Ireland-based Nigerian pop singer, Ese Agesse, opens up on her career and life abroad, JAYNE AUGOYE writes
Ese Agesse’s arrival on the Nigerian entertainment scene in the 1990s was initially hailed as a breath of fresh air. In no time, she had managed to worm her way into the hearts of many music fans across the country, who had fallen in love with her melodious songs.
For a while, Agesse’s popular hits, such as Fine pepper soup, Back to basics and Bendel Girl in Lagos dominated the local music charts before she relocated to Ireland in 2000. Afterwards, nothing was heard of her in a long time.
When our correspondent got in touch with the soft-spoken singer, whose once celebrated marriage to Nollywood producer, Kingsley Ogoro, had since broken up, she said that she was still actively involved in music.
Admitting that she initially refused to sing gospel music, though she said she became born-again in 1987, Agesse said, “I have not abandoned music. I still sing in the church and during Christian programmes. There is no way that I will abandon music. I am working on a few projects that are keeping me quite busy.”
Despite her breakup with Ogoro, it appears that the singer is still interested in marriage.
“If the right man comes along, my answer will be ‘yes’. Obviously, companionship will be my primary reason for remarrying. Although my children are all growing up, I have been a single mother for too long. I can’t regret having children or leaving the Nigerian music scene. Maybe I should have done things a little differently. But I am grateful that I am alive and well and can pick up whenever I am ready,” she said.
Agesse recalls the success of Bendel Girl in Lagos, which was her version of Sting’s Englishman in New York, with nostalgia, saying that she was inspired by her own background as a native of the old Bendel State (now broken into Edo and Delta States). [eap_ad_2] She says, “At heart I am a Delta (Bendel) girl and will always be. However that period when Sting came out with the song, it appealed to me and Sony Music, which was my record label at the time.”
In Ireland, one of Agesse’s happiest moments was when her daughter was crowned Miss Nigeria Ireland in 2011. Also, the singer had dabbled into politics, running briefly as deputy to the governorship candidate of a certain party in Delta State.
Regarding what she has been doing in Ireland to keep busy, she says, “Currently I am in charge of the Women of Love International, an NGO based here in Ireland. Our focus is on women and the girl child empowerment. We hold an annual event in Ireland to create awareness for the education of the average African girl child. We use the opportunity to reward people who have shown exemplary service to humanity. We have had both local and international recipients of the WOL International Leadership Award for Excellence.
“I am also working on my talk show called Life with Lady Esse. I wrote a mini book titled Life As I see It and the show is a spin-off this book as that is Volume One and I will continue writing from time to time.
Although she lives so far away, Agesse says she has always been in touch with developments in the music industry in Nigeria. “Well you can only expect things to get better. While we had great content in our days, now the younger generation have perfected showmanship and branding. I think that is great,” she says. (Punch)[eap_ad_3]