Access Bank, Mariah Carey under fire for lavish $2m concerts

Mariah Carey has come under fire after she was
allegedly paid $1 million to perform for Angolan
President Josè Eduardo Dos Santos a day after she
performed at a Lagos gig for a Nigerian bank which
recently laid off 200 workers.
The 'All I Want for Christmas is You' singer gave a
two-hour concert for authoritarian Angolan
President Josè Eduardo Dos Santos on Sunday
December 15, 2013, in return for the huge amount,
angering human rights groups. She had earlier
performed in Lagos, Nigeria, for Access Bank
which also allegedly coughed out $1m for her
appearance. Her Lagos visit sparked criticisms
because the bank had only recently disengaged 200
workers.
Human Rights Foundation president Thor
Halvorssen said: 'It is the sad spectacle of an
international artist purchased by a ruthless police
state to entertain and whitewash the father-daughter
kleptocracy that has amassed billions in ill-gotten
wealth while the majority of Angola lives on less
than $2 a day.'
Mariah's Angola show was sponsored by Unitel, a
mobile-phone company owned by Dos Santos's
daughter, who is also head of the Angolan Red
Cross, which reportedly received $65,000 in benefit
funds from the concert.
Thor added: 'Mariah Carey can't seem to get
enough dictator cash. Just five years ago she
performed for the family of Libyan dictator
Muammar al-Gaddafi. Now, she goes from private
performances to public displays of support and
credibility for one of Africa's chief human rights
violators and most corrupt tyrants.'
Mariah, 43, posed for a picture with Dos Santos and
his family, and according to the Human Rights
Foundation, said: 'I am happy to be here in this
room and I am honoured to share this show with the
President of Angola.'
Critics of Dos Santos claim he has murdered many
politicians, journalists and other people who have
defied his orders, as well as monopolising and
exploiting oil and diamond resources and seizing
control of almost all aspects of government power.
The Africa concerts come five years after Mariah
apologised after performing for notorious dictator
Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi, who was toppled
and killed during the Arab Spring uprising in 2011.
Carey's Lagos appearance was at the 'Access Bank
End of the Year Bash', on Saturday, December 14,
2013 at the prestigious and luxurious
Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island. The night
was also dedicated the bank's outgoing Managing
Director Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.
Access Bank's outgoing Managing Director –
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede. Access Bank.
Sources say Aig-Imoukhuede, a big fan of Mariah
Carey was the one who wanted the US star to
perform at the gig at all cost. Carey was paid and
flown into the country along with her live band. A
day after her trip to the country, she was accused by
a US website of 'performing for money men in
Nigeria'.
Her visit and performance here upset more than a
few, especially after it emerged the bank which has
disengaged thousands of workers since 2012, had
paid her generously. Since February 2013, Access
Bank has been in court with about 1,500 former
employees of the bank who instituted a case against
the bank which they claim 'illegally withheld,
manipulated and mismanaged' their gratuities and
severance packages.
The party was described by those who attended as
very extravagant and lavish as food and almost
every kind of drinks were in abundance.

Via: NET