Over the years, there has been so much debate in the Nigerian gospel music scene as to what constitutes originality and mere assembly of chorus.

A good case comes into play in the late 90's when Evangelist Funmi Aragbaye took Evang. Sonny Okosuns to task on his style of gospel music. She accused him of been a chorus artiste rather than a composer.Thiswas her personal opinion

However, it is to Okosuns' credit that his collections of choruses, which he released as Songs of Praise, became the biggest gospel hit of its time. In a way, it woke the dormant scene from its slumber.

The only problem I foresee in the present set up is the ever-increasing westernisation of gospel music, as local contents seem to have taken the background. Production quality should also be stepped up in both the audio and video to be able to break into the international market.

Musicians must not only have an identity but must also create one for himself. There must be some element of originality not in terms of lyrics but also in production. A situation where everyone is following a singular form of characterisation will not augur well for the gospel music scene.

If an identity is not created, there is the clear possibility that with time, the audience will lose interest in the monotonous music line, which will consequently affect its level of acceptance. This is where I really commend the works of Kefee (Branamah) and Asu Ekiye, who won the Channel O Gospel Artiste of the Year 2003.

However, the sky seems the limit for the Nigeria gospel music industry and with the necessary encouragement and an enabling environment such as the eradication of piracy; the continuous growth experienced so far will remain.