Music executive and Headies founder, Ayo Animashaun, has defended the decision to take the Headies Awards to the international stage.

MrAnimashaun made the remarks in a series of posts on his Instagram Story while responding to criticism over artistes’ participation in international award platforms and the Headies’ nomination process.

He criticised artistes who submitted entries to foreign award bodies but failed to submit their works for the Headies, yet later complained about not receiving nominations.

“Tom, Dick and Harry will submit entries to foreign award bodies that don’t even care about them and proudly post about it. But these same people won’t submit their entries to the Headies, yet they’ll complain about not being nominated. Funny!” he said on his Instagram Story.

In another post, Mr Animashaun said the decision to take the Headies to the international stage was informed by the organisers’ vision and the support of sponsors.

“As long as those who benefit from what we do understand and appreciate it, the artistes understand why taking The Headies to the moon sometimes is the right move, and our sponsors see the vision, we can stand firmly by our decisions.

“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but not every opinion carries equal weight. Posterity will be kind to those who see possibilities before they become obvious,” he said.

The Headies, one of Nigeria’s prominent music awards platforms, recognises outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry.

The comments renewed conversations about artistes’ participation in the awards, need for entry submission and the place of international recognition in the growth of Nigerian music.

(NAN)