I Can’t Collaborate With Secular Artistes’- Olowakemi Arowojolu

Olowakemi Arowojolu

A Nigerian gospel singer, Olowakemi Arowojolu, has said she cannot work with any artiste whose works do not glorify God, no matter the worth of the collaboration.

Arowojolu, founder of Hilltop House musical training school, says nothing, except a public assignment such as a peace concert, will bring her and non-gospel musicians together. She says there is no basis for such collaboration as it will not glorified glorify God.

Speaking with our correspondent on her soon-to-released videos – Women Arise and Kpologo – Arowojolu says she is “first a minister of God before a musician.”

Arowojolu has released four albums while her forthcoming videos are directed by Oluyinka Davids.

According to her, music is not all about money-making and being famous but a medium to impact the society. For her, she has chosen to focus on appealing to the spiritual needs of the society.

“Everywhere I go, I tell them I am a minister of God. I use music as a vehicle to minister to people. That is why whenever I sing or speak, it is always about God.

“In short, most of my songs come from divine inspiration. I could be walking on the road and the songs will come. I don’t sit down to write songs, they come naturally,” she says.

Arowojolu’s journey to full-time musical career followed an unfamiliar path. A chemical and polymer engineering graduate from the Lagos State University, Ojo, she taught for a short period after her study. After that, she went into banking.

But she left banking after a year for a stint in management consulting, a job she dumped in 2011 to embrace her passion.

   On her banking career, she recalls, “I went into banking, maybe because of money. But I was not enjoying myself because I was not cut out for banking. I knew that from the first day. So, the job was very stressful.

“When one is passionate about something, one will enjoy it even if is stressful. But if one does not have passion, the stress will overwhelms one. That was exactly what I experienced when I was a banker.”

The ex-bank worker started singing at a tender age. But her father’s insistence that she faced her education squarely, she says, prevented her from embracing music at a younger age.

“I obeyed my father. So, in 2011 when I said I was going to the studio, some people were surprised because I had not done professional music for several years,” she recalls.

Having returned fully to music, she adds that she wants to use her voice for God, noting that many gospel musicians have deviated from their calling and because they are not devoted to the service of God.

She continues, “Many people may be calling God in their music. But one should practise what one preaches because there is a place of integrity and honour in whatever one does. People do a lot of thing for fame and money. But I have chosen to remain focus.”

“This is why I cannot go into partnership with an artiste whose music does not please God. I am not motivated by money. When one stays in the place of one’s assignment, you will be lifted.

“The assignment God has given to me is clear: to inspire hope. It is not to make money. I will not do it for any price. I believe the church can make a difference. When there is somebody that has a vision, the church should be able to assist.

 PUNCH.

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