Obuor. INSET: Enock Agyapong
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Speech Productions, Enock Agyapong, has condemned the violence that greeted this year’s edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), which was held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) on Saturday.
He said in as much as he supports healthy competition in the music industry, “I condemn acts that would generate unnecessary tension and could degenerate into violence.”
Enock Agyapong disclosed that he expects all persons who would be found culpable at the end of police investigation to face the full rigours of the law.
He, however, advised the organisers of the awards to put in place better measures to forestall future occurrences of such nature.
The producer urged organisers to cooperate with the security services to investigate the matter and mete out the right sanctions where it is needed.
He advised Ghanaian musicians to be mindful of their behaviours at all times and serve as good role models to the youth.
In a related development, the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), led by Bice Osei Kuffour (Obour), has also condemned the unwarranted, irresponsible and shameful incident.
In a statement issued in Accra, MUSIGA said, “Those shameful acts of violence did not only cause a halt in the programme but also traumatized patrons and subsequently painted a very negative image of our country Ghana to the global community as over 40 countries on the continent and the world at large were watching through television other social media platforms.”
The statement urged the law enforcement agencies to act with dispatch in bringing actors in the shameful episode to book to serve as a deterrent to others in the future.
“We condemn the provocative act of Shatta Wale and his fans for aggressively storming the stage while Stonebwoy was receiving his award and the equally unmeasured response by Stonebwoy for brandishing the gun,” it added.
MUSIGA, therefore, apologised on behalf of the music industry and music lovers to fans and the public for the unprofessional behaviour exhibited.
By George Clifford Owusu