Music of Tuesday, 14 December 2004

Source: ghanamusic.com

Sidiku Buari Gets Top Post

Alhaji Sidiku Buari Alhaji Sidiku Buari, the President of Musicians Union of Ghana, (MUSIGA), has been elected the Vice-President of the
International Federation of Musicians for a four-year term.

Mr. John Smith of Great Britain was elected President, while Mr. Benoit Macheul of France was endorsed as the General
Secretary.

The federation, at its meeting at its headquarters in Paris on Sunday, also elected Mr. Alan Willaert of the Federations of Musicians of America and Canada as the Financial Controller, while Mr. Toshinori Kobayashi was elected as the Assistant Financial Controller.

The meeting also endorsed an Executive Committee consisting of Germany, The Netherlands, Finland, Canada and Switzerland.

In a telephone interview from Paris, Alhaji Buari said he was elected unopposed because the African committee of the federation put him forward for the position.

A highly elated Alhaji Buari said his election to the highest office of the federation was momentous, particularly in view of the fact that it came in the wake of a successful general election in Ghana.

He pledged to use his new offices to fight for the growth of the music industry in Ghana, Africa and globally.

Alhaji Buari said the General Secretary, who is also a lawyer, had also promised to work hard to provide the enabling legal framework for musicians to benefit from the sweat of labour.

He said the new leadership of the federation had also undertaken to work hard to restore live band music in all member states of the organization to provide more jobs for musicians.

Alhaji Buari called on all Ghanaians musicians to welcome his new role as an honour to Ghanaian and African musicians and to take up the challenge to rub shoulders with their counterparts in the so-called advances societies.

He promised not to make his tenure on the federation merely cosmetic but to use the leverage position offered to advance the cause of musicians in Ghana in particular and Africa as a whole.

Alhaji Buari is expected home tomorrow.