I think Emklan Events, the organizers of the showbiz honours are confused, it is the concept of the awards that is confusing. The sent conflicting messages about the decision to award Nadia Buari for her “exemplary role as an actress” give them an uncertain image.

I didn’t attend the ceremony, but from what I gleaned from the news it seemed like a birthday party organized for a friend. The part that resembled an awards night had a short film on Nadia Buari with none other than the Vice President praising her works. Though, none of those works was particularly selected as the reason for the award.

It was her “exemplary role as an actress” which won her the honour. Whatever the organizer’s sort to convey with their exemplary role tag did not work? I do not understand how Nadia ended up being the only one awarded during the showbiz honours night. If it is an alternative awards show, then she shouldn’t have been the only one. And definitely, we should know exactly what she is been awarded for in the year under review or which of her works is worthy this award.

I think Nadia Buari is a fine person and probably a fine actress too. I have lost track of her considering the number of movies she makes in a year. She makes more movies in one year than Oscar-winning Sandra Bullock does in ten. However, whoever decides to award her must disclose the reasons why she deserves the award, especially when the award is set up to be an industry award. I am baffled by the lack of clarity surrounding the showbiz honours. What happened to the usual procedure associated with awards, nominations, categories, selection panel and all? Yeah, we need to know all those things or let no one waste our time and that of the Vice President by presenting a birthday party as an awards show.

What irks me beside the lack of clarity surrounding the award is the set of prizes which was given to her. Tacky doesn’t even begin to describe it. Who organizes an award and gives as a prize, a year’s supply of sanitary pads? So what, if Agya Koo had own, he would have been given Fruits of the Loom briefs because they sponsored the show. Need I mention the ticket to somewhere over the rainbow and a year’s supply of non –alcoholic wine.

There is no award show in the world which is shrouded in this much mystery. The Nobel Prize for literature is usually awarded to one person but he’s not selected by Norwegians in secret and foisted on the world. No, invitation letters are sent to individuals qualified to nominate people for the year under review. There is a deadline for submission after which a committee assesses the works of candidates and draws up a shortlist. Which is further reviewed by permanent advisers-and these advisers are specially recruited for their knowledge. Finally, a winner is chosen through a majority vote by members of another committee. Though the process may vary, all the popular awards we know and love do the same. Even our deeply flawed Ghana Music Awards have some semblance of this order.

To be fair to Emklan events they did state the criteria for getting awarded. One is supposed to have a good personality, be socially responsible and must have excelled in one’s chosen career. Good personality and socially responsible as determined by who? It is their works that ought to be judged, not the person. Humanitarian awards are the preserve of the United Nations. Maybe Emklan should leave good and socially responsible awards to them. And while we at it, may I also suggest that we have enough mushroom awards that celebrate mediocrity, so maybe Emklan should chuck their ambiguous awards.