Hausa Music Festival and Awards launched

Hausa Music Festival was launched last Wednesday, September 23 at the plush Classroom Pool Lounge at east legon. The event, the first of its kind anywhere in the world was initiated by Xcess entertainment group and it is expected to be one of the biggest events on Africa’s entertainment calendar.

In a speech read on behalf of the president of the Musician Union of Ghana, who was the keynote speaker for the launch, Mr Bice Osei Kuffour called on the organizers to include certain commercial training and performance orientation as part of the festival. His speech further re iterated that Africa needs to market its musical traditions globally and believes the Hausa Music Festival can be used to nurture such a not too farfetched dream of crossing borders with our music in a very professional manner

Speaking at the event, Farouk Khailann of Xcess entertainment emphasized that the Hausa music scene in Ghana and Africa as a whole is has a huge following and it is imperative that such initiatives are embraced to develop that segment of African music to represent at the global music stage.

Speaking to BBC News on the sidelines of the launch, Farouk Khailann mentioned that the festival will not focus on Ghana alone but Africa as a whole. It will comprise of a concert, workshops, documentary and climaxed with an award show.

Ali Moro, a highly respected individual among the zongo communities in Ghana called on all Hausa artiste to eschew unnecessary confrontations and stay united to be a formidable force in the Ghana music industry.

Hausa is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa; it’s a first language by an estimated 30 million speakers and as a second and third language for an additional 18 million people across a broad band of countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chard, Congo Eritrea, Ghana, Niger, and Togo.

Every city in any size has a large Hausa community; there are several Hausa language newspapers and a growing body of literature. It is heard on radio and TV in most African countries and international platforms such as BBC Hausa, Deutsche Welle and The voice of America