People love secular music because gospel is bitter — Esther Igbekele

Gospel music singer , Esther Igbekele , speaks with TOFARATI IGE on her career and other issues

You recently celebrated your birthday . What is going to change about you ?

If anything is going to change , it will be inside me . With the age I ’ ve attained , I don’ t think there is anything I want to change .
What are some of the greatest lessons you ’ ve learnt over the years ?

I don’ t think it is good enough for someone to leave his or her children to live with someone else. It is always a bitter experience . No one prays for his or her parents to die young . If one ’ s parents die at a young age , the child would have to live with a relative or friend . If you are able to raise your children whether you ’ re rich or poor , I think that ’ s better .

Where I lived when I was young was a lesson to me . But somehow , there is a clause to it but I don’ t want to go beyond that . Those that are familiar with my story will know what I ’ m talking about .

At what point in your life did you know you wanted to become a singer?

I was born a musician ; my parents and siblings are all musicians . It wasn ’ t something I coveted . My father was a choir master for 25 years before he became a pastor. He always took me to choir practice and I joined the choir at the age of four . People thought I was too young but the gift God gave me was beyond my age . In the Christ Apostolic Church , you cannot become a member of the senior choir before the age of 12 but I joined when I was six – year – old because I was too versatile to stay with my peers at the time .

Did other choristers support or victimise you at that young age when you joined the senior choir ?

They did not support me ; rather they beat me a lot . Then , we didn ’ t take interludes with the piano ; we did it with our mouth . In those days , we only used to rent pianos when we had special programmes ; it wasn ’ t something that was common . In the course of doing that , my voice was singled out and I was chosen as part of the people that took the interlude . The older ones were usually annoyed because they felt I was too small to take the interlude . I thought they hated me but now I know that they were threatened because of my gift .
Nigeria is a very religious country yet secular music is more popular than gospel music . Why do you think that is so ?

The Bible says that ‘ my people perish because of lack of knowledge ’; Evangelist Ebenezer Obey also sang that people prefer darkness to light . There is always a bitter truth in gospel music and people will not patronise something that makes them sad . If a gospel song tells people to stop fornication and adultery and a secular song tells them that there is nothing wrong with exposing sensitive parts of their bodies and drunkenness , they will definitely go for the latter .

Do you think churches are doing enough to support gospel music ?

There are two sides to it . There are some churches that embrace their artistes and there are some churches that believe that if they groom an artiste to become successful , the artiste would no longer have their time . As a result of this , they wouldn ’ t want to give any platform that can expose the artiste .

I wouldn ’ t totally blame the churches that act this way because some people who were given such opportunities in the past misused them . Some artistes were picked from the trash and they later turned around to bite the fingers that fed them .

On the other hand , there are also some people in Christendom who want to help you so that they can keep using you . In my own case , I give all glory to God . I have never placed my hope in any man . I have struggled on my own and if I want to give credit to anybody , it goes to my dad and a pastor I lived with , Apostle J . A . Bankole , who sponsored my education . Whenever I grant interviews, I always acknowledge him .

You have often said that it was Apostle Bankole who discovered your talent . How exactly did you meet him ?

A river cannot flow without a source and after God and my parents , Apostle Bankole is the next person I give credit to . I can say that it was my gift that connected me with him . He came for an interdenominational crusade in an open space in front of our house . At a point , his interpreter went to ease herself and with the kind of background I had , I don’ t like to see God ’ s work unattended to . I picked up the microphone and I started interpreting in English . People were actually surprised because my mum was a food seller and many looked down on us , thinking that her children would be illiterates . The man was impressed and he said he would always take me wherever he went. He asked my parents to allow me follow him and that was how I started living with him .

Your childhood ambition was to be a banker or nurse . Why didn ’ t you follow that path anymore ?

I don ’ t have any interest in that again. Right now , I have plans to become a lawyer and I would be going back to school soon .

Can you recall your experience when you released your first album ?

My first album was titled, Baba mi ju won lo , and it was released in 2000 . It was a horrible experience because I didn ’ t have money and I didn ’ t know anyone . I was working as a back – up singer for other artistes and any money I made, I gave it to my producer until the studio fee was complete .

However , the master tape was damaged when my then house was flooded. Unless I find someone who has the tape , I cannot replicate the album again and that saddens me .

Which album gave you your breakthrough ?

All my albums are special to me . It’ s like asking a parent to choose a favourite child . All my albums were well accepted by the public . I have never sold up to one million copies of any of my albums but I ’ m a known artiste . My albums always promote themselves . However , the album ,

Oluwa lo ni glory , was widely accepted .

Some artistes have complained about sharp practices by marketers . What is your experience in that regard ?

One cannot do music alone so you have to work with people . A lot of marketers will claim that the album is not selling well , yet you would hear the music being played everywhere . One has to closely monitor them to avoid being cheated . I have an ongoing case where someone replicated my works without informing me .

Piracy is also another aspect and it is difficult to fight them because they are richer . A lot of people in the music business who have money are not clean ; they reap from where they did not sow . However , I know that there will be repercussions for them some day .

Above all , it is the grace of God that makes one successful .

Some people believe that gospel music artistes should not charge fees to minister in churches . What ’ s your take on that ?

Jesus told his followers to go into the river and take any fish they find . Jesus could have commanded the fishes into the hands of the people but he sent them to go and work and earn their sustenance . The way we interpret the Bible is different . You have to work to make a living . Gospel music is a calling and it is also a means of livelihood . If I go about singing for free , then I would die of hunger . Charging for ministrations doesn ’ t mean we are selling the word of God. We have to take care of logistics and the people who work for us . For example, if you want to preach the gospel on social media , you need to buy data before you can do that .

How do you handle advances from male fans ?

It is normal for one to be admired . If anybody , whether male or female , tells me that I ’ m beautiful , the first thing to do is to thank the person . The way you comport yourself determines the way people would approach you . I am not a saint and I have never said I want to be one but I know what I ’ m carrying . One has to be wise in dealing with admirers ; you don’ t have to abuse them . Some people would even use the Bible to woo you , so if you are not grounded in the scriptures, you may fall into their trap . However , I don’ t have problems with anybody .

Some people believe that you are arrogant . What’ s your reaction to that ?

If everybody loves Jesus , then all human beings will be Christians . Even if you try to please everybody , some people would still call you a snob . I can boldly say that of all the gospel music artistes that are making waves , I am the closest to people . There are some artistes that you cannot even go near. But whenever I go to minister , I always oblige people who want to take pictures with me .

What advice do you have for young artistes ?

They should always be original as that is the only thing that can make them stand out . If you don’ t have your unique signature , you may as well be promoting other people . More importantly , do not covet anybody ’ s success because we all have different times ( to shine ) .

What fond memories can you recall of your childhood ?

I was the only girl in my father ’ s house and I am a very reserved person . As the first child of my parents , I was always concerned about the welfare of my siblings and I usually shared my things with them .

What schools did you attend ?

For my elementary education , I went to Central Primary School , Orile Iganmu , Lagos State. I attended African Church Grammar School , Ifako -Ijaiye , Lagos , for my secondary education .

What are your hobbies ?

Sleeping is my hobby and I hate to be disturbed when I ’ m doing that . I also love playing games .

How do you like to dress?

I dress according to the kind of event I ’ m attending .

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