It would be recalled that a few weeks back, the rumour mills were agog with information that the artiste had passed away as a result of an undisclosed ailment. His absence from the musical scene also appeared to have given credence to the rumour. Dairo, sporting a white lace material and looking robust at the concert, affirmed the rumour that he experienced a health challenge, adding that it was through God’s grace that he survived the kidney ailment, which ultimately sapped his finances. He noted that if not for the timely intervention of a close friend who paid for the operation he went through, he might not be alive today as he was near bankruptcy.
“On my hospital bed, I realised that I had not been close to God for some time and my spiritual life was on the decline. I remember that I promised God earlier during my career that for every album I released, I would include a gospel track, but I did not do this in one of my albums and I thought that God was not happy with me. My brush with death has revealed to me that success without God is no success and it is better not to make a promise to God than to make and not fulfil it.
“I am happy that I am alive today and apart from setting up a free gospel website where songs can be downloaded, the mercy and greatness of God will also be reflected in subsequent albums that I embark on,” the near tearful Dairo enthused. He subsequently thrilled the audience with some of his timeless classics which included, ‘Mosorire.
Earlier during the concert, another invited artiste, Tosin Martins, who was made popular by the love track, ‘Olomi’ also, entertained the audience. During the course of his performance, he confessed to the audience the challenges he’d passed through while putting together the song that ultimately put him in the limelight. He said he was abandoned by close friends, especially those in church who felt that the songs he wrote were immoral. He noted that after the success of the music, the same friends thronged to him soliciting for renewed friendship.
He noted that after he released the controversial album, subsequent ones had not been as powerful in lyrics and message as Olomi. He also intimated the audience about the emotional stress he went through when he lost his daughter last year, though stressing that he had passed the dreadful stage and is currently expecting another child from his wife who is on vacation in London. “How far you see in life depends on what you are standing upon, and if you can endure present hardships, you can always bounce back into reckoning,’ Martins admonished the audience.
The audience was also treated to a session of hilarity and fun as witty Francis Duru kept them on the edge of their seats with rib-cracking jokes. One of the prime organisers of the concert, Pastor Dayo Olutayo, stressed the importance of the gathering, saying that the mission of the PDI was to bring star artistes to the masses so that they can share their good and bad experiences with Nigerians and people can learn from them. “Most of these stars that we see on TV screens are just like you and me and they also pass through the same experiences that we go through. How they are able to surmount these challenges and come out stronger and wiser will go a long way in helping someone out there who is also passing through the same crises.” He promised that in the next couple of weeks, the Initiative would be reaching out to other celebrities with the hope of getting them to share their experiences with their fans.
