Ogecha Haruna is a gospel artiste with a difference and she intends to maintain that status. The talented songstress and song writer recently released her debut album, "All for you", and according to her, the album is one with a message for all generations. In this interview with Rotimi Ige, she speaks on her growing up, love for music and aspiration for the future.MUSIC is a medium of expression and everyday, more people are finding their ways of exploring the joy that one derives from making good music. In Nigeria, music and entertainment have become a big business, and many youths are earning a living through it. Gospel music, though different from the contemporary form, has been revolutionised across the world with the new types of gospo-centric forms which was made popular by people like Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Juanita Bynum, to mention a few.In Nigeria, the likes of Sammie Okposo, Yinka Ayefele, Righteousman,Folake Umosen, Midnight Crew, Tim Geoffery, took Nigerians by storm with their new genre of music. As these people have been in the mainstream of gospel music, a new music sensation is set to hit the circle with a bang and take the gospel music to new heights. She is Ogecha Diane Haruna; an industrial engineer by training, a fashion designer by choice and a gospel artiste by passion and calling, Ogecha is a musician with an agenda. She has stressed her commitment to making music that will help her generation realise the importance of character and Godly living.JOURNEY INTO MUSICOgecha started singing and writing songs as a hobby in 1994, in the Nigerian Navy Secondary School (NNSS ) Ojo. At various events, her talent was discovered and was often invited to certain programmes to perform."I did not enjoy doing this at that time because I was very shy displaying the gift God has given me and I never fully understood the beauty in it. I never felt compelled to join a choir or do anything that would push me into music. All this changed in 2006, after one of the most painful experiences I have had in my lifetime.I lost my father and the acute pain drove me so deep into myself that the only way I could express my feelings was on paper, they just happened to come out as songs."Ogecha said that she felt that her world was over when she lost her father. She was devastated because she had developed a close relationship with her father and he had always been there for her morally and physically. However, being a closely knit family, her relations rallied round her and helped to heal her wound. But, incidentally, the loss jolted her into discovering her talent of song writing. This, according to her, turned her life around for the better."By 2007, I decided that I wanted to write songs that would praise God, as well as bless the hearts of the people that would hear them. I also grew conscious of the fact that God expected more from me and I found myself asking Him how I could please Him."Her sense of purpose was thus discovered and she took on with renewed zeal and passion. She then began to write songs and since then, she has not looked back.THE ALBUMShe met her executive producer in 2008 and the work on her first album titled "All for you" began. "I met my executive producer in 2008 and with his help and encouragement, together with that of my wonderful mother, Mrs Elizabeth Haruna, and a group of fantastic people, the album 'All for You', materialised."The album was released this year in Abuja at the Transcorp Hilton and since its release, it had been making waves in Abuja and in other parts of the country. Ogecha had since entered the A-list of gospel musicians and hopes to take her style of music across the world.She wishes that her music would appeal to all ages with the message of love, hope and praise to her maker which is contained in the album, this she opines that people would find more reasons to praise God.LIFESTYLEOgecha eats, sleeps and talks music. In her bid to take her music and its message of hope and love to all parts of the world, she is, at most involved with making more music. "I'm a very simple person by nature. Apart from my love for my God, music and design, I particularly enjoy being with my family and friends. I'm actively involved in the Throne Room Priests Worship Team, Throne Room Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). I'm an ardent reader and writer as well," she said.As regards clothes, "I wear whatever that is fashionable as long as it fits me. I can't say I have a favourite designer, but there are a few ones I particularly love.'INSPIRATIONBeing in an atmosphere of worship is Ogecha's most distinct source of inspiration. "After that, anything goes. I could be sitting in an eatery and see someone slip and fall to the ground, and words would begin to pop into my head in form of a song. From the rowdy market environment to the quiet confines of a sound proof studio booth, as far as the world exists and God desires my worship, anything can inspire me to write and sing to glorify Him," she stresses.She has a message to youths, encouraging them to identify their God- given talents and pursuing their dreams with all of their ability. "Nigerian youths are vibrant, energetic, and very talented. We can be whatever we want to be and all it takes is hardwork and a Godly focus. If we look around us today, many young people are making it big in their various endeavours be it in entertainment or in other professional fields. Our youths must wake up to their responsibility to themselves and the nation so as to move Nigeria forward and make it the land of their dreams."And she sings of it in her music as she encourages all to live exemplary lives and leave their environment better than they met it.
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