Gospel music will be great again –Funmi Aragbaye
Veteran gospel musician, Funmi Aragbaye,
recently emerged as the President of Gospel Musician Association of
Nigeria. She tells Saturday Beats some of her plans for the association.
What influenced your decision to vie for the position of President of the Gospel Musician Association of Nigeria?
I am part of GOMAN because of my
position in the music industry. We started the association together. The
request for me to head the association has been on since 1990 when I
released my album, Divine Call. People had been agitating that I
should lead GOMAN but I always told them that my hands were full
because I was very busy. One of my problems is that I am a
perfectionist. As a perfectionist, if you want to go into a thing like
that, you need people who will operate from the same level with you.
Because of my numerous appointments and bookings, I declined. The urge
had been on for over two decades but this time around, people said that I
must contest. Some of the states led delegations to my place to request
that I contest. They said that any time I organised a programme, people
bombarded the programme. They said that I was well connected in the
society and I should use my connections to make the association better.
That was why I contested.
As you have emerged president of the association, what do you have in stock for GOMAN?
There are two categories of people in
GOMAN; the known and unknown artistes. I have always advised that we
have regular meetings so that the unknown artistes would get to meet the
known ones. We could also use the medium to raise money. If an
association does not have a penny in its account, there is no way you
can perform or engage on productive projects. My first assignment is to
put together all known gospel artistes to help those that have yet to
come up. I would also help raise funds for artistes that have good
materials. There are a lot of artistes that have good materials but they
don’t have money to go to the studio. We also plan on building a
national secretariat with the help of God. I have told them that
everybody is going to work and it is not going to be about Funmi
Aragbaye alone. I also intend to bring in other tribes that have yet to
join.
Most gospel singers complain
that they don’t get enough airplay and this is why gospel music is not
popular. How do you intend to tackle this problem?
It has been a long time problem and if
there is any improvement seen so far, it is because of my regular
protest. There was a time they posted something at BCOS Ibadan that
gospel songs would only be played on Sunday and I always protested that
my music cuts across religious barrier. I sang ‘God Save Nigeria’, ‘Bawa
Tun Aiye Wase’, etc. Those are not gospel songs. Virtually all my songs
talk about the ills of this society. When I was about starting my
ministry, God gave me a vision and I saw all that is happening today. A
song on my first album addressed all we are facing now. When I saw the
vision, there was famine in this land and people were no longer eating
what they wanted but what they could afford. Everybody should be given
equal treatment on air. We would take the campaign to the Broadcasting
Organisation of Nigeria in Abuja and there is bound to be a change.
Gospel music will be great again.
How would you joggle between your music career and being the president of GOMAN?
I have faith in my God that he would
help me out. I will try my best; it might not be enough but there are
going to be drastic changes in GOMAN. Since I accepted to run, I have
been making consultations. There are going to be changes in this
association.
As you emerged winner during
the election some people think it was based on your popularity and not
merit, what do you have to say to that?
Whoever says that is obviously not a
serious person because I have come a long way and I have been in this
industry for long and I have never been ambitious to lead any
association because it is not a part of me. No man born of a woman can
say such. I have been singing gospel music for over 30 years and I have
helped a lot of musicians rise. No right thinking person would ever say
that because I am more than qualified to lead this association. Even if
they say it is because of my popularity, don’t they need the popularity?
How easy is it to make it in this country without any connection? We
are talking about an association that does not have a penny, no
secretariat, no office; we need all the connection in this world.
Source: Punchng
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