Nigeria’s ‘Lady of song’ and actress dies at 50

Nigeria’s ‘Lady of song’ and actress dies at 50
Williams Osewezina, Lagos

One of Nigeria’s leading female musicians, Christy Essien-Igbokwe, has died at the age of 50.

Family sources that confirmed her death said she passed away this morning at a private hospital in Lagos, south-west Nigeria after she fell ill three days ago.

Popularly known as the ‘First Lady of Songs', Ms Essien-Igbokwe was the first female president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria. Some of her hit songs include ‘Omo Mi Seun ReRe', ‘Hear the Call' and ‘Tete Nu Na Ula'

The First Lady of Songs' Profile

She was born on the November 11, 1960.

The nickname came during her heyday, as she was recognised as the grand dame of Nigerian pop music.

She began her musical career in Secondary School singing at various clubs in Aba, Eastern Nigeria.

Her acting prowess was revealed in 1976, when she played the role of “Apena” the wife of the cantankerous character Chief Jegede Shokoya joined the satirical NTA series Masquerade. Her short role in that popular sitcom put her to the limelight and in 1977 she launched a professional music career, aged 17.

Many of her albums became hit records, but none came close to the success of her 1981 hit album ‘Ever Liked My Person’ produced by Lemmy Jackson. One of the songs in the album is ‘Omo Mi Seun ReRe.'

Listen to ‘Omo Mi Seun ReRe.'

Although she is not Yoruba, most of her hits were sung in the western Nigerian language, and drew heavily on the culture and tradition. Essien's fluency in Yoruba, English, Igbo and her native Ibibio earned her an appeal which cut across tribal lines.

Always at the forefront of issues affecting women and children, she played remarkable roles in some of the early Nollywood flicks such as Flesh and Blood and Scars of Womanhood, both of which addressed issues of child abuse and female circumcision.

With a desire to make life better for Nigerian artists, she is credited as having initiated the first meeting that brought about the formation of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN) in 1981.

A year later, PMAN was founded and King Sunny Ade became the president with the late Sonny Okosuns as his vice, while she was the National Treasurer. Between 1996 and 1999, she became the first female PMAN president.

Other interesting songs by Christy Essien-Igbokwe are;

Tete Nu Na Ula'

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