Headies founder Ayo Animashaun has called out Nigerian artistes for snubbing local awards while submitting songs for Grammy consideration.
Animashaun’s outburst followed the submission of projects by several Nigerian artistes, including Davido, Asake, and Adekunle Gold, to the Grammys, hoping to secure nominations across various categories.
Reacting to the development, Animashaun questioned why the same artistes eagerly enter foreign awards that “don’t even care about them” yet “fail to submit entries to the Headies”.
He stressed that the organisers would stand by their decisions, an apparent reference to the awards’ planned move to Canada, as long as artistes understood the reasoning and sponsors shared their long-term vision.
“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 wrote.
“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.”
The 18th edition of The Headies, originally scheduled for Toronto, Canada, on October 23, 2026, was recently postponed to April 10 and 11, 2027.
