By Ahaoma Kanu
If you are still getting to know about the
news of the passing on of the Nigerian
musical artiste, Oluwabimpe Susan Harvey,
popularly known as Goldie, then you are
either too busy in your work or travelling
thousands miles by road; or simply put, you
are not a fan of the Nigerian music
entertainment industry.
The 31 year old singer who represented
Nigeria last year at the popular TV reality
show Big Brother Africa (BBA) last year
died recently at Reddington Hospital in
Victoria Island after landing from the USA
where she attended the Grammy Awards
which held on Sunday along with duo of
Kennis Music Kenny Ogungbe and Dayo
Adeneye. Maverick TV presenter, Denrele
Edun, is very prominent to be among those
that were with the deceased in her last
moments.
While the wait for the autopsy result
expected to be carried out to ascertain the
cause of death lingers on, so many writers,
bloggers and journalists have turned to
speculating what the cause of death might
be; I have written one and suggested it may
be Thrombosis, a condition leading to the
formation of a blood clot inside a blood
vessel thereby obstructing the flow of
blood through the circulatory system.
That is not the only suspicion for the cause
of death; sources from Reddington
hospital where Goldie died last night
postulated Pulmonary Embolism while what
would be regarded a “negative” revelation
made headlines in the publication, PM News,
which claimed she may have died as a result
of doping complications. Well, the good
development is that an autopsy will be
carried out as it is necessary as contained
in the laws guiding Lagos State where she
passed on but whether the result will be
made public will be another issue to be dealt
with. With the kind of influence being
wielded by some music labels over the
entertainment writers’ leaves one to be
afraid that should the autopsy report prove
otherwise, chances that it would be
reported credible are slim; there is bound
to be conflicting reports.
Traditionally, as no evil is not supposed to
be said about the dead, the media show do
what is right; you decide that.
Goldie is dead and she will be remembered
in the coming weeks, months and maybe the
rest of the year by some friends, fans,
colleagues and all sorts but be sure that the
government will in no way be among those
that would be visible in this category.
First among what you will start noticing and
which has started is that Goldie’s twitter
account would have more followers; her
Facebook page would witness more likes to
the extent you will start asking; where the
hell were all these people? As of the time of
penning this piece, it stood at 86, 610 and
still counting.
Many will post some ugly tweets and make
reference to her BBA moments and also try
to measure her career in the negative but,
she will have fighters that would attack
every silly comment; trust artistes, they
protect their own.
If Google could be kind enough to furnish us
with the frequency of downloads and
searches done on Goldie since the
announcement of her death, then you will
see that Goldie became more popular in
death than she was when she was in the Big
Brother House.
Her picture has since replaced those of
many as display pictures (dp) on Blackberry
Smartphone’s BBM app and her songs and
interviews have hit the highest since she
came on stage as an artiste in both print
and electronic media including the internet
not to talk of ringtones across Nigeria.
Her albums will start selling and Alaba
marketers may have started mass-
producing the albums including the present
three singles from her forthcoming
African Invasion album entitled Skibo,
Miliki and Got to Have it; the pirates are
already seeing a gold mine in Goldie’s work
and they will surely smile to the bank and
rob her of her royalties.
The regulatory bodies for copyright
infringements will send their investigators
and collectors out to all hotels, joints and
relaxation spots with calculators and all to
start tabulating the amount accruing from
the airplay of her songs which has risen
astronomically since her Valentine Day
demise.
Fellow artistes are already trying to get
their voices heard with tributes for her and
they would be calling themselves and
planning on a splendid way to have a
befitting burial ceremony; a committee will
be formed, Nollywood stars of course will
be involved and they may toy with the idea
of visiting the Ekiti State governor to
donate some fund towards what they may
call A Golden Farewell to Goldie.
The artistes are all going to start
recounting their relationships with Goldie
and then, you will see some collabo videos
staring Goldie that may have been dropped
some years back on your entertainment
channels. Also, tribute songs especially in
the form of singles will soon start hitting
the airwaves and the lyrics will speak so
much of what an Angel Goldie was; the kind
of praises always reserved for the dead
never for those living.
The media is already digging and will keep
nosing. Soon stories about Goldie’s
escapades in the BBA would dominate the
stage and the main focus will be Prezzo who
she was romantically attracted to and said
officially that she was in love with. Then,
more stories will come out; soft sells will be
digging and they would be asking a question
nobody ever asked; who is Leo Harvey? A
brother, a husband? I rather not go there.
Then would be some music video
collaboration by artistes in tribute to
Goldie; it may be haphazardly done and
presented and some of the stars would sing
about their love for Goldie and all she did
not do for them while alive.
The burial will be a celebrity show; whether
in Lagos or her home state of Ekiti State.
It will sure be a show for the best of the
best in the industries. All class of artistes
will be there whether A,B,or C-List and
wannabes will not be left out. Goldie might
have a golden casket and be sure to see
some ladies that would dress up like her;
blonde hairs, extra long eye lashes and tight
fitting diva apparels, just to immortalize
Goldie.
Tears will flow definitely, Denrenle would
cry, Omawumi too; Don Jazzy would be too
moody to show his emotion while Banky-W
will appear on black with his EME crew.
Don’t be surprised if you see Kenny Keke
Ogungbe and Dayo D1 Adeneye shed tears;
she was signed to their record label and
they were together at the 55th Grammy
Awards held in Los Angeles some days
before her death. Posters of Goldie will fly
across Nigeria and some parts of Africa
and her blonde hairstyle will be
immortalized with her name; Goldie.
Many music award organizing bodies will
give her post-humous awards and maybe
some corporate bodies may try to do a
movie about her and her diva nature; I am
lost for a title but something like The
Golden Diva will sure be considered.
The reality show she was planning to roll out
next month called, Tru Friendship alongside
Denrele and Kenyan housemate Prezzo, who
have since departed Nairobi to Nigeria,
might still stand a chance to see the
daylight; somebody gotta have a mind to
keep the dream alive. She wanted to launch
it next month.
Goldie will remain in the hearts of Nigerians
as one young lady who came and did her
thing; she may not have been the best but
she did give her best. In any way you may
have perceived her, take a moment of
silence and celebrate her life. She was
indeed golden.
Rest in Peace Susan.

.

And the question still remains, Where will you spend Eternity?
Rip Goldie