Nigeria: Celtel Chief Visits Mandela Ahead 90th Birthday Concert

Bayo Ligali, CEO Celtel Nigeria meets Nelson Mandela

(L-R) Chris Gabriel, CEO Celtel International; Tito Alai, Zain Group Chief Commercial Officer; Mandela, Bayo Ligali CEO Celtel Nigeria, Bashar Arafeh, Chief Operating Officer East Africa, Zain Group.

Celtel Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ligali, along with 4 other senior executives of leading African Operator, Celtel International (member of Zain Group), paid a courtesy visit to African icon, Dr. Nelson Mandela, on the 6th day of June 2008, at his office in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The visit comes ahead of Dr. Mandela’s 90th Birthday Concert in London on June 27, 2008 and provided the top officers of the leading global mobile operator the opportunity to discuss the activities lined for the birthday celebration with the great icon.

Zain Group, owners of Celtel, is the sponsor of Dr. Mandela’s 90th Birthday Concert in London. Other Zain Africa executives who were on the entourage included Chris Gabriel CEO Celtel International; Tito Alai, Zain Group Chief Commercial Officer; and Bashar Arafeh, Chief Operating Officer, East Africa, Zain Group.

Ligali described Dr. Mandela as an “amazing individual” and marvelled at his intelligence even at such a |ripe” age. “This is a trip of a life time. I feel lucky to have met such a living legend. Mandela is really blessed”, said the CEO of Celtel Nigeria, as he recalled how the nonagenarian former South African President, asked him questions on Nigerian issues.

Zain Group, which fully own Celtel International, is sponsoring the musical concert to mark Mandela’s 90th birthday, providing top African musicians the opportunity to perform for Madiba on a global stage. Proceeds from the Show will be donated to the 46664 campaign, a Foundation, which is committed to raising awareness about the impact of AIDS, especially in Africa, and promoting effective HIV prevention measures throughout the world.

Many of the world’s most powerful and instantly recognisable figures and an audience of 46,664 will use the concert which will be held in London as a platform to pay a tribute to one of the world’s most loved leaders, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and icon of freedom, Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela, as he turns 90 later this year.

Mr. Mandela will arrive in London in June to take part in a series of events to mark his birthday: a very rare occasion since he is now finally “retired from retirement.”

Announcing the sponsorship, Zain Group Chief Executive officer, Dr Saad Al Barrak said, “We are proud to be part of this event designed to honour Mr. Mandela, a global icon whose sacrifice for the African people is all too familiar across the world. The sponsorship is in line with Zain’s global ambitions and corporate social responsibility philosophy; our participation will is to help celebrate Mandela and to raise funds for the Mandela Foundation.”

Zain is offering people in Africa the chance to participate in this event by using its mobile phone networks in Africa to send text messages wishing Nelson Mandela a happy birthday. All monies realised from this will be donated to the Nelson Mandela Foundation for use in its charity work. In addition, Zain is making arrangements for people in Africa to see or watch the event.

Mr. Mandela said at the announcement of the concert: “You all know that I am supposed to be retired but my friends and the charity organisations that bear my name want to use my 90th birthday year to raise funds to continue our work and so of course I want to help them. So, we have a bargain - I am going to London and they will host a concert in Hyde Park, which will raise awareness of our continuing work and much needed funds.”

Royals and politicians from around the world, leading names from business, sport, film and entertainment - and some of the most successful musicians in the past twenty years - make up the list of those who will participate in the three days of celebrations, culminating in a three-hour evening concert in London’s Hyde Park on Friday June 27, The 46664 Concert Honouring Nelson Mandela at 90.

President Bill Clinton, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Will Smith, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, Robert de Niro and Forest Whitaker are amongst those who will attend some of the events.

In keeping with its drive to promote African arts and culture Zain, through its African subsidiary Celtel, is funding several of Africa’s most famous artists including the legendary Papa Wemba, Nigeria’s 9ice and Kenya’s Suzanna Owiyo to perform at the international concert. Other African artists who will perform at the concert to celebrate the life of the world’s most respected statesman include Johnny Clegg, Sipho Mabuze, multi-South African Music Awards winner Loyiso, Kurt Darren, the Grammy award winning Soweto Gospel Choir, Aids orphan choir The Children of Agape - the subject of the award winning film feature ‘We Are Together’ and Sudanese rapper Emmanuel Jal.

Other artists specially invited to perform for Mr. Mandela at the Friday night 90th birthday concert include Queen + Paul Rodgers, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Leona Lewis, the Sugababes, Dame Shirley Bassey, Razorlight, Andrea and Sharon Corr, Eddy Grant, and Jamelia, along with international 46664 Ambassadors Italy’s Zucchero and Spain’s Amaral.

The concert will feature numerous unexpected appearances, with several major artists keeping silent about their involvement in order to take both Mr Mandela and the audience by surprise. Among the specially chosen artists are many whom Nelson Mandela is recognising for having voiced their support for him over the past 20 years, dating back to London’s historic Free Mandela concert of June 1988, which called for Mr. Mandela’s release from incarceration on Robben Island and which Mr Mandela has said gave him and his fellow prisoners’ great inspiration.

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