By Vanessa Obioha
Nigerian afro-fusion artiste, Burna Boy, has emerged the winner of the BET Award for Best International Act. It is the second consecutive win for the artiste.
International model Naomi Campbell announced Burna the winner, in a category that had Sho Madjozi (South Africa), Stormzy (UK), Innoss ‘B (DR Congo), Ninho (France) and S.Pri Noir (France).
At the show which saw artistes like Beyonce and host Amanda Seales talk about the wave of protests surrounding Black Lives Matter, Burna in his acceptance speech gave a profound message about the continent Africa.
“I will like to use this opportunity to say that sometime around 1835, there was admission to turn the nation of Africa into a dominated nation. Now is the time to return and go back to the royalty that we were because in order for black lives to matter, Africa must matter.”
The message went viral on Twitter with many applauding the artiste for his win and the speech.
Burna and Rema were the only Nigerians who were nominated in the awards. While Burna smiled home with an award, Rema however lost his category Viewer’s Choice: Best International Act to Zimbabwe’s Sha Sha.
Beyonce took home the HER Award for her song ‘Brown Skin Girl’07 which featured Nigerian artiste Wizkid, Blue Ivy Carter and Saint Jhn. She dedicated the Humanitarian Award to the protesters and urged them to vote for change.
“I want to dedicate this award to all of my brothers and sisters out there inspiring me, marching out there and fighting for change. Your voices are being heard and you’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain. We have one more thing we need to do to walk in our true power. And that is to vote. I’m encouraging you to continue to take action, continue to change and dismantle a racist and unequal system.”
The BET awards celebrates black excellence in music, film, sports and philanthropy. A repeat of the 20th edition will be aired on BET Africa (DStv Channel 129) on Monday, June 29 at 7PM (WAT).
