We got a copy of Obiwon’s latest album ‘Floodgates’ and we are totally in love. And it got us thinking: Why have we always under-rated Obiwon?

Not because he hasn’t been successful. He has known success, and both ‘Obi mu o’ and ‘Onyinye’ were secular hits. But did they achieve the
level of mass hysteria? No.

Maybe the problem is marketing. Because it certainly isn’t sound, or depth, or the ability to capture the Nigerian attention.

And whatever it is, it seems to be a problem that has followed even into a crossover to Gospel. Because even here, he appears to have a
ceiling.

We haven’t had him break through in the past two years the way we have with Glowreeyah Braimah, Mairo Eze, even Onos Ariyo.

And that makes us really wonder why. Because Obiwon is a huge talent, who deserves to succeed because he clearly works very hard. And we picked this album and almost every song in it got to us, the way only a person like Nathaniel Bassey manages to until now. No one hit, but a collection of sounds that work, and because these are Christian songs, that really connect you on that visceral level to the reason why we praise.

Mercy, The Coming, Jubilee, Glory are deliberate, careful songs that he clearly took time weaving together.

And Oh Jesus is a glorious beauty!

God!

We think everyone should listen to this new album. We need these songs to bless our worship gatherings with our depths, moving through the pulpits and catching on, and then we need him at shows – blessing the congregation with the depth, the skill and the excellence that can be a rarity across Nigerian music.

We need more than one-hit wonders. And Obiwon has always been precisely such a gift.

Op-ed Editor