Why My Songs Were Banned in Some Churches - Popular Nigerian Gospel Singer Opens Up

Lanre Teriba, a Nigerian gospel singer, soared to incredible limelight when he released the hit song, Atorise. But most people consider him to be one of the most controversial gospel singers in Nigeria.

His career has been dogged with stories that border on infidelity, adultery among other negative news. While the singer continues to face his work beaming with smiles, he told Saturday Beats that he carries a heavy heart because of these write-ups.

Even though he admitted that fame has brought him some blessings, he is worried that it has equally brought him burden which he has been struggling to shrug off.

“To be honest, the negative stories have been affecting me but there is nothing I can do. There are some churches that do not want to hear my music till date and when I made my findings, I was told that it was because of the bad press that I have been receiving and the scandals. Stories like I impregnated a lady or snatched someone’s wife, most of these stories are false but the writers do not take their time to find out the truth. There is a difference between journalism and hatred. What I figured out is that some people have a personal hatred towards me and they are taking it out on my career and I don’t know why this keeps happening to me.

“When Jesus was alive, several controversies also trailed him, so it is a normal thing and it comes with stardom. I always feel very bad whenever I read negative stories about my life. The only thing that has been written about me ever since I hit the limelight has been scandal and bad stories. Nobody writes good things about me. For instance, when I built my house in London, nobody wrote about it, only bad stories. It is always a story about me and the members of the opposite sex and to be honest, I am tired of it,” the singer said.

Fondly called Atorise by fans and loved ones, the singer said that his children were also bearing the brunt.

He said, “It is so bad that it affects my children in school. All my children school in London, my oldest child is 21 years old and she is in Oxford University. Whenever she talks about me with her friends, she tells them that her father is a star and the next thing these kids do is to Google my name only to see bad reports about me. It is not good and it has been affecting me a lot. So far, fame has been both a blessing and a curse.”