Christy Essien, Nigeria's Queen of Soul has Passed On
Christy Uduak Essien-Igbokwe 11th November, 1960 - 30th June, 2011. Nigeria has lost one of her greatest women, the "Queen of Soul", Christy Uduak Essien-Igbokwe, who passed away at about 9.15a.m. Thursday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Lagos. Popularly known by her maiden name Christy Essien before she got married, she was a great singer who was like a sister to millions of her fans in Nigeria. She was the first Nigerian Queen of Soul music admired and loved by millions of music lovers in Nigeria and other countries. I have been one of her countless fans since her successful acting career as a colourful TV actress in the popular TV comedy series Masquerade of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), playing the drama queen as "Apeno", the wife of "Jegede", played by the late Claude Eke. The television series was created by James Iroha who played the role of "Gringory", one of the houseboys of "Chief Zebrud...