Bez, Steve Rhodes Voices for Wole Soyinka prize grand finale

Evergreen music orchestra, Steve Rhodes Orchestra and Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, Bez, have confirmed their availability to star at the grand finale of the fifth Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.

Sponsored by the national carrier, Globacom, the award coincides with the 80th birthday of Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.

Steve Rhodes Orchestra is a creation of the late music impresario, Elder Steve Rhodes, who once bestrode the artistic world like a colossus. Since his demise, the orchestra has continued to hold the torch of the great music composer aloft, thrilling music audiences across the country to the best of all genres of music.

Multiple award winner and Globacom brand ambassador, Bez, will bring contemporary touch to the much-anticipated event slated for July 5, 2014, at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island in Lagos.

Bez is currently making waves in the Nigerian music scene with his brand of music dubbed “alternative soul” — a hybrid of soul, rock, jazz and R&B.

The two acts slated for the event have vowed to treat guests to their best performances ever at the grand finale, where one of the three shortlisted authors will be crowned winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.

In contention for the $20,000 Grand Prize are three authors: Othuke Ominibohs, Akin Bello and Toyin Abiodun.

The three finalists were selected from a long list of 10 African authors that included Soji Cole, Comfort Adesuwa Ero, Isaac Attah Ogezi, Moshood Oba, Mayowa Saja, and Wumi Raji. Those 10 were selected from a total of 163 entries submitted from 17 African countries in the genre of Drama, which is the focus of the 2014 edition.

The award is a biennial event staged to recognise the best literary work produced by an African. It was established by the Lumin Foundation in 2005 to promote literary excellence in Africa, and has since become the African equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

The panel of five judges for the Prize is drawn from Uganda, South Africa, Mali, Nigeria and Algeria.

Three heads of state have also given their commitment to be part of the series of events, scheduled to round off the fifth edition of the award.

Rwanda president, Paul Kagame; Liberia president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; and president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama have indicated interest to be in Accra, Ghana on July 8 at the presentation of a book in honour of the Nobel Laureate, three days after the announcement of the prize winner in Lagos.

Other distinguished individuals expected at the activities include former president of the Republic of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki; former secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan; former Commonwealth secretary-general, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II; and renowned Ghanaian author and former education minister in the Ghana government, Professor Ama Ata Aidoo.