Last week, 26-year-old Yeka Onka won the first ever season of Nigerian Idol. She has been described by some as an “African Whitney Houston.” (We’re hoping, the Whitney of the 80s and 90s and not today.)
Born Onyekachi Gilbert Onwuka, Onka’s win didn’t come easily. She was twice rejected from Nigerian Idol auditions in Enugu and Calabar. Finally, she journeyed to Lagos and was accepted at her third audition.
Onka told Nigerianfilms.com what kept her going during the process:
[sws_blockquote_endquote align=”” cite=”” quotestyle=”style03″]God has kept me. He has been my strength and everything. The other thing that has kept me is my determination. I’m a kind of person that if I set my heart to achieve something, I’ll definitely achieve it no matter what I face. And I don’t believe that what will be will be. I believe that I can turn things around to work for me.[/sws_blockquote_endquote]
After being crowned the victor, Onka received a recording contract, 7.5 million Naira (about 48,000 USD), a brand new car, and a Sony home entertainment center. The former Miss Abia thanked the judges, her fans, and her vocal coach and told the audience to “follow their dreams.”
[sws_blockquote_endquote align=”” cite=”” quotestyle=”style03″]When they gave me those nos, I didn’t take it as my destiny. I still told myself that I had to work harder.[/sws_blockquote_endquote]
Watch a video.
They should be giving prizes like this to the least corrupt president or minister or something! This MTV age in Africa is crazy.
They just discovered Whitney Houston and you are talking about giving prizes to who?
Whitney Houston? What did Whitney ever do for black people. So they just discovered someone who’s going to use her voice to make a lot of money and then get with some junky and waste her life. What I life to hope for? Why can’t she just be herself? That’s why I say, Africa is quite a blind follower of anything. Bring a cow, we will follow it. Bring anything to Africa, just be white and we will follow you. Abbah! Can we grow some d**n sense?
The thing is that, if I were a minister, it will pay more to be corrupt. What is 48,000 USD? There’re are millions to steal and you’re talking about 48,000 USD. You out of your darn mind.
Lol. You right. I even think it’s a crime to be honest these days.
I know this girl!
From where? Nigeria?
Lol.
People don’t have drinking water but they bask around dishing out 48,000 USD? Kids are sitting under trees studying in Northern Kanu and they dish out houses? Mothers don’t have hospitals/clinics to have their kids and they dish out all kinds of stuff, all copied from America!
Actually the Idol thing started from the UK.
God Bless Her! I can’t believe she won. This girl is determined. She journeyed through thick and thin and God has reward her! She deserves it. All those participants deserved it too.
She has to be commended for her hard work. Hopefully the Nation of Nigeria would find some wisdom in also rewarding hard work in different fields and not just entertainment. We need to embark on an attitude of appreciation and acceptance. Yeka will certainly become a great singer. And so should all her friends and family become anything they also want to be. We can do it for our people. Hence we should all start encouraging and appreciating one another. I hope this is the beginning of greater things to come to our dear continent.
Nkrumah? Are you rooming with Tupac or something? Making songs while… well. My lips are shut. But great little words of encouragement.
I am all for developing talent in the motherland. This can be a first step. We don’t have enough of talent development in our schools so we have to come up with new ways to doing it. Big ups to Nigeria!
We should do our best to institute progressive projects in schools, especially our High Schools in order to promote talent development. I think 48,000 USD can go a long way to unearthing some great talent from many regions in Nigeria.
This is very inspiring. Make something out of nothing. Impossible is really nothing. She is very hard working and should be an example to all children hoping and believing that they too can succeed. God bless her.