The Bonny Entertainment Awards (BEA) is a platform for showcasing the rich heritage of Bonny Kingdom and also recognizing individuals and organizations that have made critical and strategic contributions to the development of Bonny Kingdom, the organizers have said.

Chief Executive Officer of BEA, Justine Tolofari said this on Saturday, September 9, 2023 during a press conference announcing the onset of activities for the 5^th edition of the Award in Bonny, Rivers State.

“Actually, we are celebrating our fifth year anniversary. The Bonny Entertainment Award started since 2019 and since 2019 we have been making progress till date.”

“The Bonny Entertainment Award is not just an award; it is an award that showcases the rich heritage and culture of great Bonny Kingdom and beyond.”  

“Now, we need to celebrate our brand award because this time around we are going beyond the Kingdom, to meet people outside for them to come and see the rich heritage of the bonny kingdom.”

“The Bonny Entertainment Award is open for everybody in the world that has what it takes to be part of the rich heritage of this great Kingdom because the award stands for greatness, and it’s an honour to be nominated in any categories.”

He stated that the Award is aimed at encouraging upcoming and existing artistes, comedians and other creatives to do more to promote value through their art, urging to believe in themselves and focus on achieving their goals.

“One thing I need to tell them is that once you believe in your craft, and believe in what you believe then you will definitely get to that point. Those people that are there don’t have two heads but they had to work hard.”

“But one thing is encouragement that is why the bonny entertainment award is here to encourage them and build them for their brand so they can believe on their own self.”

Speaking on the significance of the Okolo (Egret) used as logo for the Award, the Chairman of the Konibo-ye-Awanta (Tobin) Chieftaincy House of Finima, Darlington Tobin explained how Bonny Kingdom adopted the famous bird back in the 12th century as her national symbol.

“My assignment today is simple; it is to explain to us the significance of the symbol of the Award. The Award when unveiled you will see is the curlew; in our dialect we call it Okolo.”

“From time immemorial, Okolo has been the symbol of Bonny, just like the coat of arms of our dear country, Nigeria; every community, every kingdom, tribes and people have what they use as a symbol.”

“Let me go back a little to history, that the land where we are standing today is Okolo-Ama, meaning a land of curlew.

“When our fathers, the founders of the land landed here from Orupiri; Orupiri is one of the villages in Bonny where our fathers as at 12th century landed and dwelled for a while; and the founder crossed from Orupiri for his hunting activities here.”

“He got to Bonny Main Town, he found a lot of curlews, which we call okolo in our language. He went back to tell his people that there is a better land, spacious where will be befitting for them to come and dwell, and that was where they moved to this land.”

“From history, originally, okolo was not for the entire Bonny Kingdom, we have other communities that were not Okolo-Ama, originally; please, don’t get me wrong. That was why I said let’s go down history a little.”

“We have the Kalaibiama. We have the Kuruma. We have the Finima. We have the Olom-Ama. We have the Ayama, and all of them. Originally, they were not part of Okolo-Ama.

“The issue of okolo ama came about 1912 to 1914 to 1915, when the kingdom decided to go by Okoloama Ngekirifaje, meaning the 14 major communities that make up Bonny and at that point they all agreed to go by the name Okoloama.”

“So, when they’re giving that award it means it’s an award that represents Bonny Kingdom. It means, if you’re given that award, it means the Kingdom appreciates you.”

“Just like he said, the award is given to both non-Bonny and Bonny indigenes. If you’re a non-indigene and you’re given that award it means the Kingdom appreciates you.”

“It means you’re recognized an honour as somebody that has contributed in one way or the other to this Kingdom. So, it’s something you cherish. It’s something you keep and make it a history for your children and generation yet unborn.”

Also speaking, Chairman of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Obie Pepple noted that the Bonny Entertainment Awards has positively impacted the entertainment industry in Bonny Island, expressing optimism that greater impact would be achieved through it.

“I want to talk about the impact of the Bonny Entertainment Award on the island. I think, right from the first year I’ve followed up this event and I also want to use this opportunity to give kudos to the organizers for coming up with this idea and I think the impact in this is that it has brought so many challenges and improvement in the industry.”

“It has brought somebody’s impartation on them; the musicians, the comedians, the MCs and everyone. It has to do with entertainment and God has been able to sustain this body up this day and I believe this body is going to greater heights in the name of Jesus.”

An official of the Bonny Entertainment Award, Ene Halliday disclosed that at its 5^th edition the award organizers are consolidating its corporate posture to make identifiable, unambiguous and its ideals clear, encouraging young creatives to identify with the award and sustain the pursuit of their aspirations.

“Today is the official unveiling of the Bonny Entertainment Award, the official brand award unveiling. Over the years, for the past four years, we’ve been using different designs but this fifth year, we decided to unveil the official brand which is the okolo, which is the symbol that is used to recognize Bonny people and what they stand for.”  

“To us, it us a dream come true. It is a vision that has just been achieved. It is something that we have for a very long time been praying to do and my team and I are very happy to unveil it.”  

Interviewer: what is your advice for the young people under the entertainment category who have a career vision in the entertainment industry?

“Person wey give up na him don die. Inasmuch as you are alive, you are not supposed to give up. Inasmuch as you are a youth, whether a Nigerian, American or from England, you are not supposed to give up on any dream you have because it is a dream and until you push forward you will always achieve it, it might take a while.”

“For us, it took five years to get this, to some it might be seven or a year. My advice is never give up. Always strive to make it and make good use of your time.”

The categories of award include gospel artiste of the year, vlog of the year, event of the year, fashion designer of the year, spoken word artiste of the year, DJ of the year, makeup artist of the year, song of the year, dance group of the year, skit maker of the year, and graphics designer of the year, comedian of the year, artist of the year, Ibani song of the year, producer of the year, and actor/actress of the year.

Others include music band of the year, social media influencer of the year, short online movie of the year, female artiste of the year, and best OAP of the year, best radio DJ of the year, hype man of the year, social media group of the year, best cultural group of the year, best cinematography of the year, best model of the year, and the last is fashion brand of the year.”

Highlight of the event was the unveiling of the BEA symbol by Darlington Tobin, supported by the Convener of the Bonny Photography Community, Amaopusenibo Dennis Ezekiel-Hart, among other dignitaries present at the event.