JOIN SCORELINE TO CELEBRATE LATE CHRISTY ESSIEN IGBOKWE, AN EXCEPTIONAL MUSICIAN AND ONLY FEMALE PRESIDENT OF THE PERFORMING MUSICIANS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (PMAN) ON HER BIRTHDAY

Late Christy Essien Igbokwe (Akpenor)

The name Christy Essien Igbokwe, also addressed as the Nigeria’s Lady of Songs is not strange, particularly to the older generation of Nigerians.

For the younger generation, especially, the Teens and a fraction of the older youths, the name may not ring bell, but anyone that wishes to seek out who Christy, the Lady of Songs in Nigeria was will certainly not search for long to identify or generate large quantum information about the late Singer and Actress who entertained a large chunk of the Nigerian music lovers with her type of music and songs.

In addition to her television appearances as Akpenor in the then popular Soap Opera, the New masquerade that dominated the Nigerian television industry in the 70s to the 90s, where she played the role of the wife of one of the major characters in the Soap Opera, Chief Jegede Shokoya, played by Claude Eke who has joined his ancestors like the late Lady of Songs.

She is today celebrated by this platform as an Exceptional Musician and Actress.

To  us at

she was an exceptional Nigerian. Late Christy Essien Igbokwe was one Nigerian who through her songs, acting and deeds demonstrated her love for Nigeria and pushed deliberately for oneness of the Country.

By Birth, Late Christy hailed from the present day South-South region of Nigeria, but married to a South Easterner in the Country. As a musician she sang in both the local and foreign languages. Locally, she sang in Efik, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa and in her own native Ibibio. She sang in English to accommodate the foreigners. Scoreline has the feeling that, if she had not died the time she did, she would have vied into other languages too.

In the New Masquerade, Christy Essien Igbokwe acted as a Yoruba woman and played the role of a disturbing, irritating and nauseating wife of a Yoruba husband. She remains the only female President of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN).

The Federal Republic of Nigerian recognized her commitment, contributions and patriotism and had awarded her a National Honour, as Member Federal Republic (MFR).

GREAT Christy Essien Igbokwe, was born 11^th November, 1960, and lived a productive life of 51 years before she died on 30^th June 2011.

Nnabugwu Chizoba