Oluwatosin EnesiIn a recent interview with Nigerian Pastor, Emmanuel Iren, Paul shared that he was offered a three-year contract worth £24 million, approximately N7 billion at the time.
However, the singer disclosed that the deal came with a condition that conflicted with his Christian values. The record label requested that he limit the number of times he mentioned the name “Jesus” in his songs.
Paul stated that the label executive suggested using alternative terms like “Righteous One” or “Greatest Lover” instead of the sacred name.
He said, “1995, I was at the peak of ministry, and success in the industry, I was offered 24 million pounds for a three year contract. 1995, 24 million pounds was equivalent to 7 billion naira. The catch was ‘can you reduce the number of times you call the name Jesus in your songs?’. And there is more where this came from. and one of them said to me, ‘you actually don’t need to mention the name Jesus. You can call him other names like Righteous one, Greatest Lover.’ I was shocked, so I told them, you can keep the money, while I keep the name”.
“Today, the extreme is that music ministry has now become music industry. Where the industry now dictates to the ministers what to do, how to sing and when to sing. For example, it was the marketers in Alaba that encouraged the musicians to add tongues to their songs.”
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