Geoffrey Oji became the luckiest winner to wear the crown of the newest season of MTN Project Fame. Oji beats other contestants to emerge top of the Season 7 after an outstanding performance of Asa’s ‘Beautiful’. He tells ORUKPE NELSON about his experience in the competition and other issues. Excerpts…

How did you feel when you were announced the winner of Project Fame Season 7?

I feel really blessed, really honoured to have been chosen as the winner of Project Fame, it doesn’t make the rest of my other contestants losers, they are not because we are all winners actually. I just feel opportuned and priviledged to have been chosen to represent the other contestants. Its just like being in a war front and then they choose someone to lead the battle. Apparently we are all soldiers as the contestants, we are all winners but one person has to lead the others and so I happen to be that person not as a ruler but as a servant. Basically am just grateful to God because this is a dream I have been pursuing for the past seven years and this is my seventh year that I got the opportunity to get into the academy and it hasn’t been easy all along because I have been trying to see ways of fighting for myself, things have been quite rough, up and down, but God has been faithful to me by giving me the opportunity and the privilege to be the winner of this season and I am so grateful to Him.

You said that you’ve been pursuing this dream for seven years, are you trying to say that you have been buying the form for seven years?    

Yes, every year and by the grace of God, this is my seventh year, seventh attempt.

Before now, how far have you gone?

I normally get to top 20 for Lagos, but for the first audition, I was in the North, Kaduna precisely, I actually made it, but they couldn’t get across to me, they called someone else and that was PRAIZE.

What would you say you did differently this year that made you scale through all the hurdles

Frankly, I don’t know, but I wouldn’t say I did anything special, but in a way something different happened to me rather. Because along the line, I got the opportunity to further my education in Ghana, and while I was in Ghana things were a bit rough for me and I couldn’t pay my school fees so I was going up and down looking for where I could borrow money but people refused to give me money, even the dean himself couldn’t help me because I went to him. It was during that time that the audition was to take place and so I scrolled through my phone and saw Project Fame auditioning has started, I had to abandon my exams because exams was actually going on and I had to rush out for the auditioning and I was auditioned in Ghana. Maybe the difference this time is because I wasn’t auditioned in Nigeria and the song I sang that day was not the kind of song I usually sing, I had to go back to old school, so I picked an old school song and I sang danced with my father again by Lithro Vandrous, so that was the song I sang and that was the song that got to them and they picked me eventually.

You seem like a shy person, hope you are aware there is no shyness in the entertainment industry?

I am not totally a shy person, maybe when it comes to dealing with people at first, yeah! But on stage I am a different person entirely, when I get on stage it is strictly business, I can’t be shy. When it comes to relating with people I try my best to relating with people.

How would you say the Project Fame Academy has impacted in your musical career?

I will say so much because am usually a bit sentimental, I want to always carry people along. My mum sometimes  gets upset with me on that because she feels I need to focus more on myself and stop the habit of carrying friends along in everything I do. Even when I came to Lagos for the Project Fame I called some of my friends to come party with me. But, eventually when they came, we still struggled together but I must tell you right now, my mind has been transform here at the Academy. Project Fame has been able to position my mind in a way that I am no no more sentimental. I always like to tell people the truth, if you do something wrong, I tell you its wrong. Before I can’t do that because am not that kind of a bold person to start telling anybody the truth when they do something wrong. I try to beat around the bush a little bit before, My time here has given me that boldness, that courage to be able to confront my fears and all.

What was your game plan when you registered to participate at the auditions?

My initial plan was to try and get into the academy first. I wanted to really get into the academy, I wanted to meet Uncle Ben, I wanted to be educated more on music and the music business. Because it’s one thing for you to be gifted and know how to sing, and its another thing for you to understand your talent. So, when I came into the academy, it was like a breakthrough for me. I came and gathered everybody together and said ‘Come, O boy abeg make una come make we pray o’ because it’s a great thing that God has done for us. If you want to begin that kind of success you have to begin with God and so we all gathered. I love my crew, the contestants, every one of them were so considerate when it comes to God, and they fear God. It’s not like we came here and then we all razz and misbehaved, but everybody was cool headed. Although at some point we argued but we know how to manage the whole thing and God was really faithful to me.

That means you never believed you could win?

I know I could win. I strongly believed I could win but when I came into the house and saw the other contestants you know, doubt was trying to creep in, but one thing was certain, their weakness became my strength, I banked on their weaknesses. Sometimes when I feel that this person is doing what is wrong, I try not to be selfish “I meet that person and say guy this thing wey you they do, what if you do am like this?” what if you do it this way if its going to be better this way, so I was not trying to make it “na me must win – na me must win” kind of thing and then forget the other people. I try to still carry all of them along but eventually, God saw my heart, its not like I didn’t see it as a competition, I saw it like destiny. I saw it like this is what God has called me to do, and God is going to fulfill it in my life.

You are going back more richer than you came into the competition, how are you going to spend your money?

Basically, most of the money is going into business, I really want to do business. N5m is big, but at the same time Five Million is small if you don’t manage it well. So I plan on investing major part of the money into a business that am still trying to talk to some people about, and then focus more on my musical career. Thank God for MTN Project Fame, now that am the winner I have a platform, so am going to work on that and then try to push and see how I can get good songs that is going to hit the market. I will go back to school at some point, but for now, I just want to sacrifice and dedicate this period for my musical career, I had to defer my semester, my brother is in the school, he’s going to help me do that.

There’s this issue that normally people have an intention of doing something but when they go out there, it becomes a different ball game. How do you feel with the money you’ve just won. Are you still going to stay true to your course, won’t you divert or go into other things along the line?

One of my major inspirations in life is God. God has been the one inspiring me from the day one till this very point of my life. So, men generally have the ability of mismanagement in them, but the truth is how you manage your life is what makes you different from other people. It’s not as if we are different but how we go about life differently makes us different from others. But the truth is that I believe that God is going to see me through and I pray He helps me do the right thing at the right time according to His plan. One of the things we were taught in the academy was planning. Know how to plan your day, week, month and the year so with all those planning and those strategies I feel that I am going to do well.

Project fame has produce six previous winner before you. What are your plans to rank among the most successful ones?

Of course! By the grace of God I will. They are human beings like me, so if them fit do am, them no get two heads or four heads. If them fit do am, I fit do am. And I believe that life will never give you what you deserve, it will only give you what you demand. So I have placed a demand to be a responsible artist and by the grace of God and I just want to believe that God will see me through. I am not saying am perfect, I have the tendency to make mistakes but I want God to give me that courage that even when I make my mistakes let me be able to get back on my feet and move on. I will not allow my mistakes to weigh me down.

What’s the followership on your social media like, since you were declare the winner?

It’s been great. A lot of people call me, and you know its not easy and this is the time where everybody will want you to talk to them and if you don’t talk to them they will feel that pride has set in you know, so am just still trying to give everybody that attention. Even babes when no send me before, are now calling me so I go ask them out again, you know that kind thing. One called me yesterday and she was like, how far na Jofi? Ask me out again am going to accept. I just laughed and said naaa!

Would you like to take your romance with Rukky outside the academy?

I had a strong closeness with Rukky, she’s a very close friend of mine in the house. We are always together talking and sharing ideas. She’s a very intelligent person she has so much wisdom in her, and I just like her personality and the way she behaves, the way she thinks, the way she carries herself and all that. So, am hoping that it does but if it doesn’t life continues; because right now na entertainment industry we dey, a lot of things can happen. If you want to start loving and trying to get attached and all that, people will just see you as unserious fellow. But there’s nothing bad in having a relationship, having a relationship is good. But in the same entertainment world, where both of you are doing the same thing, its not going to be easy.

What was the most challenging thing you faced in the academy?

Like I said before, the most challenging thing was the education that we were getting from the academy, the workout every morning, Kaffy trying to teach you how to dance, and she doesn’t forget the routine that she has taught, she teaches everybody their different routine we forget but she doesn’t forget the different routines, you know we are not used to it but over time it became part of us. That was more like a challenge for me because it wasn’t really easy for me to catch up at the initial stage but at the end I scaled through.

What kind of music should we expect from you?

I am going to be doing music all round. I don’t want to start saying that am going to be doing circular or gospel, but am a musician in the making and by the grace of God am going to do good music. If am singing about love, am singing God’s Love, if am singing about life, am singing gospel because everything about life is gospel, it doesn’t really matter whether you include Jesus or God, the thing is you telling people about the way they live their lives. Let’s not be religious about it, let’s just be factual and let’s just think the way God wants it.

Where did music start for you?

It started from Kaduna, my childhood days at the age of ten. I started singing in the church, (Hope and Power Ministry) Kaduna, I use to live with a pastor, Rev. John Oseme, a very nice person with great personality, I love the man so much. The man has really helped me, most of the things you see about me today he’s the one that taught me, and then when I came to Lagos, I started attending Household of God Church, Ajah with Rev. Yinka Yesuf, another wonderful man I call my father, in Lagos here he took very good care of me. However, I actually started in Kaduna and I will never forget that initial time.

Was there any contestant’s eviction that really hit you?

That was Shola. When Shola was evicted, I was not happy at all. He was my very good friend, we talk lot about music, and how we were going to do things together when we eventually leave the academy and the guy is so good musically.

Since you emerge winner, have you spoken with your girl friend?

I don’t have a girlfriend. The girlfriend I had eventually got married when I was in school, I went to school, before I came back she was already married. I would not want to talk more about it.

How old are you?

I am 27

So, are you going to continue the romance with Rukky?

We are just friends for now, we don’t want to go into any relationship for now, we are trying hard to remain friends…if it is the will of God for both of us to stay together, I will definitely give it a try. But, for now let’s just keep our fingers crossed.

Who is likely going to be the first artiste you would work with?

It’s definitely 2face, because he is someone I really want to work with, he is a great person and inspiration to me and he is also from Benue State where I hail from.

You happened to be the second Project Fame winner from Benue State, after Monica Oga? Do you have any relationship with her?

Yes, she is my friend we have been friend even before I came to Project fame.