Sarz Academy has collaborated with YouTube Music to train emerging producers and songwriters in Nigeria in the 2022 Future Insiders programme.

The three-day training series included in YouTube’s Future Insiders programme will help up-and-coming producers and songwriters build their skills and abilities through hands-on training from famous music and industry leaders.

The Founder and Leader of the Sarz Academy, Osabuohien Osaretin explained the motive behind the academy while briefing newsmen.

He said, “We founded the Sarz Academy in 2015 to help creatives thrive in the creative and business of entertainment.”

“Our objective has always been to help turn the enormous potential that exists in the music creative space into genuine accomplishments. We recognize that, although many young Nigerians possess the necessary abilities for the industry, many are unable to create a successful music career owing to a lack of grasp of the business and production foundations.”

It could be recalled YouTube had earlier announced that a series of activities commemorating Africa Month would take place throughout the month of May, 2022.

The initiatives, including the Future Insiders’ workshop, are meant to bring attention to and show appreciation for the artists and other creative individuals who are moving Africa’s music business forward.

The YouTube’s Head of Music in Sub-Saharan Africa, Addy Awofisayo said, “We are delighted to be working with the Sarz Academy to present the Future Insiders programme.”

“At YouTube, we have always been committed to supporting the next generation of music creatives out of Africa, and we are thrilled at the opportunity to connect the impactful work of the YouTubeBlackVoices Fund with The Sarz Academy’s efforts to support the artistic aspirations of Nigerian music creatives.”

It’s noteworthy Future Insiders is a component of the Black Voices Fund’s Music Community Pillar, which provides possibilities for exposure and learning for young people all across the world.

Future Insiders has collaborated with community-oriented groups in New York, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Rio de Janeiro, Houston, Atlanta, London, Lagos, Accra, and now Memphis.

In addition to technical production and business sessions, selected participants will access one-on-one sessions with YouTube to learn how to connect and use the platform to drive the best engagement, as well as learn about all the essential tips such as creating and developing their brands, self-marketing, building positive artist and producer relationships, and revenue streams to consider.

The #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund is a multi-year $100 million fund dedicated to amplifying and developing the voices of Black creators and artists and their stories.

Upcoming Nigeria’s artist, particularly songwriters, musicians and producers, are required to leverage this opportunity towards ensuring their respective talents are fully and duly showcased to the world.

The emerging artists of today’s world, or contemporary global society, are presently faced with much opportunities that could enable them to excel with ease even from the comfort of their bedrooms, unlike what the situation used to be in the past years when individuals in the creative industry had to go extra mile before their talents could be felt by their immediate society let alone the globe.

This is to say that any creative person, who truly desires to make an impact with his/her talent, will surely find a way without indulging in much strenuous activity. This is the reason it’s currently observed that talented young ones of tender age bracket in Nigeria and beyond are easily attaining to stardom on a daily basis, contrary to the past experience when most of them got frustrated in the long run, hence would be compelled to fade out of the pathway to success.

Hence, the Nigeria’s young talent are enjoined to make good use of their Android/Smart phones, rather than deploy it for useless and fraudulent acts. They ought to equally be well orientated by the concerned authorities towards making them key into the needful. Also, massive awareness should be created.

It should be placed as one of the wonders of the Nigerian government how the killers of Miss Deborah Yakubu Samuel were charged with incitement and disturbance of public peace instead of charging them for murder and culpable homicide as expected.

There is clear evidence that Deborah was murdered by the mob and some even boldly said in the video recording that they were the ones who set Deborah ablaze after she was killed; charging her killers with just incitement and disturbance of public peace and not murder and culpable homicide is spit on Deborah’s grave, it is a slap to the parents, family, and friends of the deceased who are hoping that Deborah gets justice and her killers faced the law, it is also an insult to the collective intelligence of Nigerians.

It is the law provided in both the criminal code (applicable in the south) and the penal code which is applicable to the Northern Nigeria that when a person kills another the killer has committed an offense known as murder and culpable homicide and this offense attracts capital punishment which is a death sentence and when it has to do with a capital offense like murder, it is above the jurisdictional clearance of the magistrate court or any other lower court of record, it is to he tried at High court of the state but to our utmost surprise, Deborah’s killers were brought before the magistrate court and they were charged with incitement and disturbance of public peace which attract a meager punishment and option of fine.

This is highly disappointing, disappointing of the Sokoto state government and the judiciary to have let religious sentiment blur the line between justice and public administration. It is even better that the killers of Deborah are never charged and they are “left for God” instead of this judicial gimmick that is currently going on now in Sokoto state in the guise of trial.

Why Strict Punishment Should Be Meted Out To Those Responsible For Deborah’s Death

The Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria has disclosed it was following an ‘energy transition pathway’ that combines technology, investment, business strategies and policy.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva made this known on Tuesday, 17th May 2022 at the virtual Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Lagos Annual Technical Symposium and Exhibition, with the theme, ‘‘Energy Transition In Africa: A Strategic Pathway To Net Zero”.

According to the Petroleum boss, the aforementioned plan would enable Nigeria transition from its current energy system to a low-carbon energy system with natural gas playing a pivotal role over the next generation, between now and 2060.

Sylva opined that natural gas was a key resource for energy transition and had all the credentials to support Nigeria and indeed Africa meet up with her commitment with the United Nations (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He stated that as a major source of wealth and energy in Africa, the development of oil and gas resources proved critical for the continent’s economic growth and revenue expansion, saying fossil fuels would remain relevant in the energy mix despite ongoing campaigns and global energy transition.

He said, “First off, Africa and the world need oil, and gas for that matter. The world needs oil and gas because it is what the world relies on for its most basic needs. And that will not change overnight.

“Therefore, African governments and leaders should continue to invest in oil and gas, even as we work to help speed progress to a lower-carbon future. The International Energy Agency, on its part, has reversed its calls for lower oil and gas spending.

“In just a few months, the industry think tank group has changed its tune and is now urging oil and gas companies to increase production. Multiple pathways to the energy transition should and must exist in order to ensure that no country is left behind in the process of achieving net-zero by 2060.”

The Petroleum minister further stated that as a continent, Africa needed to be intentional and recognize the need to develop hydrocarbon resources in environmentally and socially responsible ways.

“And as alluded to by the African Union, we need to be realistic in choosing the energy transition pathways which addresses our unique requirements and circumstances.

“We need to enhance policy, legislation and implementation approaches across national, regional, and continental levels, to enable a favourable environment for development. We need to develop bankable projects to scale up access to funding and investment.

“We need to adopt a mix of energy solutions to address the needs of each country including solutions to high tariffs and accessibility to sustainable energy options.

“We need to promote energy efficiency which is necessary for energy transition and focus on building energy infrastructure and strengthening transmission corridors.”  he said.

Sylva lauded the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on Monday 16th May 2022 between the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) for the creation of a multi-billion-dollar African Energy Bank.

He disclosed the energy bank would provide vital financing for new and existing oil and gas projects, as well as energy advancements across the whole value chain, with the goal of increasing private sector investment in African oil and gas projects, noting that the bank was arriving at a critical time for Africa’s energy sector, following major oil company divestment and a shift in global investment trends.

The problem with Nigeria remains that her various leaders would make brilliant speeches at events, but would fail to subsequently act in line with what they preach at the public sphere. Hence, they are double-mouthed.

Leveraging on technology to create Nigeria’s ‘energy transition pathway’, as pointed out by Sylva, cannot be feasible if formidable policies aren’t put in place and duly implemented.

This is one of the areas borrowing becomes imperative, especially as Afreximbank and APPO sign MOU for creation of African Energy Bank. But it’s pathetic that it’s only in this part of the world that funds borrowed by the government are eventually channeled into recurrent expenditure.