Headies Replies Gaise Baba, Denies Sidelining Gospel Artistes

The Headies don respond to the allegations from Afrogospel singer Gaise Baba, who accused the award organisers of sidelining gospel and inspirational music from major award categories.

Gaise Baba, in an open letter, argued say gospel artistes should not dey restricted to special inspirational categories. According to am, musicians should be judged based on the quality, creativity and impact of their music, regardless of whether the song carries a faith-based message.

The singer also questioned why some gospel records with strong commercial and artistic impact no dey receive the same consideration as mainstream songs. He further recalled his experience as a nominee, claiming that the Inspirational Music category was not publicly announced or presented on stage at one edition of the awards.

But The Headies don push back against the allegation, saying its history shows that gospel and inspirational artistes have successfully competed for major mainstream awards.

The organisers pointed to artistes like Lara George, Kefee, Nikki Laoye and Timi Dakolo, who have either won or received recognition in general categories outside gospel-specific awards.

The Headies also explained that the Best Inspirational Single category, introduced in 2022, was not created to lock gospel music inside one corner.

Rather, the organisers said the category was created to give gospel and inspirational artistes “a guaranteed place” on the Headies platform, while still allowing them to compete in other categories.

On why some artistes fail to make the final nomination list, The Headies said every category receives numerous eligible entries before the academy narrows them down to roughly six nominees. According to the organisers, missing the final list should not automatically be interpreted as deliberate exclusion.

The award body also addressed complaints about some categories not being presented during the main ceremony. It explained that The Headies has expanded from about 22 categories in its earlier years to 35, making it necessary to rotate some categories during the live broadcast.

The organisers maintained that inspirational music being part of that rotation “is not disregard,” but simply a result of managing an expanded awards programme.

With both sides now making their positions clear, the debate around whether gospel music gets a fair shake in Nigeria’s mainstream awards scene is far from over.