Real Relationships Magazine

Sammie and Friends As long as I remember, people tell you to take heart when someone close passes, knowing they have gone to a better place. In all my days in church, I have never heard about how to handle grief. People say he/she has finished the race. People also say, "our prayers are with you." The most I have experienced is the comfort the Holy Spirit gives. The Word and prayer never cease to deliver warmth and the embrace of the Father. How does one grieve appropriately? No two persons similarly experience grief. Some common experiences include difficulty concentrating, apathy, anger, sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, withdrawal from others, irritability, intense sadness or tears, numbness, loneliness, or a sense of separateness from others, and loss of life's meaning. Late Prof Ogbomo, Late Sammie, Molly, Myself, and Efosa in Chicago Fortunately, much of the process of healthy grieving is genetically controlled. Acknowledging and growing from losses is such a na

Bisade Ologunde popularly known as Lagbaja (Nigerian afrobeat singer, songwriter, and percussionist) was about to give his last performance at the Pintos Nite Club one cool evening many years ago. He was leading a band called Colours at that time. It happened that his band members did not show up on time. A group of musicians had just done a rehearsal with the same instruments. They sounded tight and coordinated. Amongst the musicians was a Warri boy called Sammie. They got an invitation to play with Lagabja at Pintos that night. Lagbaja asked the group of guys what name he would introduce them as. I am told Sammie said, "Treasure." The "band" was formed that day. The band was well known in Lagos and played at various clubs: After House, Jazz Villa, Wood House, Green Lion, Pintos, La Campagne Tropicana.  Karis Band engaged him afterward for over a year. While performing with the band, he met with Pastor Paul Adefarasin at New Yorkers Restaurant Ikeja GRA. The mee

Sammie Okposo At the end of an orchestra performance, if the audience stops clapping once the conductor leaves, he won’t return onstage. If they keep clapping, he returns for a few more bows and then leaves again. If the audience is still clapping after that, he will come back yet again. Basically, he will keep coming back onstage for as long as the audience keeps clapping. And the number of times he returns is supposed to indicate how much the audience appreciated the performance. It is beginning to dawn on me that our Maestro, Sammie Sparko has left the scene. It is now apparent to us how hard Sammie Okposo has worked for the past thirty years.  STAR NG (a gospel music magazine) dubbed Samuel Uyoyooghene Okposo “The King of African Gospel.” Lights for Sammie, The Experience 2022 Sammie was not billed to perform at the Experience, but in death, he received a touching honor when all attendees put on their lights in memory of him. Sammie dropped for this generation a body of work that