“(I had to) sleep on studio
floors all across Lagos, worked at different studios, worked without pay, I’ve
been out on the road, out on the streets, doing my thing. I had to convince
people that I could do it- I had sessions that were cancelled because they weren’t
sure I could deliver either because they thought I was too young or maybe as a
blind person. ‘how do we trust our music
which is our future and investment?”- Cobhams.
Cobhams Emmanuel Asuquo is an award-winning Nigerian musician,
producer, and songwriter who started his professional training as a lawyer; but,
later dropped out of school and branched into music full-time to fulfill a
lifelong desire. He was born in 1981 to a military family of six children and
raised in the downside of a military barracks. Born like other normal children,
Cobhams seemed perfectly normal until about three months after when his very
observant mother began noticing his awkwardness. She quickly took him to the
University Teaching Hospital in Ibadan from where they were referred to a
hospital in Kano. There, her worst fears
were confirmed; her son had been blind from the womb and nothing could be done
to restore his sight. Rather than
cry and blame God for her seeming ill fate, Mrs Asuquo, who was a clerical
officer in the army, resigned to take care of her son and prepare him for a
future she knew had to be great. “It wasn’t
easy watching Cobhams do chores around the house and run errands like my other
children but I resolved to make him as independent and capable of achieving
anything he sets his mind to do”, the winner, celebrity edition of Supermom (a reality TV Show centered on Mothers and the
sacrifices they undergo to build their homes), said.
In 2005, Cobhams signed on to Sony ATV London
as a songwriter. After working as Head of Audio Productions at a local label,
Questionmark Entertainment, he set up his own recording facility in 2006. He is
CEO/ Head of Productions of CAMP (Cobhams Asuquo Music Productions), an
all-encompassing entertainment company that discovers, nurtures and exposes
great talents. He has worked with artistes like Banky W, Omawunmi, Tuface, MI,
Sound Sultan, Dare Art-Alade, Segun Obe, Tosin Martins, among others. On 2
December 2010, Cobhams Emmanuel Asuquo got married to Ojuolape Veronica Olukanni.
Cobhams has won multiple local and
international awards for his creative and entrepreneurial contributions to the
Nigerian music industry. He is so great that the World Economic Forum awarded
him ‘Young Global Award’ in 2013. So impressive that CNN interviews him, and he
is sought after as a speaker in high and lofty gatherings globally. Today, he
is known for producing some of the finest artistes in Nigeria. Noteworthy among these artistes is the
Nigerian soul-singing sensation, Asa, whose 2007 debut album became an
international hit. His voice training classes has indeed revolutionized the
Nigerian Music Industry. COBHAMS
EMMANUEL ASUQUO has shown the whole world that Nigerians can make things happen
in their chosen careers. He deleted the prefix- DIS and coined ABILITY out of
DISABILITY in a grand style. He is forever a living LEGEND!
If COBHAMS
can do it despite his visual impairment, YOU can do it better!
E-mail:
hrfnigeria@gmail.com Phone No: 08148327860
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