Animashaun says the criticism is personal and tied to a visa request Do2dtun denies, while the 18th Headies has moved to April 2027.
Nigerian on-air personality Adedotun Kayode, known as Do2dtun, and Headies founder Ayo Animashaun have traded accusations over the decision to hold Nigerian music awards abroad. Animashaun says the criticism is personal. Do2dtun denies it.
Do2dtun started the exchange by questioning why The Headies would hold its ceremony outside Nigeria. "Have you ever seen them take the Grammys out of America before?" he asked. He then pointed to the Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards (AMVCA), writing that it is "homegrown; it services the purpose for what it is for; it is built around an institution not a person and its consistent in its delivery."
Do2dtun's point was that an awards show has to stand apart from the people who run it:
"An award should be independent of your choices or how you choose to see it. This is what brands will pay money for not something that is personally controlled."
Animashaun took issue with the criticism and suggested it was rooted in a personal grievance rather than concerns about the awards. He alleged that Do2dtun had privately asked him for help getting a US visa to attend an event abroad. When he could not help, Animashaun said, Do2dtun became more bitter. Animashaun wrote: "U criticise D Headies 4 goin abroad, yet slide into my DM asking me 2 help U attend Bcuz U want a visa. when I can't help, U bcom even more bitter & criticize." He wrote "Hypocrisy at its finest!" and ended the post with "Awards U didn’t attend in Naija".
He also asked Do2dtun a direct question: "Are you sure this has nothing to do with the fact that I couldn’t help when you asked me to help you secure visa to the US using The Headies as an excuse?" Animashaun challenged the broadcaster to organise an alternative awards ceremony instead of criticising The Headies.
Do2dtun rejected the claim and said he had no need of help. He said the request concerned a personal ordeal involving his children, and that figures in the entertainment industry, including Ubi Franklin, had approached Animashaun on his behalf. "The only reason why likes of Pato and Ubi Franklin reached out to you on my behalf was because of my ordeal with my kids," he wrote.
Do2dtun also said he had travelled to the United States before and that his daughters were born there. "I have always travelled to the United States. Had my two beautiful girls there." He maintained that his criticism was about the Nigerian entertainment industry, not a personal dispute with the Headies founder.
In his reply on X, Do2dtun told Animashaun to "Mention the person that slid into your dm to ask for visa." He said he had attended and supported the Headies several times when it was held in Nigeria, and had presented an award on two occasions.
The row comes as the 18th edition of The Headies has been postponed. The ceremony was first scheduled for Toronto, Canada, on October 23, 2026. In a statement on the awards' official Instagram page, the organisers said the new schedule would allow them to expand activities in Nigeria and Canada ahead of the main ceremony. The awards returned to Nigeria in 2024 after two consecutive editions in the United States, the 15th and 16th, held at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
The main ceremony is now set for April 10 and 11, 2027, in Toronto.
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