Broadcasting
Nigeria’s Burna Boy, Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz Lead the Pack in MAMA Kampala 2021

The second list of nominees for the upcoming MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021 (MAMA) on 20 February spotlights Nigeria’s Burna Boy and Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz who top the list with three nominations each.

Five talented African musicians – Innoss’B, Master KG, Nomcebo Zikode, Simi, and Wizkid – also topped the second nominees list with two awards each.
Consistent to previous MAMAs, category announcements are phased over several weeks in lead up to the main event on 20 February. The six categories in total announced in the second round of nominations comprise – Best Collaboration, Best Alternative, Best Fan Base Award, Best International Act, Personality of the Year and Song of the Year.
The remaining three categories – the MAMA Legend Award, the Video of the Year Award and the MAMA Generation Change Award – will be revealed on the night of the MAMA Kampala 2021.
Monde Twala, Senior Vice President and General Manager at ViacomCBS Networks Africa (VCNA) said, “Congratulations to all our nominees who have been recognised as we build up to the MAMA Kampala 2021 virtual awards ceremony. African artists deserve the recognition and must be celebrated for their commitment and dedication in driving the power of creativity and music to inspire the youth on the continent to take African culture to the world.”
For the category of Best Collaboration, Burna Boy was nominated twice, for his song ‘Monsters You Made’, with global artist Chris Martin, and with South Africa’s Master KG and Nomcebo Zikode for ‘Jerusalema Remix’.
Diamond Platnumz also made this list with his collaboration with Innoss’B, ‘Yope Remix’. Other nominees in this category include Yemi Alade and Angelique Kidjo for ‘Shekere,’ Wizkid and H.E.R. for ‘Smile,’ and ‘Already’ by Beyoncé, Shatta Wale and Major Lazer.
The Best Alternative category features some of the continent’s most successful alternative artists, including Nigeria’s Adekunle Gold and Simi; Ami Faku, who hails from South Africa; Ghana’s Amaarae; AfrotroniX from Chad and Kenya’s Matata.
The most highly contested category is the Song of the Year, which features 12 nominees in total, including artists from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Equally a heated contest category is the Best Fan Base Award which features a diversity of 10 nominations across the continent from eight countries to compete for fan favourite.
“Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, is excited to bring the best of Africa’s musical talent to the world,” noted The Honourable Godfrey Kiwanda, State Minister for Tourism Uganda. “It is an honour to be part of the MAMA Kampala 2021 and support its commitment to the growth of African music. This is also a great opportunity for Uganda to share its heritage and culture beyond music to its people, landscapes, wildlife and history.”
The nominees are selected by the MAMA Kampala 2021 Academy, an esteemed group of music industry, opinion formers and tastemakers from across the African continent who are tasked with selecting the very best of African talent who have received airplay on MTV Base over the previous year. In addition, the nominees they select must bring Africa’s culture, music and pulse to a global audience and serve as an inspiration to the youth.
Voting for MAMA KAMPALA 2021 is open at www.mtvmama.com, and affiliated Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Voting in all categories closes on 31 January 2021.
The MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021 will be broadcast on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322) and MTV Africa (DStv Channel 130) on Saturday 20 February 2021 at 20:00 WAT / 21:00 CAT / 22:00 EAT. The show will also be aired on MTV channels across multiple continents as a one-hour MAMA-themed MTV World Stage feature.
Broadcasting
DStv Offers Instant Package Upgrade for Customers from January to February

DStv has launched a new campaign tagged “We Got You”, aimed at giving customers more entertainment value at the start of the year without additional cost.

DStv
The campaign, which runs from January 1 to February 28, 2026, allows subscribers who pay for their current package in full to enjoy an automatic upgrade to the next DStv package.
The initiative is designed to ease the pressure that often comes with January, a period marked by school resumption, tighter budgets and increased household demands.
Through the offer, DStv is rewarding customer loyalty by unlocking more channels, stories, sports, children’s content, local productions and international programmes at no extra charge.
Speaking on the campaign, Tope Oshunkeye, Executive Head of Marketing, West Africa, MultiChoice, said, “We want our customers to step into the year feeling valued.
“When you buy your package, we upgrade you because you deserve more. This is our way of bringing extra excitement, choice and convenience into your home.”
According to DStv, the offer is open to existing subscribers who remain active during the promotion period, customers who reconnect their decoders, and new subscribers who join between January 1 and February 28.
Under the offer, subscribers who pay for DStv Yanga will be upgraded to DStv Confam, Confam customers will receive DStv Compact, Compact subscribers will be upgraded to Compact Plus, while Compact Plus customers will enjoy access to DStv Premium.
The upgrade applies only to decoder viewing, and subscribers will revert to their original packages at the end of the promotion period.
Broadcasting
FIRS Transforms into NRS as Nigeria Ushers in New Tax Era

Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has officially given way to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), signalling a pivotal shift in the country’s revenue administration framework as the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act 2025 takes full effect from January 1, 2026.

NRS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the landmark legislation in June 2025, alongside a comprehensive package of tax reforms designed to streamline compliance, expand the tax net and bolster federal revenue for critical infrastructure and social services.
At a colourful ceremony in Abuja on December 30, 2025, NRS Executive Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, unveiled the agency’s new logo and corporate identity, describing it as a beacon of modernisation and efficiency.
Adedeji, who doubles as the pioneer helmsman, stated that the fresh branding embodies “a renewed commitment to a unified, service-driven revenue system” in line with global standards and Nigeria’s economic aspirations.
“The new identity underscores continuity in mandate, enhanced capacity and proactive taxpayer support, fostering trust and shared prosperity,” he added, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Dare Adekanmbi.
The NRS emergence caps decades of advocacy for tax overhaul, repealing the FIRS (Establishment) Act 2007 and vesting the new body with broader powers for revenue assessment, collection and accountability.
Judicial hurdles were cleared when an FCT High Court dismissed suits seeking to stall implementation, paving the way for the four key Acts — Nigeria Revenue Service, Tax Administration, Nigeria Tax and Joint Revenue Board — to roll out seamlessly.
Despite pockets of controversy, including claims of bill alterations, the Budget Office affirmed the laws’ authenticity, prioritising fiscal stability and investor confidence.
For ordinary Nigerians and enterprises, the NRS promises simplified processes, digital innovations and reduced red tape to ease compliance burdens while curbing evasion.
Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the Chairman, Mrs Aderonke Atoyebi, reassured that core values of integrity, fairness and professionalism persist, with staff nationwide driving the transition.
Industry watchers anticipate a surge in non-oil revenue, crucial as Nigeria navigates global headwinds, with the NRS positioned to elevate the tax-to-GDP ratio through transparent engagement.
Broadcasting
How to Use the Correlation of Gold with Other Trading Assets in the Forex Market

Gold remains one of the most powerful commodities in the global financial architecture. It is widely recognized that, for traders in Nigeria, specifically, currency pressures, inflation expectations, and shifts in global liquidity make up the macro environment more often than not; hence, understanding the correlation of gold with key Forex assets is more of an economic insight than a trading tactic.

The correlation between gold and currencies, equities, bonds, and even energy markets provides a broader framework for interpreting global risk sentiment. A growing number of Nigerian investors use this correlation to hedge against inflation, read capital-flow trends, and adjust trading strategies across major currency pairs.
Why Gold Matters in Today’s Macro Environment
This can be explained by looking at the larger picture and how global factors either positively or negatively impact the price of gold: spiraling inflation, geopolitical tension, tightening by central banks, and the flight-to-safety dynamic that heightens in moments of market stress. African traders, especially those active with international brokers such as JustMarkets, are very sensitive to how gold performs not only as a commodity but also as a macro indicator.
Indeed, the strongest correlations of gold are more often found with the US dollar, major bond markets, equity indices, and energy instruments in periods of high geopolitical risk. Each one of these offers a different angle for Nigerian traders to approach macroeconomic changes.
Gold and US Dollar: The Most Watched Correlation
The inverse correlation between XAU and the USD remains one of the bedrock relationships in global finance. It usually weighs on gold because a stronger dollar raises the opportunity cost of holding the metal. Conversely, the opposite has occurred when the market has priced in rate cuts, rising inflation, or policy uncertainty.
This relationship provides Forex traders in Nigeria with a macro perspective:
USD strength; pressure on gold; bullish signals for USD-pairs like USD/JPY or USD/CHF
USD weakness; appreciation of gold; potential strengthening of the non-USD majors
This dynamic is often emphasized by platforms such as JustMarkets in their markets analytics, allowing traders to match the technical setup with real policy shifts from the Federal Reserve.
Gold and Bond Yields: A Window into Global Risk Appetite
Gold is highly sensitive to real interest rates. When US real yields fell, it sent gold higher because investors saw it as a hedge against inflation and thus a haven. Yet higher yields tend to dampen demand for precious metals.
To traders, this correlation is a reason for short-run volatility around announcements like:
US CPI
FOMC decisions
Results of Treasury auctions
In countries like Nigeria, when domestic inflation is high and Naira pressure amplifies sensitivity to global risk, the movement of gold often proves an early indicator of how capital might rotate between safe havens and risk assets worldwide.
Gold and Equity Markets: The Fear Gauge
While geopolitical tensions or recession fears tend to deflate equity markets, they strengthen gold. This negative relationship is considered helpful for traders looking to deduce spikes in volatility and risk-off flows. Examples include:
Sharp US30 or NAS100 declines coupled with XAU/USD rallies
Broad-based sell-offs driven by political uncertainty or commodity shocks
This dynamic helps explain to the Nigerian analysts focused on policy and political economy how global risk events transmit to the local market through capital-flow sentiment.
Gold and Energy: Transmission via the Inflation Channels
Although gold and oil are not directly correlated, both respond to inflation expectations. Surging oil prices can fuel inflation forecasts that support the price of gold.
This channel is particularly important in the case of Nigeria, a major oil exporter. When crude markets temporarily tighten due to supply disruptions or OPEC policy decisions, gold becomes a complement to hedge against global inflation risk.
Trading with the Use of Gold Correlations
A structured approach allows traders to put gold’s relationships into practice:
Start with the macro driver.
Identify whether inflation, geopolitics, or monetary policy is the primary force shaping markets.Translate the macro event into correlation expectations.
Example: falling bond yields lead to a weaker USD, which in turn supports gold and could lead to upside in EUR/USD.Use correlation clusters instead of isolated signals.
Gold + USD + bonds provide a more reliable picture than gold alone.Apply risk management aligned with volatility cycles.
Gold’s volatility often spills over into major currency pairs.
Market platforms like JustMarkets emphasize these cross-asset links to help traders simplify complex macro interactions into actionable insights.
Why Nigerian Traders Pay Close Attention
The Nigerian economy is highly integrated into global commodity flows; inflation cycles, dollar liquidity, and geopolitical developments tend to reach the local market faster than the pace at which policy adjustments can be made.
Gold serves as a barometer of global risk, a hedge against currency depreciation, and a signal of moves in the key USD pairs that headline Nigeria’s trading activity.
In a region increasingly active in the Forex market, understanding the relationships involving gold is not just about trading but also a strategic tool for analyzing global economic behavior
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