Why I thought my elder sister Niniola was jealous of me– Teni

Teniola Apata, better known as Teni, has revealed that she once believed her elder sister, singer Niniola, was jealous of her talent due to her harsh criticism of her voice.

Going down memory lane while speaking in an episode of the Tea With Tay podcast, Teni recalled rehearsing with her sisters during her childhood.

Niniola stated that their eldest sister, Doyin, told her she had a melodic voice, but she insisted that her voice was not “sweet.”

She said that the latter’s harsh criticism led her to believe she was jealous of her.

Teni said, “My elder sister, the one that’s older than Nini [Niniola], Doyin, maybe she was deceiving because she didn’t want to hurt me; she used to tell me I have a melodic voice whenever I sing during my childhood. Nini, on the other hand, would tell me my voice isn’t sweet. So, I thought she was jealous of me.

“She [Niniola] called me aside and told me not to let Doyin deceive me. She now said, ‘You sing from your stomach.’ So, everytime Nini sings, I would watch her sing. So, I also started singing from my stomach.

“There was a time my school organised an event, I sang and the whole school stood up and was clapping for me. I said, ‘I’ve arrived.’ I went back home to tell Nini that I sang in school and everybody was clapping and she said I should sing what I sang. I sang it and Nini too clapped for me. I said, ‘Okay, we are up to something.’”