If you’ve heard of Riz signed to Konvict Records, Oluchi - the Victoria’s Secret Model - or Chiwetel Ejiofor of American Gangster, they have much more than their chocolate complexion in common. They’re all of Nigerian heritage.

From music to film to fashion, Nigeria, West Africa has produced some of the world’s biggest names bursting from the motherland, and, is itself home to a burgeoning art and entertainment scene currently influencing the world stage.

The Nigeria Entertainment Awards, held in the Cramton Auditorium of Howard University in Washington D.C. on June 6, is an annual event focused on recognizing the ample contributions of Nigerian Artists to the entertainment industry across the globe.

The event’s producer, Tope Esan, is dedicated to "promoting the image and rich culture of Nigeria and increasing the awareness” of one of the continent’s edgiest and fastest growing entertainment markets.

While the event was replete with lively music performances and vibrant dancing punched with comedic interludes, its audience was left under-satisfied by the low turnout in guests and award recipients as well as the unspoken eliminations of multiple award categories.

"How could they have removed two of the biggest awards for the night?” said Ebony Reid, attendee and NEWD correspondent.

That evening, the categories of Best Actor and Best Actress were both left unannounced. 

"Due to time constraints, [a 2 ½ showtime policy] we normally do not announce all our categories. Similar to the Grammy’s, for those we do not announce during the show, we mention the winners shortly after the show,” Tope Esan told NEWD on June 9.

Even though the Nigerian film industry, commonly known as Nollywood, is the third largest in the world after Hollywood and Bollywood, there was hardly a presence from the film industry beyond Nollwood actress Omoni Oboli who co-hosted with comedian Basorge Tariah Jr. and budding Hollywood actress Ebbe Bassey.

Actors Jim Ikye and actress Funke Akindele, while they did not attend the weekend’s event, were announced as the winners in a press release after the ceremony.

Despite the program’s seeming blemishes, the night was brimming with excitement as women floated in their Ankara couture gowns, the hottest acts in the nation delivered arousing performances and other national celebrities offered their support.

"One thing that my father taught me was to have pride, pride in the family and pride in who you are. So, that’s what we’re representing…the pride of Nigeria,” said Ronke Oke, Miss Nigeria in America. "For so long, we as Black people have been taught to think less of ourselves and so we need to restore the pride and the worth we have in ourselves. You’ve got to have pride in who you are, know where you’re going and stop at nothing to get there.”