WHEN GRACE COMES KNOCKING

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”.