns our Nigerian brothers and sisters.
@Jay Owusu, Do you guyz know what you are talking about? Chris said what was necessay when Chris Brown was brought to Ghana. I am sure foolishly you did not even know
Here is it
Chris Brown Did Not Show Up For The ‘Hope City Project’ Official Unveiling & Sod Cutting After Taking $1M?
http://www.ghanacelebrities.com/page/2/?s=chris+brown#sthash.jajGrH0u.dpuf
Chris Brown Took $1M To Promote rlg But He Ended Up Promoting The Smoking Of Weed In Ghana
http://www.ghanacelebrities.com/page/2/?s=chris+brown#sthash.jajGrH0u.dpuf
CHRIS BROWN: So This Is The Sort Of Person We Spent $1M On & Still Defending? Check Out What He Has Been Up To Since He Left Ghana –
http://www.ghanacelebrities.com/page/2/?s=chris+brown#sthash.jajGrH0u.dpuf
@Chris,this is a shameful piece; surely Nigeria has bad roads here and there but really? Nigeria has it’s good and bad sides but mark my words,the good sides of Nigeria can put EVERYTHING in Ghana to shame.
Let’s start with Airports,Kotoka in Accra and M.Mohammed in Lagos-Nigeria has 25 Airports,10 of them international. Ghana has about 3 with just ONE international.
On your blog,you celebrate American artistes visiting Ghana,Guinness brought Big Sean and Akon, Ghanaians celebrated,so are there no poor people in Ghana too?
If 60% of Nigerians live in poverty out of a population of 170million,it means that the other 40% of Nigerians who are considerable doing alright or rich are still about 3 times more than the entire population of Ghana.
Please stop this nonsense,believe it or not…I’m Ghanaian,living in Abuja.
@Jay Owusu, i hope u never go back to ghana. tena ho wai. ppl like u r the reason why africa is wat it is today. u r rather making comparison on both countries. I think u should rather comment abt the main issue here on why these big companies pay huge sum of monies to foreign artistes whiles the country is sinking in poverty. y on earth should someone be paid a million dollars for less 24 hour appearance? the most shameful part is it being a bank. argh! are they not even ashamed of them selves? wat will mariah give back to the nation after this? we really need to wake up!
@Jay Owusu, i was born, raised and schooled in Ghana before i traveled. I have seen people from other countries as well especially Africa. If i spend a weeks in a particular place with a group of people. I would be loved and appreciated more than my African counterparts because our culture is humility and pride.We give more than we get, no wonder we are poor. But in our poverty lies that peace that surpasses all other things. Yes we hold elections without wars; yes we channel our argument through the appropriate quarters like eeeermmmm theeee “supreme court”. IF you still don’t love Ghana for what it is wealth, then you my friend are so lost.
@omar,…and yet Nigerian banks dot every corner in Ghana! We cant even boast of a solid Ghanaian owned bank with a branch in Benin republic.
Let the Nigerians spend their money the way they want to,what are we spending our own Ghana money on? Guinea fowl project??? Rubbish!
Let me opt out of this discussion before peeps start accusing me of being unpatriotic or being a Nigerian in disguise.
Small minds!!!
@Jay Owusu,shut up your nkwobi mouth ANAMU ,a nigerats trying to be a ghanain ABOA BA
@27calibre.,Ur fada
@Jay Owusu,your mama e Nyash
Just one question. .why didn’t yoy complain when they brought chris brown to ghana?..talk about hypocrisy. .!!! This is what this blog is about when it comes to reporting news about Nigeria
@Anny Dede, Actually, he did write about Chris Browns 1 mil pay. And may it be Nigeria, Ghana, or any other African country, it’s ridiculous that they spend this kind of money on these useless musicians for an hour or so when people r struggling in their countries to even eat.
@Anny Dede, SHAME ON YOU! You are the only one who doesn’t know GC complained about C. Brown’s visit to GH.
I think Echa is in a mission to insult. You can really present your comment without all these unnecessary rudeness. I understand what you are saying, yes we should stick to our own matters but why all these labeling? If anything, the blogger was actually speaking on behalf of Nigerians as oppose to you insulting a whole country. Yes we are poor and it makes sense for us to stick to our own issues but you could have at least presented it in a fair way. Remember you are a Nigerian on a Ghanaian blog hence you speak for a whole country. I am a Ghanaian leaving abroad but i would prefer to leave in that country you call a shit whole than some one else’s, but the situation is not always the same. Just a little courtesy won’t hurt, will it?
@omar, was d blogger courteous wen he veered off frm talkin about a bank to insult a whole country? No one supports extravagant wastefullness but He could v passed across his msg in a sensible way wivout insultin d sensibility of d pple..i gave an instance of his reportin of chris brown’s visit to ghana compare to hw he reported dis one,den u will c hw bias he is concernin Nigeria…u shud also rememba he is a ghanaian blogger reportin about nigeria hence he also speak for a whole country n so he shud b mindful,cultured n respectful wen bloggin about anoda country….and yes,a little courtesy frm him would not hurt…
@omar, PLEASE,let’s do away with this Ghanaian PHD (pull him down) mentality; the blogger Chris is not speaking on behalf on Nigerians.
Firstly,there’s no evidence that $2million was actually paid to Maria Carey.
Secondly,most big Nigerian companies already pay Nigerian artistes thousands if not millions of dollars to perform in Nigeria,that’s why Nigerian music industry is already this big. Even Ghanaian companies pay top Nigerian artistes good money to perform in Ghana. Why should the Nigerians complain?
Ghanaians are the ones that should be complaining FOR THEMSELVES…bcos most of our artistes are paid peanuts and yet this same Ghanaian blogger Chris Febiri was busy celebrating NAUGHTY BY NATURE, AKON and BIG SEAN’S recent visit to Ghana.
The only reason @Chris Febiri was angry with Chris Brown was because he arrived Ghana late, missed the Hope city unveiling,and smoked weed openly. Other than that,THIS BLOGGER praised Chris Brown’s stage performance in Accra.
Come guys, @chris got it VERY wrong this time around.
Well of course no one wants to hear anything bad about their country and maybe if this was written by a Nigerian blogger it would sting less…but the truth is, its sad that even though the exact figure is not known, we all well know it was not no chicken change used to fly this chick over to perform and well they can very well do what they want with their money but no one should condone these excess charges. You may not like how the writer has said it but he has stated something worth a response in the direction of those that are taking the royal piss!
PLEASE,let’s do away with this Ghanaian PHD (pull him down) mentality; the blogger Chris is not speaking on behalf on Nigerians.
Firstly,there’s no evidence that $2million was actually paid to Maria Carey.
Secondly,most big Nigerian companies already pay Nigerian artistes thousands if not millions of dollars to perform in Nigeria,that’s why Nigerian music industry is already this big. Even Ghanaian companies pay top Nigerian artistes good money to perform in Ghana. Why should the Nigerians complain?
Ghanaians are the ones that should be complaining FOR THEMSELVES…bcos most of our artistes are paid peanuts and yet this same Ghanaian blogger Chris Febiri was busy celebrating NAUGHTY BY NATURE, AKON and BIG SEAN’S recent visit to Ghana.
The only reason @Chris Febiri was angry with Chris Brown was because he arrived Ghana late, missed the Hope city unveiling,and smoked weed openly. Other than that,THIS BLOGGER praised Chris Brown’s stage performance in Accra.
Come guys, @chris got it VERY wrong this time around.
It is only stupid personalities that will not find anything wrong with what the bank in a third world struggling country did.
1. A bank charges it poor customers for silly things as email alerts, sms alerts, they charge you to use your ATM card and even they charge you for just having a savings account. Where will you hear of this except third world Africa.
2. This same bank charges this and make huge cash. And use some of this huge cash in fact about 2 million dollars of it to pay for Mariah Carey to come to a struggling country with 70% of its population classified as POOR. Same poor people it forced the money out of them.
3. And you have some people here saying this issue should not be talked about? WTF is wrong with some of you? This is why Africa is like this and will forever remain like that.
4. Roads in Nigeria are shyt, this money could help make proper roads. Schools are bad, people cant afford food and the International Airport like that of Ghana, Togo and others all like a joke and needs to be fixed, yet such money taken from poor customers which could have gone to make things better for them in their country is handed over to a foreigner to go away with it. What a pity
Some peoples level of undastandin is low dat i begin to wonda…i am not in support of wat d bank did but i am against dis blogger style of reportin about anoda country n Nigeria in particular…no one is sayin issues like dis shud not b discussed but hw we go about it matters alot…i still stand by all wat i v said about dis blogger,he is biased.
Some people level of undastandin is low dat i begin to wonda…i am not in support of wat d bank did but i am against dis blogger style of reportin about anoda country n Nigeria in particular…no one is sayin issues like dis shud not b discussed but hw we go about it matters alot…i still stand by all wat i v said about dis blogger,he is biased.
@echa, Okay we accept he is biased. Now tell us your TAKE ON THE ISSUE AT HAND. Tell us what you think of what the bank has done in relation to Nigeria and its many struggling customers who came out to complain months ago.
We are waiting to hear what you have to say on the main issue now.
@Auntie Serwaa, i v earlier said i dnt support frivolities or extravagant wasteful spendin….i dnt knw hw much was used in bringin ha to naija but of course it could v bin put to beta use…it is their money n dey can decide to wisely or foolishly spend it d way dey want…
Chris why are you swallowing panadol for another man’s headache? its their money and they can spend it how they want. Every single celebrity that is anybody in pop culture has come to Nigeria…Rick Ross, Jay Z, Nas, Beyounce, Mariah carey, Mary J blige, Busta Rhymes, Akon, 50 cent, Kim Kardashian to name a few. Bear in mind that Nigeria is a mixed economy and whilst you have extremely poor people there are extremely rich people, some richer than Bill gates. Drawing a parallel between Nigeria and Ghana isn’t always the wisest thing.
@Kevin E, How is some of your people richer than Bill Gates, when hes the richest man in the world? His net-worth about $70Bil….get your facts straight.
@LA, alatafo) kasa! dnt mind him.
Actually Bill Gates is worth $67bn….and Forbes can only take into account legitimate earnings that can be traced. A lot of Nigerian ex- generals, politician easily have that much because of the way business in done in the country….babangida: IBB a military ruler of 15 yrs has never publicly declared his true worth…again many believe this is easily over $60bn USD, most of the generals he and Abacha “dashed” oil blocks are worth about $2bn at the moment (theophilus Danjuma etc),
Dangote: according to forbes his worth $20.8bn and all of us know this is a modest statement of his true worth. He is easily worth about $40bn….
The likes of Mike Adenuga, Oba Otudeko, Jim ovia, Elumelu, Folawiyo, Folorunsho Alakija, bello Osagae, Abdulsalam Rabiu etc are all worth WELL into their billions and not the modest occasional $1bn-$4bn that forbes gave them…
Chris Brown was paid millions of dollars to come and smoke on stage. how about that? dzi wo fie asem!!
Vanity upon vanity is vanity. God is watching. The wicked shall not go unpunished. .. says the Bible