Has singing always been your goal?
No, I have had several dreams but there is a span that runs through all
the dreams, that whatever I do, I should give it my very best. So, I’ve
had a number of dreams. I’ve always wanted to sing because God gave me
the talent and it is something that i enjoy tremendously. I enjoy to
entertain, I love singing praise to God. God gave me a number of
talents, I wasn’t going to be limited to one thing. But surely, I was
going to serve God and I was going to serve people.
Which moment of your career stands out?
There’s has been so many moments. These are difficult questions. Because
I don’t look at the performances in terms of people that I am
performing for. It could be for children. I could be for poor people in
the village that am singing with and dancing with. It could be a Head of
State. It could be the show I had for Clinton (Former America
President), but that was not even the highlight. It could be the one
that Winnie Mandela cried in the stadium, and we went up to greet her,
and Nelson Mandela said “thank you my child”and then Winnie grabbed me,
hugged me and kissed me right on the lips. Which to South Africa is a
show of incredible gratitude. And then too, she was crying during the
rendition of the song. It could have been that one, It could’ve
been...there are so many “It could have been”. One show that I had In
Bauchi and I was singing ‘Africa Woman’. Which is a song about
widowhood; this woman didn’t really understand the lyrics except that
there’s a point where you say Zo Muje, you know, let’s go, and she got
up, an old woman of maybe about 80 years old, and she was dancing and
it was like she was in heaven. Her face up to the sky and she was
dancing and dancing. That moved me, because I touched something. That
song touched something in an 80 year-old woman who didn’t even
understand fully the language that I was singing in. There are so many
and that’s really the reward you get from what you do.
How did you start out in this industry in the first place, and what would you say has seen you this far?
I knew quite early that I had the talent, Incidentally, I inherited it
from my mum, who inherited it from her father. My grandfather was is a
gorgeous gentleman. He’s got to be one of the best looking, none of his
children looked like him, He is one of the most handsome men I have ever
met, Very Tall, very stately and wore the best suits and you know, this
man had a wonderful voice and in church he would sing and his voice
would ring out. I think my mother picked that from him and I picked it
from my mum. My father also had a deep appreciation for music and he
played the organ So, I knew very, very early that I had this talent and
that I was a performer and there’s a story that they would tell, that is
when I was growing up in Port Harcourt, maybe I was three or something
like that. In the neighbourhood, we would have a race every week or
so, all the kids would gather and everybody has got to be cheering me,
Otherwise you are in trouble. And I usually come last. It’s got to be
Onyeka wake up, Onyeka wake up, Onyeka wake ...if you call somebody
else, that means I will sit on the floor and I will start to cry because
I know that the moment my father hears my cry, that was how spoilt I
was. So, I was a performer and I must have enjoyed the adulation that
when I’m on, I’m on. It doesn’t matter whether I’m coming last or
whatever. It’s just that I’m on and you got to cheer me. So, I go back
to all that. And my mum, when people came to the house, She would call
us to entertain and we provided the entertainment. I had another sister
who was three years older and a cousin and we all grew up together and
we would put up a song and dance. So, it was very clear what I was going
to do but the only condition was, you have to finish school, you have
to get to a certain level.
What has been the most painful sacrifice that you have had to make for your career?
My privacy and sometimes the lack of respect because people look upon
female musicians as people who are wayward and they feel that because
you are a public person that they have the right to talk to you anyhow
and to treat you with disrespect. And I’m one of those who don’t take
that very well. I insist on being respected.
People also say you exude this arrogance that is noticeable among intelligent people. would you agree with them?
Not at all, not at all, not at all. I’m not. What people consider to be
arrogance is really that self confidence that one has. Nigerians like
people that will come and debase themselves and put themselves in a
position where you stump all over their heads, particularly women. And I
say no to that and I have no apologies to make for being a woman. I
think it’s a wonderful thing, i think that God has given me intuition
that he has given to most women, and he has given me grace. And I
respect men but I also ask to be respected because I am a child of God. I
am a human and I’ve got equal right-and I’m not willing to settle for
anything less. If that is arrogance, well, so be it.
The music industry, you have been there for years, so how has it been.
Very rewarding, grateful to God, for what he has been doing with me, it
has been challenging as well, its been very interesting but all and all
its been rewarding, not necessarily in terms of the money you are making
but that you are still relevant for over 32 years and I like to say God
took me to the top and he has kept me there, in my industry that is not
because am the best of the greatest its simply his grace and I will
never underrate that and never take it for granted.
In the music industry, some people come in and in less than three to
four years they fade out of the system, what has kept you for so long?
What am talking about is grace, grace to realize that you are not the
one doing it, you are not the one writing the songs that your God is
your inspirator, grace to realize that without hard work , you will face
a lot, if you begin to sound like yourself anytime you record, you get
boring, grace to realize that the talent that is giving to you is met
for something, not just for you, you are using it not just to make
money, you are using it to edify, to give hope and bring happiness to
people and if you realize all that and you put it together I think that
God will just continue to use you, that’s the way I look at my career.
let’s take you back, you have a background in international relations
and communication studies, and then worked in the UN came to NTA, a lot
of people would have said having such a background you will think of job
in international affair or journalism, why music?
Its not just music that I do, at the end of the day I can do so much
but am only one human being there are 24 hours in a day, you are
limited, you cant do everything that God is given you the talent to do
its not just possible, I could be a diplomat tomorrow who knows and I
could be an ambassador tomorrow who knows, I have the background and
capability, what I have found is that whatever am doing am able to bring
in all these different aspect of my training, personality and
competence together, you can be a musician, entertainer and be an
ambassador at the same time and that is what I have been, and there is a
beat of diplomacy involve in it, you are using your talent to bring
attention to some major issues, human right, poverty and corruption, I
did the film, FORMING OF RICHES, which brought my music and journalism
together and what we were talking about is corruption, so it all come
together at the end of the day, no matter where you place me I try to
use all my talent, training and competence to do the best job that’s
possible.
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