Nigeria - That the second annual Secondary School Steel Band Competition in Lagos, Nigeria came off at all, is itself testimony to a love of the steelband culture and art form, embodied in the personage of Nigerian Bowie Sonnie Bowei. Exactly four years to the day had passed between the inaugural Secondary School Steel Band competition on November 23, 2006 and the 2010 edition of the competition. Even though Nigeria is an oil-rich nation and boasts a developed economy, for the second time Bowei staged the event and bore all the related expenses of this steelband showcase on his own - with zero financial assistance from government or the private sector. “The four-year gap is a natural result of the financial pressure on me. All the panoramas were solely sponsored by me. Private organisations in Nigeria do not sponsor any program because they believe in it and just want to promote it. They look at the benefits they can get from it. If there are none, no sponsorship” says Bowei flatly.read more
Replies