Intro:
This is a story about the challenges of establishing oneself as a successful artiste, especially in an environment that is alien to that in which one was bred. It is also a story of love and looking out for the one you love, especially when they seem to be falling apart.
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Kevin blared his car horn impatiently and cursed under his breath. He told himself it was impossible to be a gentleman, let alone a Christian, in this kind of traffic. He also assured himself he would leave Nigeria the first chance he got. He had been weaving in and out of lanes, sometimes endangering himself and his new Toyota Avalon, but it hadn’t done him much good. It would still be two hours at least before he made it home to Ejigbo from Ikeja.
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He wondered what his wife had been up to all day. Marrying a creative person could be a very exciting experience, what with the spontaneity, the surprises and originality of what they do for you, not forgetting the money and the fame if they make it. But it also had its downsides – the mood swings, the depression that follows a lack of inspiration, the isolation at critical stages of birthing a work, the frustration when a work lovingly and painstakingly produced work lacks an outlet, fails to earn critical acclaim or commercial success and so on. And he’d been seeing more of the downsides lately.
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Convincing Diana, a British citizen of Nigerian extraction, to relocate to Nigeria after their marriage two years ago had certainly been a mistake. What heady, young love can do! Trying to break into the musical market here has been a struggle. Her brand of pop which is loved in Europe “sounds childish” to the locals and his position as a music company executive has not opened all the doors he had hoped it would for her.
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At first, Diana felt she would most definitely be a hit here because as she put it, she was bringing “a new sound and freshness” to the musical output in the country. But she found that producers and artistes, rather than being impressed with her songwriting, vocal power, guitar and piano playing skills, expected her to drop what they called her “been-to” ways and acculturate in order to make her person and her music saleable. She was advised to collaborate with local artistes to get a feel of the industry before making any solo effort.

This seemed like a slap in the face to her who held a degree in contemporary music from the University of Birmingham and had a bourgeoning career before her current adventure to Africa. If anything, these people she was being directed to should be taking lessons from her, she felt. She wasn’t suffering from a superiority complex as some people claimed, she was just being herself, she maintained: a 23-year-old, well-bred girl, who is clearly a class act for those with eyes to see!
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So with the assistance of her husband’s music company, she put out a single. But in spite of broadcast interviews and other efforts to promote the song, it was receiving insignificant airplay on radio and the video was only featured occasionally as a filler on late night TV. Concert bookings were few because she was told recitals were not crowd pullers. Neither her guitar and piano playing skills nor her strong vocal ability will make a difference. Apparently, she needed to be backed by a troupe of half-naked dancers but she didn’t write the boisterous kind of music that would match their energetic choreography. Adele and her ilk would be climbing the walls if they were here, she thought.
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Attempts to push the song online fell through too. It appeared that she needed to go on tour to drive that as well but it just wasn’t happening yet. And she needed to get out new music to stay relevant. Her manager since her move to Nigeria seemed to have run out of ideas. They weren’t even on speaking terms anymore after he called her stubborn and immature the last time they fell out. What it boiled down to was that she was turning into a non-performing performer, and that is a sure career killer if ever there was one.
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The disappointment had thrown up issues that Kevin had never anticipated – Diana began to drink hard and use drugs. When he came home once in the middle of the day, she was nowhere to be found. He decided to skip work for the rest of the day and she returned three hours later, slightly inebriated. She put it down to the excitement of seeing some old friends on a business trip to Nigeria and apologised.
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That was six weeks ago but the situation had gone downhill from there. Not a day passed without her getting drunk or high on something. Yet, she refused to say where she got the drinks or the drugs. She had even stopped apologising, insisting that she was an artiste and that these things came with the terrain. Wanting to save her life and their marriage, Kevin felt that the best option would be to seek a transfer to their head office in Abuja. He intended to check her into a rehab facility there and do what he should have done from day one: share the gospel with her.
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In fact, he was going to do the latter right away because with Christ in her, she would find the strength to fight her addictions, he believed. But he needed to get home to do that. And with that thought, he blared his horn again and mopped the sweat on his brow.
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-The end-
Ⓒ Edith Ugochi Ohaja 2016
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Do you think Kevin’s plan will be enough to save Diana? And what role should Diana play in bringing about her restoration?
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