Group holds concert on wildlife protection

A wildlife conservation organisation, Wild Africa, in collaboration with OAS1SONE and Trace Naija, will launch a concert on Trace Naija this Friday.

The concert aims to raise awareness about protecting Africa’s wildlife.

The concert, ‘Music for Wildlife’ starting June 21, coincides with Trace’s 21st anniversary and will feature top African and international artists, using music to inspire conversations around wildlife conservation

The concert is in partnership with OAS1SONE, a premium live, on-demand content and live experiences network on Trace’s TV broadcast channels and streaming platform.

Produced by Wild Africa, Music for Wildlife aims to use the diverse creative talents in Africa to reach more than 350 million people in over 180 countries across 28 localised Trace TV channels and Trace+ global streaming platforms.

By infusing studio sessions, interviews, and wildlife content, the initiative seeks to leverage the emotional power of music to inspire action against wildlife-related issues like illegal bushmeat, deforestation, and the illegal wildlife trade

A statement by the Nigerian representative of the organisation, Festus Iyorah, on Friday said, “Through the intimate concert series, audiences will meet Africa’s finest musicians, including chart-topping stars such as Musa Keys, CKay, Focalistic, and a multitude of other stars as they tell the story of their music, lives, careers and inspirations, and express their passion for endangered species.

“Each concert will also include special features from African and international stars from film, music, sports, comedy, and television scenes like Davido, 2Baba, Jacky Chan, Boity, Alex Iwobi, Stonebwoy, Emmanuella, Yao Ming, Sir Richard Branson, Morgan Heritage, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Stephanie Linus, Djimon Hounsou, and many others.”

Through entertainment, these artists will take a stand against illegal bushmeat, deforestation, the illegal wildlife trade and promoting wildlife tourism.

Wild Africa CEO, Peter Knight, emphasised that,“This collaboration allows us to leverage the power of music to connect with a continent-wide and even global audience, turning up the volume on the issues that affect not only wildlife but the natural foundation on which human life depends.”

The Co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Trace Group, Olivier Laouchez, said African artists are compelling voices and can make a difference in raising awareness for better wildlife protection in Africa.

Africa, home to a quarter of the world’s biodiversity, faces enormous challenges – from poaching to habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade to climate change and human-wildlife conflict. Wildlife populations that make the continent their home have plunged by 66 per cent in the last 50 years, a WWF’s Living Planet report found.

Nigeria faces a rapid loss of its biodiversity with the extinction of rhinos, giraffes, and cheetahs, Nigeria faces rapid biodiversity loss rates. With just 50 West African lions, about 100 Cross River gorillas, and a couple hundred elephants, many species stand on the brink.