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GOSPORELLA itemizes what life has taught him @ 50

+ ‘I will remarry in obedience to God’

 

DJ Gosporella has every reason to be thankful!  He is 50. His friends and well-wishers rolled out the drums in celebration a couple of days back.

ENCOMIUM Weekly had an interview with him about life at 50…

 

How does it feel being 50?

I feel good.  I feel fulfilled.  It is a milestone.  I thank God I am able to get to this stage of my life.  I believe it is the day you are tired that you are tired.  Abraham was still up and doing even in his old age.  God said this about Moses at 120.  His strength was not abated, neither was his eye dim.  I am modeling my life after those people.  It all depends on your thoughts.  I was thinking at 50, I will be feeling somehow but I woke up that day, raised my hands, flexed my muscles and said, yes, age is just a number.  From my own experience, you can talk yourself to being young.  You are who you say you are.  The good thing about age is the experience that comes with it.

DJ_Gosporella_and_DJ_Jimmy_JattWhat is the greatest lesson life has taught you at 50?

Just like the Bible says, ‘Trust no one but God.’  You are your own best friend.  A man’s worst enemy is from his household.  I am my own greatest friend, support team.  With God all things are possible.

Any regret at this age?

Yes, there were things I did at a young age that I wouldn’t have done.  One of my greatest regrets is that I didn’t allow myself to be mentored.  Everybody needs a mentor.  I thought I knew it all, that no one should mentor me.  There is something about mentorship, if you want to stay relevant you must be mentored.

Will you say you are fulfilled?

I am content with what I have but I need more.  I am a father, I have honour, I have a business.  God has given me honour.  When they are calling the names of people who have made impact in entertainment, my name will be there.

Your philosophy of life?

Don’t start what you cannot finish.  I am a man of integrity.  I believe you must stick to whatever you say.  It is in the Bible, “Seeth thou a man that wants to build a house, he must first of all count the cost, if not, his mate will laugh at him.”

Are there things you can no longer do as a result of your new age?

I don’t see myself lying, doing certain things like what people call enjoyment. It has not been part of my life.  Women have always been part of my life but I see them more as mothers and sisters now.  For me, the things that give people pleasure don’t appeal to me again.  Going out to drink and all that have never been part of my life.  I wouldn’t go to places where I cannot defend.  I like to follow whatever I say with my mouth.

Do you still keep in touch with some of your childhood friends?

I schooled in the village, Calabar and Lagos.  I am a very private person but unfortunately, people misunderstand me.  I have not seen a lot of them in a very long while, both secondary and primary school friends. It has been a while, I try to stay on my own because I hate disappointment.  I am a loyal customer.  I went to Edo State for a programme sometime back, I called my friend before leaving Lagos to inform him I was coming. By the time I landed in Benin, I called his line and he didn’t pick it. I had to call another person to pick me. That was the guy I practically brought out and introduced him to gospel music.  So, I try to stay on my own.

gosporellaYou must have adjusted your priorities, what are they now?

It is not how much money you have or what you have in your bank account or anywhere that matters, they cannot keep you afterwards.  What keeps you afterwards is your investment in human beings.  Abiola’s death taught me a lesson.  Most of the properties he left are dilapidated.  Those houses were looking good when he was alive, look at them now.  If he had only invested in property alone, people wouldn’t be talking about him today.  Right now, we are investing in young people.  If you go to Gosporella FM, we have a lot of young people. They never had the opportunity to speak on radio but now, they are doing well.

What about your menu list, have you adjusted?

I didn’t read it in the Bible that you have to adjust your menu list.  What the Bible says is, ‘I open my mouth and the Lord fills it.’  Whatever I take is good, it is created by God.  I will be fat and flourishing like the palm tree to my old age.  Nothing missing, nothing broken, I shall be called a youth at 100.  My sight will be sharp.  It is when you are extra careful about certain things that it happens to you.  Look at Job, he was extra careful.  People say you must bless your food before eating it, why, I used my money that I paid tithe on to buy it.  I never ate anyhow, anyway.  I have never been a drunk. I have never been a sugar person.  I have always lived a regulated life.  I have always known you need a holiday, if God rested why not you?  I drink a lot of water and sleep a lot.  I know how to balance everything.  If I work round the clock this week, I know I must be lazy next week so, I can rest.  Nothing has really changed. If you have always lived a good life, it will reflect in your old age.  Your thought pattern is very important.  You shouldn’t think wrong.  What you think in your heart is very important.

Can you tell us some of your accomplishments at 50?

Achievement is relative, some people see their material wealth as achievement.  If your pride is in cars and houses as achievement, then you have not done anything.  My greatest achievement is that God called me to change the face of gospel business in Nigeria.  Whenever the story of gospel music will be written and Gosporella will be there.  A lot of artistes will say Gosporella was the first to play my music on radio.  That is my greatest achievement and that is what I intend to continue doing.

Do you still intend to remarry?

The Bible says, ‘It is not good for man to be alone.’  Anything God says you should do is not for His own benefit for yours.  If He says you should remarry, one of the reasons is to get rid of loneliness.  So, I will say I want to marry tomorrow.  Yes, I want to remarry.

So, is there a lady or are you in a relationship?

Let us watch and see.  I will invite you when it happens.  Don’t worry about that.

How is Gosporella FM doing?

The idea came on my birthday last year.  Categorically, we can say it is one year but we can’t call it one year because we started operating in October 2014.  Doing what we are doing, from the angle we are doing it, we have come a long way.  It has been a learning process for me.  The greatest lesson I have learnt from Gosporella FM is the greatest thing to deal with are issues.  The hardest thing to deal with are human beings.  If you successfully run a company that has at least three people, you have made a huge success.  So, we are progressing and getting there.  People are getting to understand us, what we stand for.  The Gosporella Band is about putting gospel music out there, giving Christians an alternative to secular music.  People have come to realize that if they tune in to our station, they will listen to all genres of Christian music.  We are getting better and better.  The money has not started coming in yet but we know we are the future of radio.  Running Gosporella FM has taught me that much. I have a family at Gosporella.  They call me dad and I refer to them as kids.  I am happy to bring them together.  When they get calls from the United States and everywhere, it gives them joy and it also gives me joy.

How are you coping raising the kids all alone?

God is helping me.  The children are all grown, the youngest (girl) is 12.  She shares the same birthday with me.  They take care of themselves.  My eldest daughter is serving, she is 23.  I have succeeded in giving them their life.  They know what is good.  I have taught them the Christian way.

 

– SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

Encomium

Written by Encomium

A media, tech and events company.

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