The 66th Grammy Awards was on Sunday, February 4, 2024, and all the nominated Nigerian artists lost out on receiving awards. However, Burna Boy’s iconic performance at the ceremony offered some solace, and Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa’s attendance also caused a stir.
Why is Honourable Hannatu Musawa trending?
Nigerians have had mixed reactions since photos of the minister at the award ceremony surfaced on social media on Monday, February 5. Some criticised the Tinubu government for wasting the country’s resources on an expensive ceremonial trip to Los Angeles.
Others brought up the minister’s previous NYSC ordeal.
What NYSC ordeal, you ask?
In 2020, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Musawa as the national commissioner representing the North-West geopolitical zone on the board of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM). Before her senate hearing for this post, Musawa wrote the NYSC seeking a replacement certificate after her copy was destroyed in a fire incident.
However, the NYSC wrote back saying the minister never collected her certificate. They refused to issue a new one, and instead, accused her of not completing the mandatory one-year service. This led to the Senate’s rejection of Musawa’s nomination.
Fast forward to August 2022, investigations revealed that Musawa approached the then Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, seeking his intervention to get the NYSC to release her withheld certificate. When this attempt also failed, she wrote to the NYSC requesting to re-enroll for the outstanding months of her service year.
Is Hannatu Musawa a serving corps member?
In August 2023, the Press and Public Relations Director of the NYSC, Eddy Megwa, confirmed that the minister was undergoing her mandatory youth service. He noted that Minister Musawa was in breach of the NYSC act that frowns upon active corps members taking on government appointments, confirming to the press that the minister had served for the past eight months. By this calculation, Minister Musawa had probably completed her NYSC service as of the 2024 Grammy Award ceremony, but there’s been no official communication to that effect.
Why was Honourable Musawa at the Grammys?
The minister attended the ceremony to support the country’s creative sector and celebrate the contributions of the nominated artistes. Through a statement by her SA on Media and Publicity, she said:
“I wish to applaud you all for making it this far in your music and entertainment careers. Nigerians celebrate you all for your contributions to the growth of the music industry in Nigeria and globally.”
