“In 2019, I Was Homeless and Was Living at an Hotel”: Ara Shares Her Story of How She Fell From Grace
- Internationally renowned Nigerian female drummer Ara stirs emotions as she shares her story of grace to grass for the first time at an event in Lagos
- The drummer, who recently launched her reality show, revealed that her 2019 struggle was her biggest motivation for her current philanthropic work, and now it is her purpose of existence
- Ara disclosed that the goal of her reality TV show was to help young area boys and girls get off the street, rehabilitate and reintegrate them
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Nigeria's popularly-acclaimed female drummer, Aralola Olumuyiwa, better known as Ara, shares for the first time publicly a touching story of how she lost everything and went flat broke back in 2019.
The ace entertainer disclosed at the unveiling of her reality TV show, Ekoinspireme, that losing everything from her cars to her landlord throwing her out of her house and not knowing where her next meal would come from were huge inspirations for her to want to give back to the society.
Source: Instagram
Ara said:
"This is the first I will be sharing this personal story publicly; in 2019, I lost everything, sold all of my cars, and was homeless nobody knew except my family."
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She said she has always been somebody who loves to give and wasn't used to receiving, which informed her decision not to reach out to anybody at the time. Ara further shared how she had to stay at a hotel for over a year and lived on the food meant for the kitchen staff.
"After my landlord sent me out of my house because I couldn't pay my house rent, after which I moved into a hotel where I thought I could stay for like three days just to clear my head, the funny thing is ended up living in that one-room hotel for almost a year. I could not afford to feed myself, so I had to start eating the food meant for the kitchen staff, I went from up there to down there."
How my experience of a fall from grace reinvigorated my purpose for Ekoinspireme
Amidst my struggles, I had abandoned the Ekoinspireme project, Ara said. Still, in her search for a solution and a way out of her predicament, she said it struck her to return to the Ekoinspireme project, which she had abandoned, and her life took a new turn ever since.
"During my struggles, nothing that I did worked; shows that I would normally bill 3m-5m for they started offering me 100k or 150k, it was at this point I laid flat on the floor and started asking God, what is happening, what is going on?
"I remember when the hotel I was staying with my child was to be shut down because of COVID-19, I had nowhere to go, I wept for hours, and I begged God and said if there was anything I had done wrong, I would come back, that day they called me and said don't worry we won't shut this hotel because of you. It was after this period I decided to pick up Inspireme again, and immediately afterwards doors started opening for me."
The drummer further explained why she thinks God wants her to pursue the Inspireme project
"I picked up this project again and realised that I went through what I was going through because God wanted me to know how it feels not to have a roof over one's head, not to know where your next meal would come from."
The Ekoinspireme project was officially unveiled and kicked off on October 19, 2022. Just days before the official unveiling, Ara had engaged the audience of former president Olusegun Obasanjo who endorsed the vision and confirmed his support.
Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is also a partner in the project. He was represented at the unveiling by his Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso.
Other guests of note at the event were Prince Oniru, popular comedian Koffi, former BBNaija star Joe Abdallah, the NDLEA and many more.
"Nigerian youths should vote the most detribalized candidate": Famous talking drum artist Ara talks about 2023 elections
Meanwhile, Legit.ng recalls it recently reported that the famous Nigerian female drummer Aralola Olumuyiwa better known as Ara, had joined the growing list of Nigerian celebrities who have called upon the country's youths to make their voices heard through the ballot come 2023.
During a recent short chat, Ara spoke about the need for young Nigerian artists to begin to sing more conscious music and use their platforms to influence the government and their policies.
Nigerians are wiser now and better informed. The beautiful drummer asserted that the youths would hold politicians more accountable for their campaign promises.
Source: Legit.ng
