According to Celestine Donkor, Nathaniel Bassey, a Nigerian gospel artist, chastised his Ghanaian counterparts recently out of guilt.
The gospel performer “Agbe Boloo” informed Kwame Dadzie on Joy FM’s Twitter Spaces that Nathaniel made the remark because the majority of Nigerian artists receive greater recognition in Ghana than Ghanaian artists.
“You receive a call for an event, there are about five Nigerian artistes on it and you know that they have paid them huge sums of money but the moment you put your cards on the table, that is the end of the conversation,” she said.
She added that, in contrast to how Nigerian artists are received in Ghana, Ghanaians find it difficult to receive a significant amount of support in Nigeria.
“For me I think this prophecy was inspired by guilt. It was inspired by guilt because you host a concert in somebody’s country, you put only two of their celebrated artistes on their concert. And because you are feeling guilty about the whole thing clashing with some concerts that are already going on, you prophesy that our time will come,” she noted.
She felt that Nathaniel ought to have counseled the Nigerian music industry to be more accepting of musicians from Ghana.
“I respect Nathaniel Bassey so much but I pray that he will also use the same platform like that, when he gets on the stage of Experience, when he gets on big platforms. He is a global icon. We honour and celebrate him. He should also speak that give your brothers in sister in Ghana a chance,” she said.
Her remarks follow Nathaniel’s statement at the Jesus Encounter Concert in Accra that more English-language songs should be performed by Ghanaian gospel musicians to appeal to a global audience.
Since then, his message has reignited the discussion about how language affects how much we enjoy music.
While some believe that language is irrelevant, others maintain that gospel music is primarily about message, which is why it is advisable to speak in a language that is widely understood and relatable.
