Tiwa Savage: Why This Picture Means Alot To Her

Cecil Hammond and Tiwa

Just some few hours ago, she put up this picture and posted on IG, “This pic means a lot to me, thank you@cecilhammond.”

Music Sensation, Tiwa Savage, sure does not forget kind gestures. That she decided putting up this picture says it all —she is grateful to Cecil Hammond, CEO Flytime Entertainment, who picked her from nobody and helped her to be whoever she is today.

This was revealed in the article written by Azuka Ogujiuba, the Thisday reporter, who happened to interview Tiwa Savage on the marital crisis she was facing with her estranged husband, Tunji Balogun, in a video that went viral over two weeks ago. 

Titled, ‘Tiwa Savage, TeeBillz And I Before The Tales Of Woe,’ Azuka chronicled in Thisday newspaper of May 14, 2016, how she met Tiwa at Elohor Aisen’s wedding in London, Tiwa’s compliments of her daughter’s pink dress and how she was impressed by her voice.

Fast-forward to Nigeria when Cecil Hammond wanted the writer to interview a new female act.

Azuka recalled: “A few months after I met her, I got a call from Cecil Hammond who said he wanted me to meet and interview a new female act. I avoided Cecil for as long as I could, but he kept harassing me with phone calls and text messages because I always gave him an appointment I never honoured. I underestimated her in my thought; “Which yeye hot female act be that? Which female act will be bigger than my girl, Omawumi?” What will she be singing differently? And besides, when they become big, they stop taking your calls or even say ‘hello’ when they see you.”

Azuka continued: “It might interest you to know that despite my nonchalance towards Cecil, he never gave up on me. It got to a point I had to ask him to call someone else to do the interview, but he insisted he wanted me to do it. Cecil believed so much in Tiwa, he praised her talents to high heavens. He shared with me a brief story about her life and career until I eventually succumbed. When I got to him, behold, it was the same lady who had said some of the nicest things about my daughter the other day in London. Then I remembered humans are like a river; we flow and meet again in a chain of events. Tiwa and I recognised each other, hugged and exchanged pleasantries. I felt so bad when I realised it was her. We all got chatting immediately and that was when Tiwa realised I was a journalist. We exchanged telephone numbers and BBM pins. Of course, I was excited to do her first ever interview then, if I’m not mistaken.

“Later on, Cecil called me again and said, “I really need you to assist this lady, we have to push her out there; you just watch and see, she is going to be the biggest female act in this country.” So, Cecil kept sending promotional materials on Tiwa to me to publish in Thisday Newspaper.
“If memory serves me well, she released ‘Kele Kele’, ‘Love me Love me  ’, ‘Ife Wa Gbona’, ‘Do as I do with P Square’. She started with Cecil Hammond’s Flytime Entertainment in 2010. She attended the BET awards in 2011 while she was still with Flytime and also shot ‘Love Me Love Me’ video. Her first shows with Cecil Hammond was the Silverbird 30th anniversary, then the Rhythm Unplugged show, AY live, Star Mega jam, among others. Tiwa was rising fast and gradually becoming a household name in the music industry.”
See why this picture means a lot to Mama Jamil?