Kukere master, Iyanya announced last week that he was
setting up a foundation as a way of giving back to the society. This was not a
very surprising move for a man that lost his family in the space of two years
but kept moving forward.
Now an ambassador to three brands, the successful artiste in
this interview with Enconium Weekly explained the motive behind his foundation.
He also spoke about the controversy surrounding the Lenovo endorsement he
doesn’t have and many other issues.
Why did you set up the Iyanya Foundation?
God has blessed me so much and I do believe that my story
should inspire anybody out there who feels like you need a mom, dad or family,
that you don’t need anybody but you to bring out the best in you. They would
support you, they would help you and pray for you but at the end of the day,
you’re the one who knows what you want to be so you have to get it. I’m
establishing this foundation to encourage people out there and to also give
back.
When exactly did you
come up with the idea of a foundation?
Really, it’s been there for a while. There are a lot of
things I’ve been doing but it’s high time I did it properly and you will see
the things we will do.
So what are the
activities the foundation would be busy with?
We’ll be encouraging and assisting the less privileged kids,
send them to school. We’ll visit hospitals and reach out as much as I can to
people that are helpless. I’ll be going to most of these places that you don’t
expect me to go but I really don’t want to mention names for now.
Would running this
foundation not be a distraction to your music?
It has nothing to do with my music. It would be unfair if I
don’t give back because the society made me who I am.
Do you intend to do
all these things on your own or as times goes on you’ll be open to people for
support?
I have been doing it on my own but as times goes on, being a
foundation, people would definitely support. It’s another way to get blessed.
From grass to grace, I won Project Fame, I didn’t make it because I was singing
RnB, I changed to commercial and kept trying till I became artiste of the year.
My story is one that if I was not Iyanya, I’d want to hear it and be inspired.
How do you plan to
pick beneficiaries for your foundation?
I already have some kids that are going to school right now,
that’s long before the foundation. For now, I wouldn’t say I have specific
people in mind, it’s going to be as the spirit leads. It’s going to be more of
me going to places where people need help. I’ll visit schools to donate
exercise books, pay school fees and a whole lot of other activities.
Your song, Away has
had several video entries from fans all over the world since you asked them to
send entries, will a winner be announced and when is it?
Away was never a competition. Fans like to relate with their
artistes, to feel like they are part of it all and that was why we asked them
so send HD video recordings of themselves dancing Away so, the real video which
will be out by next week is going to be a fusion of Iyanya and the fans. It’s a
fans video and the reward is having your recording on the video. There’s no
prize that we can give you that is better than putting you on the video, trust
me.
A magazine reported
not long ago that you lied about having signed an endorsement deal with Lenovo
when you have not, what’s your response to that?
I don’t know anything about that. This question is for my
manager actually, he handles the business part. Ask me anything that has to do
with music and I’ll answer.
But how did you feel
when you saw the report?
Trust me, I didn’t feel anything, I’m just thankful. People
will always say stuff. The Bible has taught me a lot. When Jesus Christ went
through everything he went through in the Bible, it was just to show us that as
holy as he is, he still went through all these, then who am I? It’s obvious
that in Nigeria, when you’re successful, everybody waits for you to go down,
it’s sad. When two people are making it together, they’ll say ‘They will break
up soon’, it’s unfortunate. Why don’t we support people, why don’t we promote
what’s good? It’s sad when people are trying to destroy a name you suffered to
build rather than help you and encourage you. It’s all good, though, I
understand that it would always iyanya1happen, mine’s to continue thanking God
for His blessings, to continue working and not to let down people that believe
in me.
Whenever Iyanya
decides to settle down, what kind of woman would you want?
I’m not even sure these days because if you say you want to
go to church and get one, she comes into the house and she’s a mess, whereas
you could have a club girl and she’ll be amazing. For now, I’m just
concentrating on music, trying to be successful because you’ll have to provide
for her when she comes, whenever that is. I’m just believing God for a best
friend because it only makes sense when she’s your best friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment