Self-Aggrandizement and the Bonteh Digital Media Awards: A Reckoning with Ambition in Cameroon's Cultural Space

This is one of those hard articles to write for reasons that will become obvious by the time you have read till the end. Here, I am using Wax Dey, Bonteh Engelbert, and the upcoming Bonteh Digital Media Awards to open up a discussion on the perceived self-aggrandizement and self exaltation that continue to plague our country and entertainment world.

Let me say here that the two persons mentioned here are people whose work ethic I admire and it is because I believe many of us have grown to admire them at some point in our lives that it is important for us to take a moment here to discuss some of their moves.

As it stands, Wax Dey is one of the most well known, well paid, and well travelled personalities in Cameroon’s entertainment world. We have seen him rub shoulders with one of the biggest names in the entertainment business in Africa. Dbanj has made a cameo appearance in one if his music videos, he has brought Yemi Alade to co-headline his two city concert in Cameroon, he has featured many big name artists most Cameroonian acts can only dream of having on their songs - the likes of Nasty C and Mr Leo.

Despite a huge amount of investment in his music career, he has not been able to gather a huge following. I was reading in the comments section below his latest video featuring Mr Leo that was posted on music promotion platform Bimstr and what is being said about him there is not something to write home about. I feel bad reading things like “Wax dey un forceeeeuur,”“ Heureusement que mr leo l'a aidé,” “Mr leo a sauvé le clip la hein,” “Wax dey ci m'énerve il gâte tout ce qu'il touche.”

As someone who has also ventured into making music, I have quickly come to accept that my love for making music does not necessarily translate into the love people have for my style and kind of music - that is, assuming the music doesn’t outright suck in the first place. As a Cameroonian, I also believe the state of our nation requires that we all sacrifice some of our utmost desires in the service of our nation. I may have wanted to be a musician but I find that I have other skills which are more useful to my country so I am willing to shelf the music, or do it for fun while using more of my time to do other things to further our common agenda as a nation trying to emerge from decades of slumber.

I believe I am not the first person to tell Wax Dey that his services are needed outside the recording studio and not in the booth. We have seen him try to do a few things outside but it seems his inability to leave music or do it casually continues to pull his attention in multiple directions, making it harder for him to focus on those things for which he has been well placed to do better. One of those things is what I see him trying to do with the BDMA.

That our platform was nominated is besides the fact that waking up to see the list of nominees with Wax Dey lurking in the background, I thought, was just outright petty on his part and that of the event organizers. If he asked that his image be used as the background for those graphics, I can only wonder - why the insecurity? If it was done by the event organizers without him asking, I am sure he has seen it or at least saw it before it went public, that is, if he is doing his due diligence. That he did not find the ‘atalaku’ uncalled for, makes me worry. I mean when we said he is better suited to be the guy moving strings in the background, we did not mean he should literally be seen in the background. I look at Wax more in the light of a person that should be heard of, not seen. All that was with the assumption that Wax is one of the sponsors of the event.

It was a bit of a relief to gather that Wax is appearing on the award show’s digital and print content/advertisement because he is this year’s brand ambassador. In the past, we have seen marketing for similar shows being done around the host of the show so this is a new one for us. What exactly is the role of the brand ambassador here and why is Wax Dey Bonteh’s choice. The first time we heard of Wax Dey in association with the BDMA came with a suggestion of some partnership deal so questions remain whether he bought his way into a brand ambassadorship- we all know Wax's reputation of the guy with me money to buy anything. We hope to get official statements from the organizing committee of the event with regards to their relationship with Wax.

I was beginning to let the naming of the award show slide but this Wax thing brings Bonteh himself to question. It is one thing to have Bonteh’s blog but should he have left the Bonteh Digital Media Awards for us to name after him -after we have realized and appreciated how much he has done in the digital space that we have to honor him in a deserving manner like naming an award show after him? A single trophy named after him in this award show would have done justice to the work he has done in the digital space - like his own award to the person he admires the most in the digital space.

In another light, Bonteh might just be the brand name with nothing to do with the individual but it is so hard to separate the two especially when the individual runs the organization. We can look at the likes of Dangote who have successfully separated their business from their person by being too big to be allowed to fail but in the media business the rules might be different. Naming organizations after oneself is a common practice in finance and legal industries where the expertise of the individual is the selling point. How that translates to other industries with regards to public relations is something to explore.

Any-Ha!

What are your thoughts?

Is Wax Dey the perfect brand ambassador?

Is naming the award show after Bonteh by himself a Yes or a NO?