On Thursday, February 5, 2015, kefee’s memorial concert/Album launch was staged at Daystar Christian Centre. Sahara weekly had a chat with the widower, Teddy, and he opened up on why it’s been difficult to let go of her memory….
What has kept you going since the demise of your wife?
It has just been God. Both of us are always very positive. Basically, whatever it is that you are expecting, always have a positive attitude towards it. I will never say it is hard or it has not been easy. I will always say it has just been God.
You are handsome, rich and doing well in your career and so many people will see that as an opportunity for them to flirt around with you. Why has it been difficult for you to move on?
You just can’t forget your best friend just like you can’t forget Jesus knowing full well that this is what Jesus came to do for the world. This is someone who redeemed me from being a boy into a man. A very first love for me, she’s just someone I can’t forget. Apart from that, if you know Kefee, you will know she’s not that kind of person you can forget just like that. She’s is loving, humble, caring and above all, very thoughtful. She’s just like an angel. Before we got married, this is what made me know she is the woman.
There was a time when we started going out, I was thinking of changing the furniture of the house, the cotton but I didn’t tell anyone about it. I was only working towards it. You won’t believe me; I never knew she had same intention. I came to the office and I went home. When I got home, it was as if I entered a new house. I was amazed and I was like ‘No, this is not my room’. I showed my brother and I asked him who did it because I only told God. I didn’t even tell my brother. I was now like ‘mehn, ok! Now’. Sometimes I will be thinking of something and the next thing I hear is ‘sweetie, Take’. I’m always like ‘he he, Egbami’. That was the catch and you know that kind of thing, I just can’t forget that kind of person.
Are you trying to say she’s an angel sent to you?
An angel is someone who God send when you have a request and there were so many requests in my heart, so many wish that I wanted to do. Physically, she’s doing them. Definitely, that is an angel.
What do you miss so much about her?
Just her being around. Just looking at her and say ‘sweetie, how are you doing?’ We call ourselves sweetie.
To what extent have you been able to preserve the brand?
That is what I’m actually trying to do. You know, one funny thing about Nigeria is that when someone passes on, it is so easy to forget her but I’ve said that by the grace of God, I’m not going to forget about her and apart from that, she has got a whole lot of songs and videos. Gradually, we are editing them and in the next five years, she will still be releasing songs.
Can you tell us about the album you are launching?
We actually wanted to launch the album in 2014. There was ‘beautiful’ and ‘chorus leader’ but we were only able to release ‘chorus leader’. What I’ve just done now is release ‘beautiful’ and package all of her videos which are scattered because a lot of people wants to see her so I’ll just package the videos and call it ‘The best of both world’ because the videos include contemporary and gospel videos and we are launching it today, Thursday, February 05, 2015.
How best can she be immortalized by all?
What they can do right now is about her foundation. Her foundation is on and the core values of the foundation is to support the orphanages, the Niger Delta people, make sure that there is peace and that is why she created ‘ Kefee peace foundation’ and the ‘hope’ project. Kefee peace foundation is a foundation to maintain peace among youth especially this election period, she was preparing for it and has written a song for it and the hope project was to inspire people with her story; from nothing to something, from zero to hero. If she can make it, they can make it to and that is why we have the hope project and kefee peace foundation. The hope project is the inspirational part while the peace foundation is the working mission that actualizes the hope project.
There is something two of you had been doing together because you complement each other spiritually, physically, physically and even career wise. Now, you own all the responsibility. What have been the challenges?
That is what makes a man. A man who doesn’t face challenges isn’t a man. I just think that is what makes a man and I think there is spiritual favour I have. I know she is an angel there saying ‘sweetie, I know the burden is so much on you’ but you know, one day of favour is better than a million year of labour.
How would you have felt if she had given you a child before she left?
Best thing! That is what we were actually planning and that is why she has so many songs right now because we were planning that for two years, she will be off the scene and for that two years, we have done a lot of videos and songs that will be rolling in that even people will not discover that she has gone for the family thing.
Is it possible for someone else to fill the vacuum? And what are the attributes you think can qualify such a person?
The thing is I’m not thinking about that right now because there is time for everything so right now, mine is just to finish this project thing and after that, maybe I can think about that but right now, I’m so busy.
Where do you get the energy and the inspiration from?
That is what I’m saying, they are powered by her. When I think about her, I get fired up.
About the album you will be launching, will it be available for public consumption?
Yes. Immediately we finish launching, by next week, it should be on the streets, the whole of Nigeria. It includes videos, audios. It will be available online too.
Aside kefee, Teddy is a brand on its own doing well. What is the secret of your success?
The secret of my success is doing what I feel is me. I love to talk. I remember my Dad told me ‘My son, do what you love, it will feel as if you are not working. I just go to radio station, talk, read newspaper, and get some information online. I think the secret of my success is because I am doing what I love.
What makes you unique from every other brand?
Like she would say,’ you are unique, find the unique thing about you, after that, go ahead and sell it’. I think my unique selling point is my voice, my looks, my eyes.
Tell us about the fresh prince, where did it come from?
That I got way back in school. I was a huge lover of Will Smith and I was staying in a palace when I was in school. There was this old palace which the Oba of Imo just moved away from because he had another palace. It was unrented so I paid for it because I was an entrepreneur in school. It was up to seven rooms so people were coming in. at the front of the house, I used Will Smiths’s posters to cover some damaged part so if you are looking for me, they say go to that fresh prince and that was how it all started. Later on, when we started radio in school, I was thinking of name so I picked fresh prince. That was how it came up.