SONGSTRESS LORINE OKOTIE RETURNS
Lorine Okotie
Lorine Okotie, younger sister of renowned pastor and presidential aspirant, Rev. Chris Okotie, is very much around. After her Love Medicine hit in 1990, she suddenly went into the limbo. Now, she's bounced back and working round the clock in the studio to release another gospel genre. She says this is her fifth time of coming to the studio.
Speaking with Sunday Sun at a studio in Surulere, Lagos, she said: 'I just want to let people know that I have not abandoned music, but things happen in life that you cannot really explain. The now, for us, is what is important, we are working on a gospel album we hope and pray would make a great impact on people's lives. Excerpts…
Where have you been, you've been away for too long?
A lot of things happened, because I have been gone for so long I don't want to talk about those things. I don't want to focus on those things. I just want to create awareness about my music.
As time goes on, we'll begin to unravel those things, but for now, let's focus on the music first, because if you give people too much to chew, they'll pick the one they want.
Let's talk about what is important, like getting to know Lorraine again, it's been so long, when people know I am coming back then we begin to talk about other things.
Were you in the country or abroad all this while?
I have been around as a matter of fact, but if you don't go to places, or don't have contact with the press or attract any attention or publicity, the public would not know you are around. This is the fifth time we are coming to the studio and I have been doing it here in Lagos.
What have you been doing?
I have my life pretty cut out for me. I have certain things I do. I go to church on Wednesdays. Sometimes, Saturdays and Sundays. I don't go out much. My life centres around that. Once in a while I go visiting my friends. I guess that's why. But I have been around.
Then what have you been doing?
That still bothers on talking about my personal life. I just want to crave your indulgence that people know more about my music because it's music that made Lorine to come back to the people and since I have not been around, I really want this interview to focus on my music for now.
What kind of music?
It's pure gospel. As a child of God, I believe gospel is a good medium to reach people. We have all kinds of music - reggae, salsa, R&B. We are looking at ten tracks, we have done six so far, but very soon we would get there, we are working hard.
Journey into music
I have a brother, who is now a preacher, Rev. Chris Okotie. He was big in the music scene then, music was in the family, my dad loved music, too. My dad used to gather his friends just to sing and dance. I think that is where we got it. I got interested in music and I intimated him, and he said yes. I was very lucky I have a brother who was a musician then, he helped me.
Your relationship with Rev Chris Okotie
He is much elder brother, my big brother. In so many ways I am like him, because I don't go out much. Anytime he is outside his house, he is in the church, and from church back to the house. I am so much like that, but maybe because I am a woman and you know I have friends and sometimes I go t to the beach with my friends. I am not an indoor person as he is. Generally, we don't go out much. We live a quiet life.
Could you tell us about your childhood, did you grow up in Lagos?
My dad was a civil servant, so he took us around the country. I cannot say I grew up in a particular place. We moved around a lot.
Tell us your memories of growing up
My dad died early. I was still in school when he died, but we lived in Enugu, maybe I was three years old when we lived in Lagos, I cannot say anything about that because I was very young. The last place we lived was Enugu and that was where my dad died. My mum left when I was pretty young and that was a sad memory.
My dad was a very hard man, a disciplinarian, but he loved his children very much, he would gather us together and tell us stories. It's very painful he died early; a lot of us were not grown up when he died. There are things you talk about that are really traumatic for you. I really don't want to talk about my childhood. It's not a road you would want to travel.
The way you sound, have you ever paid for your education?
I have never done that. My dad was a very wonderful man even though he had a lot of children, but you must go to school, that was key for him. Then, my dad died. Rev Chris was a pop star then, he started making money, life was not hard really.
After he died, Rev Chris was there and he is still there. He helped us to achieve our purpose. He helped us to become people in life, he's a wonderful man, a great brother, and you can't find any better brother. He's there 24/7 for us in everything.
How did you come to know Christ?
It was after my dad died. We were in Enugu, and Rev Chris got born again. He was the first person that got born again among us. The phrase 'born again' was so funny to us then, and he tried to preach to us to get born again, and I remember my younger brother and I, whenever we see him coming to the house, we would laugh and say born again is coming o, let's run and hide, because it was very strange, especially for him to make such transition from being a pop star. Anyway, when we saw how he was in the things of God, how he gave up music, we were so inquisitive and wanted to know why someone like that dropped everything to say it's me and Jesus.
It was through him that a lot of us got born again in our family. Being born again was a very great experience. I think seeing Rev Chris transform was very fascinating and I was curious. I think there was a programme in Enugu and an altar call was made, where I gave my life to Christ. I can't really remember very well now.
What has life been like as a born again Christian?
It's not easy to be a Christian if you want to do it God's way, because there are so many things you cannot just do, you are so limited in so many ways, not limited in bad ways. It's not an easy work; you are so limited in so many ways. If you want to do it God's way, how Chris made a total U-turn was so fascinating and I was so curious.
But it's very difficult if you want to do it God's way. It's very hard because most times you pray, believing God for something and that thing is not coming. And you just have to hold on and not look sideways. Faith. Trusting and believing God for things is not easy sometimes, you just want to try to live your life in such a way that you can impact on others, sometimes you just want to get loose and you can't do that because it won't speak well of you as a Christian. All in all, it's a wonderful thing to be a child of God, born again; I love it.
Are you married?
Hmm, you like to ask personal questions. I am going to talk about that later, but if you begin to talk so much you remove people's focus from what you want them to know.
Secret of looking good
I don't have any beauty tips to look good. My life is about the scriptures. I believe that what I believe in works for me. And I believe in the word of God totally, that is, the Bible. I quote the scriptures pretty much everyday of my life in any situation I find myself, there's always a passage in the Bible that works for you in that situation. For me, my beauty tip is quoting the scripture that says God will renew my youth like the eagle, in every situation I find myself I use a Bible passage and it works because God has said it. And He is true to His words. I started exercising just now and watch what I eat because I don't want to look fat when shooting the video of my music.
Are you in the campaign team of your brother?
I don't want to talk about politics. Let's concentrate on my music.
Who is Lorine?
I am a friend, I am someone you can rely on, trust, even with your life. I am not an extra, neither am I an introvert, I think I am in the middle. I love to help people, I like to give, and I can give so much and forget I have to keep something for myself. I love people; life is about people and helping people and impacting positively on people's life. Anyway, any form I can make a difference in somebody's life is what I love doing. That is the kind of person I am.
Are you a church worker?
I belong to the Benevolence Department, which helps the less privileged.
Do you have any regrets in life?
I don't know if regret is the right word to use, because there is nothing that happened that God did not know about, that God did not know you would walk through that path. I believe in the scripture that says your end is going to be better for your beginning, I believe in that scripture, because I'm threading that pathway, so I have no regrets in life.