The Ghanerian Idol

The producers of West African Idol have lost the plot.

Firstly, this competition that was meant to be open to participants from all over West Africa took place in only two countries, Nigeria and Ghana.

Secondly, the auditions in Ghana had, at least for a part of the event, only two judges, Nana and Dede. Dan Foster was missing in action. How two judges agreed on who was to be taken to the next stage and who was not, was beyond myself and other viewers. Previously, it had been sufficient that two out of the three judges said “Yes”. What they did in the event of a deadlock between the two judges in Ghana wasn’t explained to us.

Furthermore, it became apparent that because the producers sought a wider representation of West African citizens for their ambitiously-named reality show, totally mediocre singers claiming to be from Liberia or some other unrepresented nation were allowed to go through to the next stage while stronger voices were dropped. I saw this happen.

So truthfully, this maiden edition should be tagged “The Ghanerian Idol”.

For those who rise to the defence of all that is African, no matter how shoddy the presentation is, it’s time to tell ourselves the truth. The producers of American Idol wouldn’t have dared film an episode with only two judges, but here, it went on, for some unfathomable reason. It would have taken nothing to have an auxiliary judge, or to just have waited for Foster’s eventual appearance.

There are 24 contestants left now but I’m tired of the lack of intelligence the producers seem to think runs amongst the programme’s viewers.