Airtel Storms 12 Campuses with One Mic

…restates commitment to youth empowerment through music

By Nanpon Dakat

Lagos, Nigeria; 27th October, 2014: Following the successful completion of the first phase of Airtel One Mic, a music talent-hunt platform sponsored by leading telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria, the second phase has commenced and is billed to take place in 12 tertiary institutions across the four geographical regions of the country.

The initiative, aimed at discovering and promoting musical talent from tertiary institutions in Nigeria, is in line with the company's commitment to consistently encourage and empower Nigerian youths towards achieving their dreams through various identified passion points.

Students from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State University and the University of Lagos will compete under the Lagos region, while participants from University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University and Ekiti State University will represent the West region.

In the East, University of Calabar, Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Enugu and University of Port Harcourt will compete for honours while the North region will have contestants drawn from University of Abuja, University of Jos and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

According to Airtel, popular Nigerian artistes and music producers such as ID Cabasa, Reminisce, Black Magic, Jesse Jagz, DJ Jamalot, Patoranking, Ill Bliss, Mastercraft and Phyno have been lined up to mentor the contestants and also act as judges in the competition. An all-star song and musical video by the winners and artistes will also be produced at the end of the competition with

The Intra-campus contest is expected to hold in 12 tertiary institutions and will feature two contestants from each school. The six winners who eventually emerge from each region will be rewarded with opportunities to produce a music track with a popular Nigerian music producer and DJ and a final contest among the representatives will be held to produce an overall winner who will be presented with the grand prize of a brand new Kia Picanto car.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, described the project as one of the unique ways through which Airtel continues to discover and empower talents in Nigeria.

In his words: “the stable of Airtel Nigeria is replete with quality initiatives designed to support the dreams and aspirations of the Nigerian youth, be it male or female”, adding that as an innovative telco, Airtel remains a trailblazer in creating an enabling environment for improved quality of life within the society.

According to him, “the company's objective for One Mic is to create additional avenues to uncover and tap the rich talents, creativity and skills of Nigerian youths. Apart from the Airtel One Mic, Airtel also backs the Nigeria's Got Talent (NGT), which is one of the most widely watched reality shows in Nigeria and the Airtel Rising Stars, a platform which is aimed at discovering football talents across the country.

“Airtel Nigeria is committed to continuous creation of robust platforms and opportunities for youths in the country to achieve their dreams. Airtel One Mic is a testimony to our dedication, commitment and unwavering support to every Nigerian youth. At Airtel, we believe that this unparalleled platform will facilitate the dreams and ambition of our youths in various institutions who have deep interest in music and entertainment,” he said.

It would be recalled that the grand finale of the Ogun phase of Airtel One Mic talent-hunt project produced 19-year-old students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Temitayo Omoniyi, aka Zlatan Ibile as winner. He won a brand new Kia Picanto, a record deal with ID Cabasa and full artiste make over. The Ogun phase featured tertiary institutions like Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta and The Bells University, Otta, Ogun State.