For Efemena
Michael Ejeba, April 9, 2017 will remain unforgettable as it marked a turning
point in his life. The day marked the beginning of his transition. Transition
from poverty to wealth; obscurity to celebrity and from a relatively unknown
entity to a very much loved personality. He is unarguably the most popular man
in Nigeria at the moment after winning the 2017 edition of the Big Brother Naija. He is the Man of
the Moment.
HUMBLE BEGINNING
The Gada
Biu, Jos bred Pidgin English Rapper whose humility, courage, determination and
resilience catapulted him from the shackles of poverty and obscurity to wealth and
fame. His is a classic case of taking one’s destiny into his hands.
The popular
reality show turned out the springboard through which this hitherto unknown 23
year old upcoming rap singer and graduate of economics launched himself into
the league of Nigerian young millionaires and indeed African celebrities.
Born
February 25, twenty-three years in Jos Plateau State, Nigeria to poor and
struggling parents from Delta State, Efe schooled at the Federal Government
College Jos before going on to obtain a first degree in Economics from the
University of Jos. Perhaps, glad to have met minimum parental and contemporary
educational standard he decided to pay attention to his first love. Music! The
lad, from the outset knew want he wanted.
While in
secondary school and all through university years, he showed much interest in
the genre of entertainment. Miming songs of popular artistes like Naeto C, 50
Cents, Eminem and the likes became the starting point for him. In collaboration
with his friend, Duktor Sett, who
like him was also a newcomer in the music business, he went full throttle on his music career with the latter acting
as producer.
COURAGE AND DETERMINATION
Determined
to make it musically, Efe soon realized that Jos was too small a place for him.
He needed to move to Lagos where he believed he could easily enhance his music
career and make a living.
Knowing he
wasn’t born with the proverbial silver spoon he was determined to make one for
himself. As a friend would always say: “Do not blame your parents if you are
born poor but blame yourself if you die poor. Hence his mindset has always been
about struggle and the quest to make money in life.
He knew what
he wanted and against all odds, he went for it. Hence in 2015 he relocated to
Lagos with his producer and they hit the ground running. The year 2016 saw him
launching his Extended Play (EP) Album titled Lagos. The robust piece
comes with 14 tracks comprising tracks like: Lagos, Bad Belle, Introduction,
Thank God, Call Olokpa, Sikira, Outroduction, and so on. Hitherto not
many people knew the album nor the songs, information has it that industry
critiques rate the album very low. However, with his new status his music career
is sure to reach greater heights. ‘So Based On Logistics’, Efe now looks beyond
music.
“…Music is
my first love. I have realized that my brand is way bigger than music, so I
will definitely explore different areas”.
RESILIENCE
Still hungry
for recognition and fame, he was among the few shortlisted to contest the just
concluded Reality Show, Big Brother Naija.
His initial goal was to use the platform to push his music career. But as days
turned to weeks and weeks to months, it gradually dawned on him that he could
actually win the contest.
“When I got
into the Big Brother Naija house I realised that I was a
bit different from other housemates. I was not just playing for the camera, so,
when I was angry or happy I showed it. As time went by, I began believing that
I would actually win the show”.
Determined
to come out victorious, Efe went into the game his natural self, without any
planned strategy. He just remained himself and that worked out for him.
Fortunately his lifestyle and miens endeared him to Nigerians, especially the
youth and teens. In the last campaign in the Big Brother House, he was able to
convince many that he represented the average Nigerian across board.
So
eloquently delivered, many thought it was a rehearsed speech. NO! It was just
the natural Efe. He knew the implication of not getting it right at that point
in time. Performing poorly could come with dire consequences.
He didn’t
want that to happen, at least not at that point in time.
END JUSTIFYING THE MEANS
Efe wanted a
platform to further enhance his career. To him, coming to Lagos and launching
an album does not suffice. Having the opportunity to be a contestant in the
reality show was just the break he needed to push his music, so he thought. He
put in his all to achieve just that, but in the course of the show he realized
he was faced with a life-changing opportunity. In his typical determined and
resilient ways, he didn’t let this slip through.
He
eventually became the last man standing, in the midst of four ladies, and
eventually went on to win the grand prize of twenty-five million naira and an
SUV jeep. In these, still remained humble and caring as he has great plans for
the less-fortunate.
“… I am
happy winning but I feel that real success is measured by how many lives I can
touch”.
