Why I left Lagbaja’s band after 12 years – Ego Ihenacho

Ego Ihenacho, a singer, has disclosed why she left Lagbaja’s band after 12 years.

The ‘Never Far Away’ singer revealed this in a recent news interview, where she also discussed her experiences working with Lagbaja and her path as a solo artist.

She said: “I left in 2006. The last show was in 2006, so that’s 17 years. When I started my own band and released my album, I really wanted to have my identity. I really wanted to be known as Ego, yes I used to be with Lagbaja but I don’t want to be known as ‘Ego Lagbaja’. After a while, I just gave up because everybody insisted on that name and I was like whatever.

“I miss Motherland a lot. Like I said, it was just a vibe. There was something to look forward to. we had everybody and there was just that common thing for everybody at that time, you know, the jokes, the music, we had the old, the young it was just amazing. It was just a nice vibe so I miss that.”

Speaking on why she left the bad, Ego said: “I just felt I needed to move on and it wasn’t as dramatic as people thought it was. There was nothing and it wasn’t something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. So it was probably a month after, it just came to my mind that ‘okay’, my gut feeling said okay that was the time to move and I told him sometime in October and I mean, it was expected, I wouldn’t stay there forever as passionate as I am and as ambitious as I am about music.

“In fact, I’m surprised I even lasted that long. You know, so he was very supportive, he was happy-sad you know, he was like ‘Okay, I always knew you had this in you so when do you want to?’ and I was like ‘Okay, we just started the new year, December will be like my graduation, so that was like a farewell show and that was it and I moved on.”

“Musically, it’s been good, tough, but like I always say, I took some things for granted. It’s not Lagabga anymore, it’s me with my band. So you’ve seen me with a band so it’s not going to be hard for you to call me for shows but it didn’t happen that way. I really had to fight for my place as a band and it was encouraging, I had people who supported me by calling me for shows and it was great. I got the Glo ambassadorship and other opportunities. It was just a mix of the good and bad and here I am, also as an actor, so I’m grateful for the journey.”