One of the acclaimed ambassadors of Nigeria proudly from Akwa Ibom State is Pastor Aity Dennis. She is a co-pastor with Sure Word Assembly, Lagos and multiple award-winning gospel music minister of high repute. It’s to the glory of God that she has made strong marks the world over with the Gospel, and definitely one that deserves commendations.
She’s truly living out her belief that, “There’s coming a final thank you from the One who sent you.” But before then, Akwa Ibomites and indeed the Gospel world owes Pastor Aity a big thank you, not just for keeping the torch of faith burning brighter by the day but for sustaining standards at a generation virtues are fast eroding.
It’s just so amazing that in our generation we can find such a consummate artiste like Pastor Aity whose tracks are decorated with gold, but herself consumed by the love of God and passion for winning souls globally, especially through her numerous award-winning songs.
News of late came from the United States where she was decorated with a doctoral degree by a popular university, Cornerstone Christian University, Atlanta, USA. From the picturesque of the occasion, you can see glow, burnish and sizzling magnificence reminiscent of super stars converge. The PhD award was a clear definition of how God crowns the thoughts of the diligent with plenteousness.
Aity started our career as a TV producer with a local radio station, where she was confronted with the choice of building a career in broadcasting or answering the call into music ministry. She chose to do the call than hang onto the monthly pay job. Equally, her desire for higher academic laurel egged her on through her Master’s degree programme and landed her with another job – lecturing. Again, the call came first in her priority list of attention! Turning down this second job offer also denied her the chance to do a doctoral degree in 1995. Now, getting fully occupied with music ministry; frequent ministerial engagements within and without the country, made her ditch further interest for a PhD programme. But God doesn’t forget, made her to accomplish the doctoral degree dream beyond her expectations.
“So, when I mounted the stage at Cornerstone Christian University, Atlanta, people didn’t know why I was feeling so emotional. I said to myself, “God, so you don’t forget? So, whatever we leave behind to face your work, you give us more than double. God make we fear you Oh.”
With success also came fame – an international magazine in Texas, selected and featured her among the 50 Women of Impact in the world. How astounding that was, as the publishers never contacted her.
Bit for her, the reward for success is more work. July this year, she’s launching out with title; King of Kings. According to this multi talented artiste, King of Kings is conceived to lead people to praise the “God that can do anything, against all odds,” adding that the upcoming song amplifies that nature of God: “There is nothing God cannot do.” This is a sober reflection of where she’s emerging from, because if anyone had told her that gospel music would take me to the nations of the world, she wouldn’t have taken him serious. When she left her job for music, her mother said her, “Who made money singing?”
Pastor Aity is an exceptional song writer who has to her credit over 3000 songs. How does she get her songs? She said: “It’s not by power neither by might, but by the inspiration from God.” God uses circumstances of life to drop inspiration for song in her heart. This happens at any time, home, outside, alone or with people.
For instance, Monday 29th May, 2023, she was at the Nest of Champions stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State during the inauguration event of Pastor Umo Eno as the governor of Akwa Ibom State. While others were jubilant, she was quiet with teary eyes. An in a flash she has just received a song inspiration, recollecting all the brickbats and insults opposition hurled at the pastor. “In moments like this, songs come to me. Sometimes, I’ll listen to my husband message and after he’s finished preaching, I am on the pulpit singing the message he has just preached,” Aity said.
One of her soar away tracks is, “God is taking me somewhere, I will get there…,” came just as the husband was preaching. “It was while my husband was preaching that the inspiration for the song came. I was in the midst of crisis when I sang it; my legs were paralyzed and I couldn’t walk. I was in the orthopedic hospital in Port Harcourt as I was writing that song and the devil told me: “How are you going to get there when you can’t move?” But God healed me.”
Explaining further, she said: “There is a song I will be doing with Nathaniel Bassey this year; I got that song in North Carolina, USA where the immediate past Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem was speaking during the AKISAN events. So, when I got on the flight, I was busy writing the songs.”
Aity is highly celebrated for her consistency and uniqueness, especially in spicing her lyrics with her native Ibibio language. Though residing in Lagos, she has robustly exhibited her home culture and style over the world, such in overseas, even the whites who don’t understand the language prefer songs she did in Ibibio. Her dance track Amkpa idem, has generated high verves in foreign lands. The one that shocked her most was last year when she was invited to sing Amkpa idem abroad. The 700 Club opened their programme in Virginia Beach, USA where they did a documentary on me and requested I sing Amkpa idem.
Her inspiration also comes from miracles in her life. “When I wrote a song, ‘God is real, if you doubt it, dial my number,’ I was saying, ‘if I could have children in my 50s after all odds, then there is nothing God cannot do, as I am a living proof. When God does things I cannot imagine just like the programme He’s given me at Houston, USA every year. Last year we had a Niger-Delta Praise in USA and I was representing Akwa Ibom. I got on another concert at Dallas, USA and they were like I should do another song, You blow my mind.”
In all this, Pastor Aity has remained humble, alluding her achievements today to God’s grace. “There is no height that singing has not taken me to, but I don’t have anything to boast about but the grace of God,” she remarked.
As a role model, how does she influence the younger generation? “I think young people should have a dream and refuse to give up no matter what happens. I had moments of discouragement when I started newly. But for me, there was a calling and it was like fire, I couldn’t stop, songs kept coming every day. My advice to the younger generation is; close your ears to what people are going to say because people are going to discourage you. You are going to have circumstances that will discourage you, close your ears against them. Just keep focusing and do what God wants you to do and make sure you are improving by the day.”
Continuing, she added: “You are not competing with anybody but yourself; see your last outing as what you should beat. Ensure your production is updated that is why I can sing my songs anywhere in the world. Just keep the focus and have role models, have people you can ask questions. No matter how big a tree is it cannot become a forest, so you need to network with other people.
