Shaggy been escorted to the dinner Twenty-five minutes after touching down at the Kotoka International Airport at 8:05 hours GMT, Shaggy, the unmarried father of 2 kids and his girlfriend plus an aid were driven in a Lincoln Navigator to the plush 5-star La Palm Beach hotel, where the event?s major sponsors, Spacefon had gathered the very best of showbiz notables and political heads to have him feel his first real Ghanaian hospitality.

Shaggy didn?t look a single bit tired. You wouldn?t believe he was the same person who had been shaking Uganda non-stop for the past three nights. He was clad in a faded denim suit. Entering the hotel, Shaggy was wearing a rather good-boy-shy-person face. Smiling at just everything, sorry everyone in sight; occasionally saluting. A few people chatting with friends and loved ones, as usual, would stop in mid sentence to take a glimpse of the guy who had kept the entire showbiz nation on lock for the past 31 days or so.

Asabee (Dep. Min. for Information) alongside Shaggy I overhead two ladies describe him as, ?handsome personified?. And of course, Shaggy was looking every bit of the underscored adjective, I concur. 

But there were two very notable disappointments. The Ghanaian Village, the spot in the hotel for the high security private dinner was almost empty, though the indigenous Ghanaian cultural troupe and traditional band were blazing favourable ol? time highlife tunes. And, surprised? Don?t be. The paparazzi were simply unavailable.  I have two reasons. Some of the notables had given up that Shaggy was really coming after failing to land since 10 am. Two TV crew and four photographers - two of them from the Ghana Music.Com and its sister publication Musicbiz newspaper. 

About three minutes after he had located his position at the high table, Shaggy shared pleasantries with three Ministers of State (and Members of Parliament). Hon. Kan-Dapaah (Minister for Communications), Hon. Asamoah Boateng (Information & Presidential Affairs Minister) and Mr. F. Ayim (Deputy Minister, Information & Presidential Affaires). John Mahama, Mike Gizo were among top dignitaries from the opposition side of the political divide.

All the biggest names in radio couldn?t have been anywhere else. Plus African Fashion giant Kofi Ansah and his industry mates and top models were also present.

BB, KOD - Radio Gold Team with Jon Germain - Metro TV Then Radio Gold?s Kwesi Okyere Darko (KOD), one of MCs for his two concerts took the microphone to officially welcome Shaggy and even joked of giving him a Ghanaian name: ?Nana Kofi? he says. ?Which day of the week were you born?? He asked Shaggy. Humour-filled Shaggy would wait for about 80 seconds to plan a response. ?My mum never told me!? he jokes back. Then some amount of livelihood filled the place.

The Chief Executive of Spacefon would take his turn also to welcome Shaggy. While he was speaking, Shaggy?s band members who had arrived about 20 hours earlier were shown their tables. And after everyone had taken in some meal, the socialization began. (Shaggy?s girlfriend had gone to fetch him something. Vegetables and fish plus nothing else apart from water).

Shaggy @ table with girlfriend & manager Satirist Kwesi Sintim-Misa, whose jokes couldn?t tick much nerves perhaps because, according to him, he ?was under extreme pressure to make us laugh?. His best take was when he joked that he had the president of Ghana, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufour on his cell phone and that he wanted Shaggy to speak with him. That was the only moment the reggae superstar made pockets of chuckling. Else, everything he said was his same politics, politic and politics. And who cared more about politics under a reggae roof.

When the Ghana Music.Com team saw some smokes coming out of the corner where Shaggy?s bad boy band members were sitting, we sniffed news; and not only the hard drug making the air unsafe around them.

So before Shaggy and his crew were escorted to their hotel rooms, Ghana music.Com had the chance to speak with bad boy Richard ?Rik Rok? Ducent (It Wasn?t Me), funky-looking-and-speaking Rayvon (Angel) and guess who next.. Read the next story.

If you have any comment about this story, please send it to verus@ghanamusic.com.

More pictures from Shaggy's Dinner.

Shaggy, The Comm. Manager, Spacefon & Paa John, PR, Charter House Sheila Okonji, Shaggy's Publicist with Yola, Charter House CEO
Verus, Sheila and a member of Shaggy's Crew Girlz @ Shaggy's Dinner