The reason Why I dumped my banking job for music – Anny

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Though she may not possess the alluring voice of Frank Edward as a gospel artiste, she has definitely carved a niche for herself in her chosen career.

Having released two hit songs, “Your Mercy” and “Time” , the Delta State-born gospel singer, Anne Emmanuel Ibrahim, a.k.a Anny, has proven that she has all it takes to hold her own in the nation’s music industry. In this interview, she talks about her peace campaign, career, and why she dumped her lucrative banking job for music.

What informed your decision to flag off the “Peace Around the World” campaign?

I had my primary education in the northern part of the country. I love that place so much that I spent all my life there. In fact, some people call me Fulani.

According to them, I look like a Fulani woman. While growing up, the north used to enjoy relative peace and stability but with the passage of time, peace eluded the region because of prevailing pockets of violence and insurgency.

I did a couple of songs to reflect the sad situation. When the insurgency becsame a national malaise, I asked myself a question, “how would I contribute in the area of restoring peace and stability, particularly in the northern part of the country?”

At this juncture, I resolved to flag off a peace campaign targeted at the north. That’s how the idea of the peace campaign was conceived.

Does your partnership with NDDC involve giving relief materials to the displaced people in the north?

Yes, we have actually started doing that. I have partnered with my friend, Nikki Laoye, who runs Angels for Life Foundation. Recently, her Foundation delivered the first set of relief materials and we are partnering with her on the project. Of course, apart from Nikki Laoye’s Foundation, we are also planning to take the peace campaign to the relief camps. But for now, we are doing it through the people that are close to them.

You have not been visible in recent times, does it mean that the industry has been unfair to you?

I do not think so. My kind of music cuts across tribe and religious boundaries. Right from the first time I released my song, “Come and See” I urged the youths to be patient and it was a gospel song. I also did “Happy Day”, which I released during the fuel subsidy crisis. Talking about attending shows, I do attend as many shows as possible. The environment is actually friendly. I have done one or two collaborations with my colleagues also.

Before this peace campaign, what were you doing?

Before we had this peace campaign, I released a song titled, “I No Go Fear” and I would say it was a follow up to my “Peace Around the world” campaign. That single is all about what is happening in the country at the moment. I am telling Nigerians through the single that they should put their trust in God.

Were your parents comfortable when you ventured into music?

Yes, they were. I used to be a banker. I have worked with one of the first generation banks and I could remember at a point, I was no longer enjoying my banking job. Most times, I had to sneak out of the office and travel to Kaduna to record my songs. It was not easy and one day, I told my mother that I was going to resign from my job because of my passion for music.

And I can remember my mother screaming. But today, I tell people that no bank can pay me and nobody can buy my time at the moment. You have to pay a lot to do that.

Are you fulfilled doing music?

I am happy that I am doing what I know how to do best. As for fulfillment, I would say it’s an ongoing thing. I would not say that I am at the peak of my career right now but it is a gradual process.

What else would you have done if you weren’t doing music?

If I was not a musician, I would have been acting. I am actually working on a film right now. So, if I weren’t into music, I probably would be an actress or better still, ventured into oil and gas business.

How did you get NDDC to partner with you on this project?

It was not easy. Just like the grant the federal government gave to Nollywood, you have to go out and source for sponsorship. We sourced for sponsors, we asked ourselves, ‘where can we go and who can we meet?’. We also took it to some other organizations but they weren’t forthcoming.

But when we took the video to NDDC, they fell in love with the video and the message it conveys. It also tallied with one of their goals which is bringing peace to the people of that region. That made it very easy for us.

You are talking about Nollywood passionately, do you intend to combine singing with acting?

There is nothing like a gospel artiste. They are individuals with different goals and aspirations. They are human beings. Now, you choose to do what you want to do as a human being not as a title. I can, as a Christian, decide to go into acting, or better still become a dancer .

It does not affect my faith in anything. It only limits the kind of music, that is why people will not hear me sing a certain song, not because I hate the singer or that they do not know God. But because my belief or what I stand for does not support that. Being an actress does not stop me from being a Christian. We have the likes of Omoni Oboli, who is an actress and also a Christian. There are a lot of them.

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