Musiga to Sanction Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy - Obour

By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme

The President of the Musicians Union of Ghana, (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kufour, affectionately called Obour has revealed that the union would soon prefer sanctions against the two dancehall artistes for disgracing Ghana music in the eyes of the world.

Fracas broke out between the two dancehall artistes, Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale during the 20th edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards, (VGMA), which abruptly ended the event last Saturday.

What triggered the issue, was Shatta Wale's decision to storm the stage with his entourage when Stonebwoy was receiving the Raggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year Award at the same time.

Speaking to The Spectator, Obour said, the Union had an emergency meeting on Monday on the matter and hoped to meet again to look at the appropriate sanctions to be meted out to them.

According to him, that would best serve as a deterrent to other potential artistes who would like to put up such radical and shameful attitude in the future.

He added that in the meantime, the Union had been collaborating with Charterhouse, orgnaisers of VGMA, and the security agencies for finality on the matter.

On the issue that many musicians go to events in recent times wielding guns, Obour said he had taken notice, and that, he was worried over the new culture, adding, he had taken steps to speak to the artistes and the police on how to deal with the anomaly.

He said "It is a breeding culture which is alien to us, and is gradually gaining grounds in our country, it is unfortunate we had come to this stage."

"Personally it has been a very shameful period considering the kind of high level dignitaries we had at the programme, and the fact that, it was the 20th anniversary which was airing live on international platforms. We felt very ashamed, at that point, you couldn't do anything than to bow your head in shame," he said.

According to him, what ensued between the two artistes was extremely shameful, which sent a wrong signal about the country's music industry to the world, which was alien.

He condemned musicians who brandished guns at the least provocation, and called on them to be mindful of their actions.

Read Full Story