Uri NgozichukwukaSo Sammie Okposo dies. Or finally dies. Yes, finally; because he died slowly and one morning his tender heart that couldn’t take it anymore gave up on him.
When I met Sammie, he was so sweet and easy-going. We talked and laughed, had finger foods in the lobby of ‘Four Points By Sheraton’. I had just finished a meeting and he too. We were both in the lobby and I walked over to him, introduced myself and asked to join him.
He was pleasant and hit it off immediately. We talked about music movies and ended up deciding to go watch movies. The movie was not interesting and we thought of trying another movie.
Yes, we did movie back-to-back. It was so hilarious because the second movie was just as uninteresting. We laughed so hard and decided that was not our lucky movie day. We called it a night and made a note to return another time there were better movies to watch. That was five years ago.
No strings attached. I was impressed he did not as much make a pass. He was very bubbly and so excited about his music expressing his gratitude to God for the promotion and the corporate endorsements he got for a gospel music artist.
He was very unassuming. Child-like and trusting. Spontaneous too. He just wanted to have clean fun with this very confident lady he had met.
When news about his entanglement with an American woman who later spilled the beans on him broke, I just thought: “Ah this man with his unassuming nature obviously didn’t see the snake in the garden of daffodils roses and tulips.
I still don’t know why women always do this to men. They know his weaknesses and set the man up and cry wolf.
Yes, that was his moment of weakness. Blood flowed through his veins. He was also not immune to the weak judgement. We all judge weakly sometimes if not most times but for the grace of God.
In the last 30 years out of his 51 years, Sammie Okposo grew up in the Christian community. Finding his place early and giving of himself the best way he knew how. The church loved him. God blessed him.
His thunderous voice bellowed high praises of our God and Maker. As he praised His God the King of kings, God took him before kings of the earth. He lifted God high with his gift and God drew men unto Sammie Okposo and the women were not left out. The scriptures were fulfilled in Sammie’s life. He worked with his talent at full blast.
A lot of us are still struggling with our talents and gifts and asking God to do for us what He did for Sammie Okposo. He was blessed minister and worshipper
Sammie’s acceptance transcended the Christian community into the circular. He was the first gospel Artist that got a corporate endorsement. Still trying to figure out if there’s another. From Sinach to mercy chinwo and others. Sammie Okposo was blessed.
So back to his musical formative years in the church. That was all he knew. From a young man to a full grown man three decades of total Immersion in his craft and service to His Maker the best way he knew.
Yes Sammie may have had what others may consider a few relationship mishap. From a celebrated fathering of a child with an Ibru daughter to an equally celebrated love affair with a well loved popular Nollywood actress, Kate Henshaw and more recently the American woman angle. Like I said He lifted God up in praises and God drew all men to his feet and the ladies were not left out.
Sammie Okposo was tall dark and handsome with a deep and sonorous voice that even made the angels jealous. I guess as his voice melted through the ceilings of churches into the heavenly courts it also melted some earthly hearts too. Both in spiritual and amorous ways. Can’t rule that out.
Was it a gift? It absolutely was.
He came packaged and the women won’t leave him alone. Having spent that day with him and we engaged intellectually over lunch and movies it was a refreshing experience for him. For me it was a huge relief too just to have a good laugh. Lunch and movies with no pressure. There’s still hope for healthy platonic male and female relationships.
I need to get back to this community Sammie grew up in and served. The Pentecostals. Or is it the society? After all the Pentecostals are part of the society. However, for this particular write up let me stay with the Pentecostals. Bible believing, tongue speaking, demon chasing and fire spitting folks which I am a part of. A very interesting and most hypocritical lot who pick and choose which aspect of the scriptures to obey and push down our necks and the other parts of the scriptures to totally ignore or in Sammie’s case go loudly silent on. In Sammie Okposo’s case they ignored Galatian 6. [1] which says: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. [2] Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ”
As the news of the tryst with the American lady which resulted in the birth of a child outside matrimony broke the world came for him in daggers and spears. Social media is mercilessly vicious and surely the fangs and claws dug deep into his jugular. The venomous tongues lashed out at him with glee. Millions trolling on one man. There was no bidding place.
The community he had served and known all his life shut him out. Some cancelled his bookings. Even the pastors that are known serial predators of their female folks married and unmarried but more of married. Plus paedophilic deacons and elders and even the closet gays. All these within the church trolled Sammie Okposo too. “How can a minister” they queried in their hypocritical minds. “The pulpit is too holy to have him stand and lift up unholy hands”.
The other set of trollers were the usual bad belle men whose wives and girlfriends Sammie was mesmerising with his deep voice. They too jumped into the fray of accusers. Then the babes he didn’t give the time of day threw their hands in the air in celebration. “God don catch am. Sebi na American babe e want”
The half baked feminists jumped in. Why did he leave the American woman with the child? She is right to call him out. Blah blah and the emptiest of the blabs.
I still wonder why he would even loose corporate sponsorship. Was his endorsement based on morals or his talent and wide appeal accross audiences? I guess they are also justified to protect the brand. A supposedly stained Sammie Okposo would not add to the brand.
In a proverbial twinkle of an eye Sammie dove down from a celebrated praise singer loved by millions to a condemned pariah loathed by millions. His sonorous voice turned sour and undesirous and he had to be puked out with speed and vehemence. He was alone. In the cold. Rejected by all and all he knew all his life.
Sammie Okposo was human. A lover of God. A servant of the Most High. A blessed and gifted son of God. He served. Singing his heart out. What I don’t understand is why humans deny humanity. They morph into creatures of the dark when situations demands they remain in their best human elements. One could argue even denying our humanity is also human. I get it.
I could go on and on about the absence of empathy in our society especially in the church. We forget ” being our brother’s keeper”. Who would listen to him? Who could console or counsel him when his heart bled? Plenty men are serial adulterers. A Sammie Okposo was not just any man. He was a Child of God. Minister of the gospel. So he was a gold fish. He had to deal with his wife’s pain over his betrayal. He had to deal with massive rejection. He also dealt with his community exclusion. All these came to a head on the 25th of November and the lights went off. He sang into the waiting arms of His Maker.
Now he’s gone there’s a deluge of most insincerest condolences flying everywhere. Most hypocritical prayers for the repose of his soul . Humans don’t surprise me anymore when they put up this act.
However will the circumstances surrounding Sammie Okposo’s death inspire us to be a little more humane? To be Empathetic? To be kind in our hearts and not judge harshly? To just LOVE? Think about it.
Rest on soldier. My dear friend We will meet on Ressurection morning and catch up with the movie of all time. The RAPTURE. Then we will do the BANQUET
Uri Ngozichukwuka Is an author, writes from Lagos
Excellent tribute from a pure golden heart. Uri you are a master craft of the cross. Thank you for the write up.