| Conversion
“I left the Methodist Church for the Celestial Church
because the church did not place much emphasis on songs. Their
songs and singing pattern were basically hymnal and organ
based. I saw their attitudes as so rigid and inattentive to
creativity. Here was I, searching for greater challenges having
seen my friends in Celestial CChurches where they use various
musical instruments. Some of them I invited to play in church
during anniversaries. But immediately after my friends return
to their cChurches, I would be lonely.
“During a visit to my brother’s house, when I
was an HND 1 student at Ogun State Polytechnic, I found out
that he was to plant a branch of the Celestial Church and
he needed a singer or choirmaster to train his choir. I offered
to help and today, the choir is one of the best in Sagamu.
They play good guitar, saxophone and drum and as time went
on, I decided to join the church fully.
Gospel artiste/ minister
“There is no way you would hear good music and refuse
to dance but I think gospel songs should not end up with dancing
or entertainment. It should minister to the soul of people.
When I go out to play, I want people to get beyond dancing.
We should be careful of what goes into our ears. Music should
have powerful ministrations such that it would affect our
dancing steps and general attitudes to life.
“I will not condemn gospel musicians who draw influences
from secular artistes in areas of instrumentation and rhythm.
Some of them do this to draw attention to themselves or win
the non-believers to Jesus. And having arrested their attention,
they now preach the gospel. Such improvisations are good but
I hope they put in godly and moralistic lyrics. Majority of
us are not doing that though.
“...
I am aware of the feelings of the Pentecostals towards
the white garment church. They feel that being born-again
is not an area of strength or emphasis for the white garment
church, so they look down on us, they see us as fetish
people but the point is that so many other Christians
who are not members of the Celestial church are very well
hooked on juju ..." |
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“If you will sing gospel, it has to be gospel pure and
true. There is no short cut to it. Any gospel music that has
no spiritual message fails as a gospel music. One of the tests
of gospel music is in its desirability over and over again.
No one can sing gospel music while in sin or in the flesh.
I’ve heard some gospel acts say one can drink or smoke,
I doubt it. That is no gospel. If I have to sing the best
of my gospel, I have to fast. I perform best when I am in
the prayer mood. That is why my lyrics come to me like in
the spirits. I don’t keep pen and paper anywhere to
compose. Once the tune comes, I begin to react to it.
The call
“My love for music begun so early. My mum once said
that when I was in primary one, I told her that I would be
a musician. As the first male child of my mother, they wanted
me to be a Medical Doctor but so early I became a choir member
where I helped in composing songs.
"In my secondary school days, I had a musical group that
played on radio and at parties but when I got to the Polytechnic,
the academic demands stripped me of such inclinations. When
I started working at Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) in Kano
as Quality Assurance Officer in the laboratory, I was always
composing songs during night shift. It was not long after
that I became the choirmaster of my church in Kano.
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On one Sunday, a prophet in my church
told me that God has instructed that I should sing for Him.
This was disagreeable to me because singing full-time in Nigeria
was like becoming a beggar. I told the prophet that I would
sing for God but at my leisure. The Prophet said I was joking
because God wants me to sing full-time.
“Unknown to me, the will of God for my life henceforth
began to unfold. Not long after, I was introduced into wristwatch
business. Propped by the prospect of travelling to Hong Kong,
I resigned my appointment at the NBC and returned to
Sagamu.
We started the business with $4000 and within three weeks,
the whole money was gone and the business went bankrupt. I
was back to square one with no job. Then the message came
to me again that this was the time to set out as a gospel
musician. It was still not clear to me that God was only using
the setback to draw me closer to Him. The message came again
that my refusal to heed the call would be punished. I felt
it was a joke.
"Having travelled to Hong Kong, it was easy for me to
get a London visa. At the airport, a Prophet came to me again
that I should shelf travelling because I would be deported.
I refused the warning and I proceeded to London. On the third
day in London, I was arrested by the Police and was deported.
“On my arrival home, I fell ill with boils all over
me. On my sick bed, I started composing songs. My first album
was released while I was on my sick bed. The album, Covenant
was done for the church because I had thought the album project
would not work out. When it was completed, nobody wanted to
touch it. We got nobody to market it. I felt vindicated that
I was not called to sing. But one day, having opened a booking
office for the band, one man just walked in and said, “I
have listened to your Covenant tape, I want to market it”.
And that was it.
Style
“My rise to stardom was gradual. My rating and my audience
rose according to the albums released. I don’t know
how to classify the genre of my music. I don’t even
know what I am playing but I understand it. Something tells
me to play and I respond to the inner spirit. Now if you must
classify my kind of music then call it Ara music. I leave
my fans to classify it according to their understanding when
they listen to it.
Born-again
in Celestial Church
“I gave my life to Christ in 1987 when I had to repeat
a year in the Polytechnic. It was a sad development for me.
A brother member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God began
to preach to me and in such quandary, I was able to seek God
and remained humble. When I graduated eventually, I had one
of the best results in the school.
“I am aware of the feelings of the Pentecostals towards
the white garment cChurches. They feel that giving your life
to Christ or being born-again is not an area of strength for
the white garment church so, they look down on us. They see
us as fetish but the point is so many other Christians who
are not members of the Celestial church are hooked on juju.
“I know how God has used me to bring about lots of changes
in the church. I am one of the few white garment Christian
singers to be fully accepted and patronised by the Pentecostal
cChurches. When the first Pentecostal church Redeemed Christian
Church of God invited me to perform, I told the Pastor that
I attend a white garment Church. He said he knew and that he has listened
to my tapes. I went and performed there. The man was so glad
that he invited me to be a member of his church. I refused
because that would truncate my desire to effect changes in
the Celestial Church.
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