Employ professional people to manage MUSIGA and GHAMRO - Akablay

One of the nation’s finest guitarists, Anthony Akablay, has advised the management of Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and the Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO) to employ the right people to manage the group well.

According to him it was about time these two union employ someone from outside who understands the job and is ready to use professionalism to attract foreign investors.

Speaking on Kingdom Agroo on Kingdom TV, Akablay indicated that,’’ if the two unions are managed by outsiders who are well educated the union will function better than what we are seeing.’’

Stating that all those managing the union does not have knowledge and skill when it comes to management or managing a union like MUSIGA or GHAMRO.

"We need professionals. All I see is family and friends thinking they are not doing the right thing to make the union attractive enough," he noted.

Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) is an umbrella group that unites all musicians in Ghana irrespective of life music genre.

He said has been a professional player since 1989, and a product of St John’s Secondary in Sekondi, he started taking guitar lessons in 1987 from an experienced player called Paa Joe who was then with Jewel Ackah’s Butterfly Six.

He also learnt from great guitarists like Koo Nimo and King Onyina.

Paa Joe recommended Akablay to take his place in the Butterfly Six when he (Paa Joe) finalised plans to travel abroad. Jewel Ackah agreed and Akablay joined the band in 1989 he added

He left in 1991 to join the Western Diamonds but became freelance when the Diamonds, which rose to become one of the best bands in the country, began to disintegrate in late 2002.

He moved on to play with several of the people who mattered on the Ghanaian scene such as Kojo Antwi, Rex Omar, Amandzeba, Daddy Lumba, Ofori Amponsah and Atongo Zimba.

Akablay later formed his own Abiza Band which utilized Kundum, Agbadza and rhythms from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions to craft its own sound.

Albums under Akablay’s name are Life in the Pot (2007), Flipside of Life (2010), Genesis of Life (2011), The Gospel according To My Guitar (2015) and Edoke (2017).

For his exploits on the guitar, he was adjudged the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Best Instrumentalist in 2009.

He won the Best Guitar Player trophy at the 2014 Best Instrumentalists of Africa Festival in Cotonou, Benin.

He shook off competition from guitarists from Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Swaziland, Kenya, Morocco and Tanzania to grab the honour.

Places music has taken the Nzema-born guitarist include Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France and Italy.

“I have definitely paid my dues as a musician and look forward to more fruitful years,” Akablay stated.

He therefore urges upcoming musicians to take the job seriously and write good songs that will sell internationally and even after their days on earth they will be remembered by their songs.

He also advises parents to not force their children to pursue the kind of profession best for them but rather allow the children to follow their dreams.