Citi FM Escapes Beating

It is just as well that the Ohene Djan Sports stadium has many exits; otherwise staff of Citi FM would have faced the wrath of the sizeable crowd that had gathered at the main entrance of the stadium.

The crowd had been waiting in anticipation for the best part of two hours to gain admission to watch the much-publicized Beenie Man concert last Saturday.

As they waited, Citi’s Managing Director, Samuel Attah-Mensah appeared at the gate to make a brief and unusual announcement “We are sorry the show is off.”

Earlier on in the week, many enthusiastic Beenie Man fans had seen the stage go up at the stadium as well as huge loudspeakers so they were not ready to take someone’s “joke” announcement that the show was off.

In the state of uncertainty, the crowd began to get restless and Citi FM went on air live to the stadium to speak with Paul Adom Otchere, their newsman on location who confirmed the show was indeed off “due to technical reasons”.

As to be expected, the fans at the gate began to riot and ask for the “blood” of the organisers.Some of them engaged in scuffles with the policeman on duty and a couple of them were locked up at the police station.

Not only were the fans asking for an immediate re-fund for their tickets but they were also mad at the organizers for leading them on “a wild goose chase”. Perhaps noticing how the situation was developing, the Citi FM crew decided to use other exits to get out of the stadium and re-group at the station’s premises at Adabraka.

The “technical reasons” that were cited for the no-show situation, as this reporter found out, was indeed an issue of inexperience.

Mr. Atta-Mensah told this reporter that when the stadium was being booked for the show, there was no mention that a football match had been scheduled for Saturday, the day for the show. Perhaps they should have been doubly sure. So when they were informed “I almost had a heart attack” Mr. Atta-Mensah said.

He said that no amount of convincing could change the stadium authorities mind to cancel the match. The technical men could neither be made to do the setting up after the match. According to ace sound engineer, Ralph Casely-Hayford who has spent sleepless nights providing the set-up, “It was not possible for us to set-up after the match in time for the show.

For the kind of equipment that we have, everybody knows that I need time ahead to complete setting up”. He said that even in small venues like the Conference Centre that Beenie Man had played at the previous day, he needed 24 hours to complete his job. “How would anyone think that we could set up at the stadium within a matter of hours?” he asked.

As expected, the stadium no-show generated a lot of speculations from music enthusiasts as to the real reason behind the fiasco. That the show suffered from sabotage was top of the agenda. Some said it was Joy FM that sabotaged the show because Beenie Man was meant to “burn” the Boyz II Men show that Joy FM had successfully organized last Friday.

Indeed, long before last Saturday, Citi FM presenters had been heard boasting that Joy FM had brought in the “Boys” and that they were bringing in a “Man”, playing on the names of the artistes.

Ironically, on the same night as the Beenie Man stadium no-show, Joy FM had organized a gospel concert at the Accra International Conference Centre where one of the featured artistes had sang Beenie Man’s hit song Praise Him to the enthusiastic response of the audience. But both Atta-Mensah Mensah and Casely-Hayford pooh-poohed the suggestion of sabotage.

Both of them agreed that it was not the case, but a matter of unforeseen circumstances. Mr. Atta-Mensah said he was grateful to the fans for their understanding and the orderly manner in which they came for their re-funds and made the promise: “Citi FM, you haven’t heard the last of us yet”.