10th January, 2023
By Taiye Olayemi
The All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) has announced Senegalese-French actor and comedian, Ahmed Sylla, as the host for the award night.
Chinonso Ihekire, AFRIMA Communications Manager, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Lagos.
Ihekire said that others who would join Sylla as hosts were Cameroonian actress and broadcaster, Sophy Aiida and South African screen gem, model and presenter, Pearl Thusi.
“With the clock ticking faster to the highly anticipated 8th edition of the All-Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) tagged ‘Teranga Edition’ scheduled to hold in Dakar, Senegal on 12-15 January 2023.
“Senegalese-French actor and comedian, Ahmed Sylla; Cameroonian actress and broadcaster, Sophy Aiida and South African screen gem, model and presenter, Pearl Thusi have been unveiled as the hosts.
“This is for the main awards ceremony on January 15, 2023 at the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal.
“Sylla, of the A mes délires fame, is a leading actor and comedian in France and Senegal, with over a decade experience performing on global stages.
“In 2012, he achieved stardom in France with his eccentric solo pantomime and stand-up comedy performances,” he said.
Ihekire noted that Sylla had significant experience in film, having played in serials such as Alice Nevers, and blockbusters like ‘Goal of the Dead’.
He said that joining Sylla on the big stage would be Aiida who is a television personality, actress and presenter for over a decade.
He said that her brilliance behind the microphones had taken her to great stages including the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the 2012 Nigeria Entertainment Awards, and others.
According to him, Aiida, who also hosted AFRIMA in 2017, has distinguished herself within the broadcasting and film industry across Africa.
He said her exploits hosting a talk show dubbed, Life Talk, on the Canal+ channel, and the Cameroon Top Model reality show on Canal 2, had demonstrated her prowess as a golden voice chaperoning black entertainment programmes.
“Climaxing the trio is the South African screen goddess, Pearl Thusi of Netflix’s Queen Sono fame, who brings to bare her experience hosting several MTV shows including Lip Sync Battle Africa, Behind The Story, among others,” he said.
Ihekire encouraged African music lovers to keep voting intensively for their desired winners, using the voting portal live at www.afrima.org and take part in the events on social media platforms.
Commenting on the development, AFRIMA’s Regional Manager for Northern Africa, Janatte Haddadi, noted that the trio were “a blend of wits, charisma and humour” to help boost the experience of the awards ceremony.
“These are fantastic choices! They have a maturity that is needed for a global event like this, and they also have the humour, wits, and charisma needed to cater to all age brackets.
“The Teranga Edition is special, and it is why we have decided to specially curate the comperes to keep the magic alive at the show,” she said.