Ghanaian singer Obour joins top celebrities to fight TB at world level

Page last updated at Tuesday, December 6, 2011 16:16 PM //

Obour (extreme left) with his fellow Goodwill Ambassadors.

Ghanaian singer Bice Osei Kuffour commonly known as Obour has joined his colleague Goodwill Ambassadors for the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) ‘Stop TB Partnership’ to share his own experiences and provide input on the way forward in the fight against tuberculosis in the world.

The Ambassadors are Awad Ibrahim Awad – Sudan (North)/ TV presenter; Zaal Chikobava – Georgia/ Theatre Director; Deepak Raj Giri – Nepal/ TV movie actor; Deepa Shree Niraula – Nepal/ TV movie actress; Gerry Elsdon – South Africa/ TV presenter; Sonia Goldenberg – Perú/ Journalist; Rania Ismail – Jordan/ Actress; Obour – Ghana/ Pop singer and Behrooz Sabzwari – Pakistan/ TV movie actor.

Obuor, who composed a song dedicated to raising TB awareness in  Ghana, will engage in a two-session workshop to showcase his contribution to the fight against tuberculosis. The session started December 5, 2011.

According to a statement from the Stop TB Partnership, Obuor together with the other eight Goodwill Ambassadors, “will make a short presentation of activities they have developed in their own countries.”

“In the Imagine session Goodwill Ambassadors will provide their advice on how to move the programme of the Goodwill Ambassadors forward and develop recommendations for the future strategy and for the Handbook for National Goodwill Ambassadors against tuberculosis,” the statement said.

Today December 6, 2011, the statement said, the group of celebrities will brief members of the Regional Government of Lombardy in Milan about the urgent need for continued financial support for the global fight against the disease.

Their journey will continue to Turin where they will visit a TB treatment programme – part of the Imp.Ac.T project – which is run by the NGO Gruppo Abele and seeks to increase TB and HIV testing for migrant drug users, the statement added.

The Ambassadors’ work will end December 7, 2011.

By Ekow Quandzie

Source:http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2011/12/06/ghanaian-singer-obour-joins-top-celebrities-to-fight-tb-at-world-level/

MUSIGA congratulates Rocky Dawuni for CNN feat

The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has congratulated its global ambassador, Rocky Dawuni for being named among Africa’s 10 top artistes on the global stage including the stalwarts Youssou Ndour, Asa, Knaan, Caesarian Evora, 2Face Idibia among others, by Cable News Network (CNN).

In a press statement signed by MUSIGA President, Bice ‘Obour’ Kufuor, the union believes that Rocky Dowuni’s achievement is the potential to put Ghanaian music back onto the world stage.

“We have always believed in our musical prowess as a great potential in lifting the flag of Ghana high and placing Ghana on the world map when it comes to music. It was these same qualities that CNN has seen in Rocky Dawuni that led to him being named as the Global Ambassador of the New MUSIGA.”

“MUSIGA is very proud that its global ambassador has been named among the top 10 artiste by no mean an institution than a global leader in news CNN. MUSIGA intends to ride on this high feat of its member and global ambassador to drive home the critical need for its members and indeed all Ghanaian Musicians to aspire for greater heights and eschew mediocrity. Rocky Dawuni has clearly shown the way and have proven that with hard work and professionalism, we can go places.”

The statement also said that the Musicians Union of Ghana under its new President and administration intends to work assiduously and professionally to lift the sinking image of Ghanaian music to an enviable one.

Source: Ghanaweb

OBOUR APPOINTS MORE MEMBERS; MUSIGA RE-REGISTRATION

MUSIGA Will Re-Register Its Members –Obour

September 30th, 2011

Obour

Newly-elected president of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kufour, has said that the union is taking new steps to increase its membership and also get a new database.
As a result, the union would be embarking on a massive re-registering programme from October 12 at the National Theatre in Accra to re-register old members and register new members.
It is not quite clear how MUSIGA’s constitution approves of the re-registration of old members but Obour said the decision fell within the tenets of their constitution as every member, after a every year, needed to renew his/her membership.
“MUSIGA has membership of 3000, with 800 members.  By the end of our tenure of office, we would have increased MUSIGA membership by 500 percent. We will be embarking on a massive re-registering programme.
“So I use this opportunity to inform everybody that on October 12 at the National Theatre, the process will start. Be you an arranger, sound engineer, programmer, chorister, bands man and anybody who has to do with music, you can come to register,” Obour said.
He made the statements at a press conference on Wednesday at MUSIGA office to announce a long list of musicians he will be working with and his four-year blue print to make life better for his fellow musicians in Ghana.
He said his administration’s main focus for the four-year mandate would be finding absolute solutions to the numerous problems of musicians, rebranding MUSIGA to be extremely attractive to investors and also ensure a culture of accountability and transparency.
He said his administration would provide free healthcare and free legal advice for its members on music-related issues. He also promised to ensure that they provided a pension scheme for members as well as encourage music education in schools.
Obour said his administration would work closely with Government to bring about policies that would inure to their benefit, emphasizing they would do the same with event organizers.
The above, he claimed, were just an overview of the broader program he planned to undertake within his four-year tenure.
He took the opportunity to name a number of musicians who are part of his administration and swore them into office.
Some of the persons sworn in included Rex Omar, chairman of business and finance committee; Ben Brako, chairman of fund raising committee; Nana Tuffour, director of highlife; Dela Hayes as national women’s organiser; Blakk Rasta as African music ambassador; Rocky Dawuni as world music ambassador; Obrafour as director of hiplife; Okyeame Kwame as public relations officer; Tic Tac as director of music relations directorate.

(SOURCE: NEWSONE :http://www.news1ghana.com/?p=18565)

NORTHERN PRESENTERS UNION PRAISE OBOUR

The Northern Presenters Union (NPU) has sent a two-man delegation to pay a courtesy call on the newly elected President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kuffuor known in the showbiz circles as Obour.

The visit was to officially congratulate Obour for his victory and also to pledge commitment and support for his presidency. The delegation from the North consisted of the two top presenters in the Northern Region, Gideon Kofi Adarkwah, the Events Coordinator and Drive Time Host of Diamond Fm and Alhassan Abdul Latif, Drive Time Host of Northern Star Fm and General Manager of Creative Multi Media.

“The just ended victory of Bice Osei Kuffour as the new President of MUSIGA is a victory not for him alone, but for the entire showbiz fraternity; from the composer, to the engineer, musician, promoter, the DJ, the presenter and all,” Gideon Kofi Adarkwah noted. Gideon added that the union was optimistic that Obour would perform well within the four-year period given him.

“On behalf of the Northern Presenters Union, we wish to congratulate Obour for the victory won for the youth of Ghana, and also wish him well in his quest of reviving MUSIGA with his 7 point AJUMAPA concept which we strongly believe touched the delegates hearts; hence his triumph in the 5th Quadrennial Congress.

“Before Obour joined the race, I personally had wished that MUSIGA gets a young blood to inject some urgency and innovative ideas into salvaging the union, and the persons whose names dropped on my lips were Obour, Okyeame Kwame and Obrafour.

“There were several concerns that were raised about his age but the Northern Presenters Union never relented in our effort to support him openly and letting the entire world know that the time has come for a change that will see the young take up leadership positions and distinguish themselves.

“A change that will erase the negative perception about the youth in our country; and a change that will see musicians get jobs, have their welfare taken care of, promote accountability and unity amongst members,” Gideon explained. Alhassan Abdul-Latif appealed to Obour to create a cordial relationship between the Northern musicians and their managers, since there seemed to be some misunderstanding and lack of unity among that group.

Obour, on his part, expressed gratitude to the NPU for the confidence they had in him. He said it would go a long way in strengthening and challenging him to work even harder for MUSIGA. He encouraged the NPU to go the extra mile to support MUSIGA in its quest of raising the standards of Ghanaian music and improving the status of Ghanaian musicians.

Obour promised to initiate programs like the Northern Showbiz Awards and the Northern Music Awards to create the platform for northern based artists to get the exposure to become formidable stakeholders within the Ghanaian music industry.
SOURCE: NEWSONE /GHANAWEB :http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/artikel.php?ID=220288)

Obour and MUSIGA Executives visit Goodies

MUSIGA President Bice Osei Kuffour popularly known as Obour has led an entourage of MUSIGA executives and musicians to visit producer and artiste manager, Isaac Abaidoo popularly known as Goodies at the Nsawam Prison.

MUSIGA spokesman, Okyeame Kwame told Hitz FM that Goodies had been very supportive of the union so after Obour won the election he decided to visit him at Nsawam.
Goodies expressed his excitement at the honour accorded him by the visit of the MUSIGA leadership and thanked the entourage immensely for the visit.
Goodies is serving time for narcotics offences.
Okyeame Kwame noted that MUSIGA intends to collaborate with the Prisons service to organize entertainment for the prisoners in a form of soccer matches between musicians and prisoners. This is part of efforts by MUSIGA to help reorient the prisoners and also encourage them to be positive about their lives whilst in prison.
According to Okyeame the visit was also to change the perception about prisoners and also encourage families of prisoners to support them while in prison and also welcome them wholeheartedly when they are released.
Goodies managed a number of artistes, notably VIP.
In a related development, MUSIGA executives Wednesday visited Dr Kofi Amoah to thank him for his role as the chairman of the investiture of the new MUSIGA leadership.
Dr Amoah used the occasion to formally present to the leadership the $100,000.00 he promised the union.
He advised the leaders to use the money judiciously and also aim at reaching international markets with the works of Ghanaian artistes.
The delegation to Dr Amoah’s office included Hilife legends Amakye Dede, Nana Kwame Ampadu, MUSIGA treasurer Oheneba Kissi and 1st Vice President Kaakyire Kwame Appiah.
(SOURCE: Highlife Today: http://www.highlifetoday.com/2011/09/15/obour-and-musiga-executives-visit-goodies/

OBOUR PROMISES FREE HEALTH CARE TO MUSICIANS

OBOUR STORMS BOLGATANGA

Newly-elected President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and national tuberculosis ambassador, Bice Osei Kuffour, known in showbiz as Obour, brought business activities at the Bolgatanga Mass Metro Transport station to a halt following his campaign on tuberculosis on Tuesday, September 20, 2011.

Residents of Bolga who heard of the President's arrival trouped to the lorry park in their numbers to catch a glimpse of him. Obour noted that because of his commitment to embark on social educational campaigns, he was once again in the region to educate the citizenry of the Upper East region on tuberculosis.

The programme, which took the form of a durbar, was graced by important personalities including a representative of the paramount chief of the Bolgatanga traditional area, the regional officer in charge of tuberculosis, the founder and executive director of Youth Icons Ghana and traditional rulers.

A drama group led by the assembly man of the Bolgatanga electoral area, Hon. Bawa Agana, put up a play advising the people gathered at the venue to listen to the president. The drama, which was in the local dialect of the region, drew constant applauds from the people.

After the well-staged drama, Obour took his turn to throw more light on issues raised in the play. He

indicated that tuberculosis was curable and had nothing to do with spirituality, as the drama portrayed at a point.

He advised that people who had dry coughs for more than 7days should report to a hospital to seek medical care.

Obour, who was clad in a 'Fight Poverty stop TB' T-shirt, encouraged the audience to participate in the free HIV/AIDS testing that was going on during the TB campaign.

The regional TB officer, Mr. Samuel, also talked about the disease and said the regional health directorate was working hard to improve the health condition of the people of the region, adding that they had been recording some positive statistics on TB and other diseases.

He therefore called on all citizens of the region not to hesitate to call on a doctor once the symptoms mentioned occur.

After a very successful durbar, Obour and his team called on the Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Awoonor- Williams.

Dr Awoonor -Williams was full of praise for Obour and said he had been following the exploits of the young man and was convinced that his appointment as national TB ambassador was perfect, judging from his other campaigns including the Road Safety Campaign, Ghana Reads Campaign and One Ghana Peace project.

The campaign would see Obour visiting towns like Saltpond, Suhum Krabo-Coaltar areas, Lower Manya and the Upper West region soon.

(STORY TAKEN FROM: MODERN GHANA/DAILY GUIDE)

PRESIDENT OBOUR MUSIGA INAUGURATION--SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

(Photos Courtesy of R. Nyagbe)

Today Obour was officially inaugurated.Obour is now officially the President of MUSIGA.

Articles:
http://www.modernghana.com/music/16120/3/dr-kofi-amoah-gives-musiga-us100000.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

OBOUR IS NEW MUSIGA PRESIDENT

                                                   

Source: Modern Ghana:
Bice Osei Kufour, popularly known in musical circles as Obour, shoved off strong challenges from three other contestants to emerge as president of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA). He will be the 5th President of MUSIGA and the youngest President of MUSIGA.

He and his team of fresh executive will steer the affairs of the union for the next four years.

In a tension-packed election at the Radach Memorial Centre in Tamale which saw some veteran and fairly new musicians vying for the various executive positions, Obour carried the day with 64 votes. He was closely followed by Nana Tuffour, who polled 51 votes, with Gyedu Blay Ambolley and Willi Roi polling 24 and two votes respectively.

For the 1st vice-president position, Kaakyire Kwame Appiah polled 71 votes to emerge winner after beating Amandzeba Nat Brew who had 67 votes.

Bessa Simons became the new 2nd vice-president after he polled 83 votes to beat C.K. Morrison who had 55 votes.

Other vacancies up for grabs at the congress were the organiser, general secretary, welfare officer and treasurer positions. Chizzy Wailer became the new organiser after he beat Mark Hansen in the contest with 92 votes. His contender had 46 votes.

The general secretary position went to Debora Freeman after she ganered 90 votes to deny Ernest Kwesi Ennin the opportunity. The treasurer and welfare officer positions which were contested unopposed, went to Oheneba Kissi and John Victor Owusu respectively.

Soon after the results of the election were declared by the Northern Regional Electoral Officer, Mr Sylvester Kanyi, there were jubilations from supporters of the various winners. But the jubilations soon died down to allow Alhaji Sidihu Buari, who chaired the congress to swear in the new national executive.

Later in an interaction with journalists, Obour pledged to work hard with all who contested him, to move MUSIGA forward.

He urged all musicians to work together with the executive body for the betterment of the union.
 



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Other Sources of OBOUR -MUSIGA PRESIDENT :
http://lifestyle.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201108/71314.php
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/audio/artikel.php?ID=210677
http://www.ghananewsnow.com/2011/09/01/president-obour-visits-daily-guide/
http://photos.peacefmonline.com/gallery/photos/344/16187.php

Obour Launching his MUSIGA Campaign;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmGCnPOx3u4

OBOUR VISITS DAILY GRAPHIC AFTER MUSIGA ELECTION

Source:Joyonline.com/Daily Guide//Ghana


The newly elected national executives of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), led by their president, Bice Osei Kuffour aka Obour, last Friday paid a visit to Western Publications Limited, publishers of Daily Guide, News One, Business Guide and Guide Young Blazers.

Obour was accompanied by Debora Freeman, General Secretary of the union; Chizzy Wailer, National Organizer; Nana Yaw Osei Danquah, Communication Manager; Rev Fiifi Khan, C.K Morrision and Ras Appiah Levi.

Obour thanked the paper for its immense contribution towards the progress of MUSIGA as well as the music industry in Ghana. He also praised the paper for its high journalistic standards and urged the staff not to relent in their pursuit of excellence.

President Obour noted that he would work tirelessly to “restore the image, pride and dignity of the union and also change the negative perception of Ghanaians about musicians.”

He promised to rebrand the image of the union to make it more attractive to musicians, lucrative to members and industry players and beneficial to the country and the rest of the world.

Obour, who has been in the music business for over a decade, with six albums to his credit, promised to work tirelessly to improve the living standards of members and musicians in general, whilst ensuring good industry practices and directly influencing policies of the industry that would impact the national economy.

He also promised to change the plight of musicians in the country as well as put in place policies that would protect the interest of the musicians.

He said his administration would make conscious efforts to create jobs with local and foreign partners, including event organisers, hotels, venue owners, cultural attaches of the various embassy’s and corporate managers across the country.
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This article can also be found at:
http://news.gkrom.com/articles/obour-visits-daily-guide

http://www.ghanamma.com/2011/09/01/obour-visits-daily-guide/

http://showbiz.peacefmonline.com/music/201109/66299.php

http://entertainment.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201108/72136.php

http://article.wn.com/view/2011/09/01/Obour_Visits_Daily_Guide/

http://www.ghanalifestyle.com/2011/08/31/president-obour-visits-daily-guide/

http://www.myebayghana.com/portal/news/articledetail.php?jlink=newsArticleAchieveDetails&id=1627

http://www.spyghana.com/general-news/president-obour-visits-daily-guide/

http://www.ghananewsnow.com/2011/09/01/president-obour-visits-daily-guide/

I AM SINGLE-OBOUR

Brand New Video  - I Am Single:

http://www.youtube.com/user/obourworld?feature=mhum#p/a/f/2/ol7-CFLtt28

A DECADE OF MUSIC -OBOUR

On March 19,2011, Family Tree Entertainment Presented the "Back to Obour" Music Video Premiere and Music Presenters Appreciation Dinner at Citizen Kofi. Please view the following exclusive video clips from the event. A Decade of Music would not have been possible without you, the fans:)

Video Clips: