Born in Otukpo in present day Benue state, the singer, Bongos Ikwue has great songs like ‘Mariama’, ‘What’s gonna be’s gonna be’, ‘Still searching’, ‘Tell my girl’ to his credit.
In an interview in March, 2020, he told a journalist: “There is so much that we don’t understand and we falsely believe that we know too much. That is why human beings are arrogant over nothing. For instance, your driver is standing in front of you with his hands in his pockets, and you are angry because he has his hands in his pockets. You forget that his hands and the pockets belong to him. If you are not arrogant, you will be quiet because that is his right.
“There is nothing that should make you challenge your driver for doing that, but we become so arrogant and forget that pride is the most destructive thing in the world. We need to be humble because we know nothing at all.
“There is no period of ailment that is not tough for anybody. I had never had an ailment. I think I was hale and hearty for the first 60 to 70 years of my life and to suddenly fall sick and suffer a stroke was not easy. It is not an ailment that anybody deserves. It is a time of reflection; you know, a lot of people pray for long life but when they begin to get old, they are scared.
“You must accept growing old with dignity. You will also learn one thing from falling sick; that no human being is going to live in this world forever. Above all, despite your wealth, you will die and you are not going to take a pin along with you. When you know these things, it helps you to become humble.
“Let me try and simplify what I’m saying so that people can understand it better. Supposing they give me all the wealth in Abuja and ask everyone to leave their houses for me, they mean nothing. I have realized that nobody owns anything. You are sitting in my hotel now, but it will outlive me because when I die, it will still be here. So we don’t own anything. You can deceive yourself and think you own something.”
