By Ibrahim Sorious Samura

The 3rd edition of the Festival of ECOWAS Nations (ECOFEST) returns to the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown, Sierra Leone on the 30th November 2019 with a broader African concept – a night of music festivities and humours. It follows after two successful editions, previously hosted in Sierra Leone in November 2018 and in the Gambia in April 2019. The festival has served as an exchange platform for cultures and music backgrounds, and has maintained its consistency and growth in the shortest time. The 3rd edition will bring 10 African nations together for the first time, sharing one stage and one mic with multitudes cultural and music backgrounds.

The November 2019 show will go beyond West Africa to include nations like Uganda and Tanzania. The crave for an All-African festival is imminent. ECOFEST is already the biggest platform to showcase Salone music internationally, with over 20 Sierra Leonean acts to be on stage.

“This show demonstrates that ECOFEST is an international brand from a Sierra Leonean idea,” CEO of KME, Lawyer Abu Bakarr Turay aka Kabaka told Vertex Media.

The forthcoming event in Freetown, will not only celebrate African music, but to also create a night of humour from Africa’s finest comedy acts. An entertaining night awaits all in Freetown.

ECOFEST is the first of it’s kind, amalgamating the entertainment industry of West African countries for a start. The notion was concocted by Sierra Leone’s lead entertainment promoter Lawyer Abu Bakarr Turay popularly known as The Kabaka, CEO of the Kabaka Multimedia & Entertainment (KME) Records and Ghana’s biggest entertainment guru Nat Kwabena Adisi popularly known as Bola Ray of EIB Network, as they thought it fit to escalate the now legendary Ghana Meets Naija show to another level. It is clear that the two giants of West Africa, Nigeria and Ghana are blazing the trail in the entertainment industry in West Africa and even Africa as a whole.

Accounting for millions of dollars in revenue every year, the entertainment sector in these two countries now impacts greatly on their respective GDPs. Nearly $4 billion in Nigeria alone in 2017 and accounts for 20% of their workforce. The case is not so for Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia and Guinea. In Sierra Leone more especially, YouTube views for example are at a record low. There’s also no decent hall in Sierra Leone that can accommodate up to 2,000 people for any musical activity. Unlike Nigeria that has Eko Conference Center that hosts about 5000 people and the Fantasy Dome in Accra that hosts 10,000 people, Sierra Leone can only host such an event at the Siaka Stevens Stadium.

On the 16th November 2018, the maiden edition of ECOFEST was held at the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown, Sierra Leone, hosting seven  (7) West African nations. With acts like Kwame Eugene from Ghana, Patoranking from Nigeria, Tankana Zion from Guinea, Double T from the Gambia, KME and other acts from Sierra Leone, and other performances from Liberia and Senegal. Organised by KME and Empire Entertainment, with the ‘When Lions Roar.’

On the 5th April 2019, the 2nd edition was held at the Bakau Stadium in Banjul, the Gambia with nine (9) nations on one stage. KME and Global Ace partnered to bring Timaya from Nigeria, Stonebwoy from Ghana, ST, Omid Wisdom, Nobles  & Double T from the Gambia, KME All-Stars, Arkman & Innocent from Sierra Leone, Tankana Zion from Guinea, FA & J Slught from Liberia, Dip from Senegal, plus other acts from Mali and Cape Verde. The theme was ‘Battle of The Storms.’

On the 30th November 2019, the ECOFEST event will be held at the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown for the second time in two years. KME and Empire Entertainment in partnership with Cribs International will bring this event to Sierra Leone with the theme titled – ‘The Evolution.’ Performances will be seen from Slim Case & Basket Mouth (the Show Host – who is the biggest contemporary African comedian) from NIGERIA, East Africa’s music maestro Diamond from TANZANIA, Sophia from the GAMBIA, Tay Grin from MALAWI, Jose Chameleone from UGANDA, several acts like Kindo Armani, Richie Obama, Desmond Benya, Yemata, Innocent, K Man, Famous, Arkman, KME All Stars, Star Zee, and others from SIERRA LEONE, other acts from GHANA, LIBERIA, GUINEA and SENEGAL to be confirmed. West, East and South of Africa will set the Siaka Stevens Stadium ablaze in an ecstatic night.

Why ECOFEST? There’s an uneven advantage of bigger nations with greater population against smaller nations with lesser population. Unlike Places like South Africa and East Africa, West Africa is now represented by only Nigeria and Ghana, relegating talents from countries like Sierra Leone, Gambia, Guinea and Liberia to the sidelines. Even Senegal that used to have the legendary Youssou N’Dour has been dominated by the Nigerians and the Ghanians whose “afrobeats” tunes have now caught the attention of even the Western World. So whilst it is now easy to see Nigerian and Ghanian superstars doing songs with world superstars like Drake, Beyonce or Nicki Minaj, other nations are unable to even get a “collabo” with WizKid and Davido. And when they do, it comes at a cost that’s unrecoverable. ECOFEST will attempt to bridge this wide gap. It is an attempt to bring unity in diversity and to have a universal musical and entertainment language amongst West Africans and Africans as a whole.

The Goal as earlier stated is to achieve a one West African Entertainment platform, then eventually merge with the rest of Africa as we take Africa to the World. The only way this is achievable is by allowing the bigger nations to bring their talents to the doorsteps of smaller nations not as “hired guns” but as partners and mentors. It is an open secret that Superstars such as Wiz Kid and Davido sometimes ask for performance fees as high as $150,000 for a one hour performance. Getting Wiz Kid and Davido to Freetown for example apart from other incidental costs, is at minimum $80,000. This has nothing to do with air fare, hotel accommodation, feeding and ground transportation. To other nations, this is an easy feat. To Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where no artiste has ever being paid $20,000 to perform outside their cities, it is nothing but a dream.

The disparity is too great a measure. So ECOFEST will not just be about music, music will be a tool. ECOFEST will be a center of excellence, sharing of cultural ideas. From the Movie industry, Comedy to arts and culture. A day or two of festivities for a start as all nations will have one destination as a rendezvous per time, this will be repeated in all countries involved as it is a rotational event, always climaxed by a competition amongst the nations with winners having great prizes.

Amidst enormous challenges, the KME continues to survive the heavy storm and break new grounds in a bid to offer Sierra Leone and other smaller nations a space at the global stage. Many wonder how the organisers stroke a deal with giants stars like Diamond from Tanzania and Basket Mouth from Nigeria. The dream is big, and Sierra Leone is the biggest winner on this stage.

One major concern entertainment fans and pundits have been raising is how the organisers will manage the night with the plethora of performances expected from dozens of superstars. As in normal circumstances, the night will not be enough for Diamond alone. There has been similar challenges of managing the time in the organisers had to endure in the previous editions. However, there’s continued assurance from the organisers that every act will be on stage to perform, whether in a single and medley appearance. With Basket Mouth as the Show Host,  the expectation is high.

In a nutshell, ECOFEST is a win win event for Sierra Leone and the rest of Africa. The forthcoming ECOFEST will be ‘The Evolution’ of African entertainment.