By Benjamin Njoku

Communication scholar, critic and culture journalist Dr. Shaibu Husseini has described his recent appointment as an international voting member of the prestigious Golden Globe award as the highest imprimatur for his career as a culture journalist and critic.

Shaibu who spoke at a quiet reception organized in his honour by members of the Lagos Circle of Film Critic said his invitation to be a significant part of the Golden Globe awards was deeply meaningful to him as it afforded him the opportunity to play a pivotal role in deciding nominees and winners of the 81st edition of the Golden Globes.

‘I am humbled by the privilege and responsibility to be appointed as an international voting member of the Golden Globe. I thank the President of the HFPA organisers of the Golden Globe award for the recognition. The appointment into the elite class of international voters is deeply meaningful to me. For me, it represents the highest imprimatur for a critic and I feel privileged to be able to support and celebrate the world best talent in television and film production and I promise to, as I have always done to other assignments of this nature, tackle this with much joy and commitment’’ Shaibu said.

Earlier, Secretary General of the LCFC Yemi Oladeinde congratulated Shaibu on his appointment saying that the LCFC was not surprised at the appointment considering that Shaibu has exhibited a rare and unique talent and conviction in enriching both screen and stage as a critic and programmer. “You have distinguished yourself as an outstanding critic and film journalist with a distinctive talent and so we at LCFC are not in any way surprised at your appointment. It is well deserved’’ Oladeinde said.

In a letter of appointment dated April 10, Helen Hoehne, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) organisers of the award said the HFPA was thrilled to have Shaibu as an international voting member for the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards. “We are thrilled you accepted our invitation to vote on the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards, which will take place on Sunday, January 7, 2024. As part of the largest and most diverse voting body in our history, your participation commemorates a milestone in our organization, which stretches back to its humble beginnings in 1943. “I am very happy to welcome you on board,” Hoehne said in the letter.

A seasoned film, broadcast, and Culture expert, journalist and critic, Shaibu obtained a PhD in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos. An alumnus of the Berlinale Campus Press, Shaibu is reputed as one of the most consistent documentarists of Nigeria’s vibrant movie industry, Nollywood and an astute commentator on arts, theatre and film development in Nigeria and the continent of Africa.