To have a country’s rallying song and what can be unofficially called a state’s anthem attributed to you is an extraordinary feat only a very few can manage. This was what the Nigerian “lady of songs” Christy Essien Igbokwe did and not just once. Her songs “Seun Rere” and “Akwa Ibom Mmi” achieved national acclaim. Mrs. Igbokwe went on to do more exploits as theologians would say.
Christy Essien Igbokwe was a music legend whose influence spanned across different spheres during her lifetime. She was actively involved in bringing changes in some unfavorable government policies, she had a lot of charities for children and less privileged people which are still running based on royalties from her songs.
This singer, businesswoman, actress, human rights advocate, and activist can be said to have lived the life worthy of 5 people in just one lifetime. She was born in November 1960 and was aged 50 when she died on 30th June 2011.
Here are some facts about our lady of songs.
She had a rough childhood
From the day she was born, Christy faced problems. On that fateful day, her father refused to come to see her in the hospital because her mother gave birth to her in a hospital against his advice. Essien only knew her mother for five months before she passed away.
See the difference between Nnewi money and Igbo money
She lost both parents before she was 12 and she grew up with her mother’s friend in Aba because her only brother was in the military and traveled around a lot.
Her career began in Aba
The erroneous belief that made in Aba products have a certain inferior ring to them has suffered knocks as Aba manufacturers continue to show their ingenuity. Christy Essien Igbokwe is another proof of the falsehood of this claim. She began singing in clubs in Aba and such was her ability that she released her first album at the age of seventeen.
Essien didn’t look back as the lady of songs went on to release nine other albums (she has 10 albums to her name in all). She was working on an album when she died which meant that she has a total of 11 albums.
Besides singing, Essien’s influence went beyond the studios into the welfare of musicians as she was the brain behind the formation of the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) in 1982. She was also the first female president of the association and, to date, the only woman to have headed a trade union in Nigeria.
Her influence went beyond music
The lady of songs was not just for songs, we can also call her the lady of the people and you won’t be wrong. She was actively involved in the interests of the people, instrumental in the implementation of some policies including the granting of private telephone licenses in Nigeria during the Abacha regime. she pushed for the notion that the world was changing in telecommunications and we can’t be left behind.
She also gave the final push for the abrogation of the offshore/onshore oil dichotomy through her campaign of persuasion on the regime of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. She also intervened in the separation of FRSC as an entity of its own when it was on the verge of been scrapped or merged with the police force.
She was an actress
She played the role of Akpenor, the wife of Jegede Sokoya in a popular TV drama “The Masquerade” on Nigeria Television Authority, NTA. Remember “The Masquerade” a show that popularized Zebrudaya Okoligbo Alias 4.30’s persona played by Chika Okpala and which featured unforgettable characters such as Gringory Akabogu played by James Iroha the creator of the show, Clarus played by Davis Offor, Jekede Shokoya played by Claude Eke, Zakky played by Tony Akposheri, Nnati, etc.
Igbokwe would go on to feature in early Nollywood movies doubling as a musician and actress.
She sang in multiple languages
One of the most outstanding features about Essien was she sang in different languages like Efik, Ibibio, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, and English. Her fluency in the different Nigerian languages gave her an edge that crossed tribal lines into the hearts of millions of Nigerians.
Bonus Fact: Christy Essien Igbokwe was married to chief Edwin Chukwunenye Igbokwe in October 1979, a sometime managing director of Punch Nigeria till her death. The union was blessed with four kids, all boys. On the occasion of her fifth-year memorial, held in 2016, her husband said she wasn’t dead.
“My wife Christy is not dead. She lives in our house with us. She is very pleased with what we are doing.”
“Honestly,” he added, “I feel as if a part of me is not physically with me. But I am glad that she is happy where she is and I’m sure this memorial event will be continued by her children and grandchildren.”
Christy Essien-Udauk Igbokwe might be dead but her legacy is one that has been emblazoned on the face of the earth, never to be wiped away and it is not just us, Google had a doodle on her posthumous birthday on 11th November 2018.
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