"On that day, we were about to do the ground breaking of the church, together with my Pastor, my mother and some members of that community in Egbaland. The Pastor of my church then, just told me that "Why not use this place for Church instead of a hotel", which I instantly rebuffed.
To corroborate the pastor's opinion on the lands, after the ground breaking, an elderly man in the community came to me and also appealed that I should bring a church to the community, then I discovered that truly God is speaking to me, after the completion of the first part of the project within three month, the place was abandoned, till some years ago when we now convert the place to the International Headquarters of Rock Internaional Christian Centre, Abeokuta.
Sincerely, Obey continued, hotel was
so paramount to me, because I was planning for my future retirement then, managing the place, but God said otherwise. We have church Auditorium, music school Revival ground and many other facilities within the complex now". Is Evangelist Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi really planning for retirement? "The answer is yes and No. No, because you can't retire in the ministry of God, so also in music, but I will soon relocate to Abeokuta, only to be shutting with Lagos once in a while".
When God gives you a talent and sets you up in a generation, the Lord Himself will give you a special message for that generation, something that will make you an outstanding person.
Your generation will marvel at your gift and appreciate your ingenuity. So, when we talk about the source of my inspiration, I would readily
say it comes from God". |
 |
For musicians and his music, Obey said a musician can develop his talent through regular practice when you do it constantly, you will improve on your performance. Most of my songs are character-moulding, and they are directed at the society as a whole. People like listening to my music before leaving home in the morn ing . My lyrics are not only didatic, they uplift the human spirit.
When God gives you a talent and sets you up in a generation, the Lord Himself will give you a special message for that generation, something that will make you an outstanding person. Your generation will marvel
at your gift and appreciate your ingenuity. So, when we talk about the source of my inspiration, I would readily
say it comes from God".
Obey whose sonorous voice dominated the Nigerian music scene through out the 1960s and 1970s. cherishes his natural vocal endowment."My voice has always been the magic. To find my own identity in the field of Juju music, I mixed hlghlife with juju and used my vocal powess as sang together in juju music, everybody did vocal, and the leader led; but what I did was to allow my voice to dominate and give half a minute to the voices of my bandboys.
That allowed my meaningful lyrics to sink well. It was a strange imoration and before I knew it, I was on my way to the top. My music then became a hybrid of highlife and juju, today Evangelist Ebenezer Obey, the Chief Commander in the Word Ministry of Jesus Christ, is establishing churches both within and
outside the country .
Culled from Tribune
