The 2016 Glo/CAF Awards held on Thursday was certainly the gathering of Africa’s power players in the football business.
Leicester City and Algeria forward, Riyad Mahrez, clinched the top prize of the night after being named African Player of the Year.
Aside the obvious business of the award ceremony which took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, some non-football related activities caught the attention of many at the event.
Among which was the top-notch musical displays, unexplainable absence of some winners as well as the quality outfits on parade.
Here’s a glimpse of the highs and lows from the event nicknamed the African Oscars.
HIGHS
- Diamond Platnumz
Amongst a host of mind-blowing performances, it is safe to say multi-award winning entertainer, Diamond Platnumz, thrilled the audience the most. The 29-year-old Tanzanian rocked the stage twice performing some of his hit tracks including ‘Number One’ and ‘Kidogo’, his latest single featuring P-Square.
- Dalung beret-less and voiceless
We never knew that day will come when Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, will appear without his traditional Khaki and red beret. Instead, the Jos-born administrator slayed in a well-tailored black suit and was unbelievably mute unlike in recent times.
- Splendid RMD and Fawaz
Veteran Nigerian actor, Richard Mofe-Damijo, did a thorough job keeping the guests entertained and relaxed at the ceremony. The 55-year-old who is also a politician was complimented by half-Nigerian and half-Lebanese multilingual media personality, Mimi Fawaz.
LOWS
- Lengthy musical performances
Watching Thursday’s award ceremony, one could have easily mistaken it for a musical fiesta due to the huge chunk of time allocated to each performance. Artistes like Yemi Alade, Flavour and Diamond all appeared two times while the likes of Muffinz and Femi Kuti showed up once but stayed on stage for way too long.
- Flavours’ mystical deity
Flavour the star act of the night was expected to make a grand entry to the stage for the event’s final performance and he did exactly that. The Glo ambassador stunned the audience after he appeared to have showed up with a deity of some sort while offering his own rendition of Zoro’s Ogene.
- Aubameyang’s despicable outfit
Gabon skipper, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, will probably be regretting attending this year’s award ceremony. The Borussia Dortmund striker, who alleged to have lost his luggage after arriving Nigeria, appeared at the event in one of the most bizarre outfits ever. Aubameyang showed up wearing a rumpled red T-shirt and trouser to the disbelief of everyone.
