Veteran Nigerian musician Abolore Akande, popularly known as 9ice, has opened up about a terrifying spiritual experience that changed the course of his life and beliefs.
Appearing on The Nancy Isime Show, the Gongo Aso crooner detailed a mysterious illness and his subsequent embrace of traditional African spirituality.
When asked about facing spiritual challenges, 9ice didn’t hold back.
“I have experienced spiritual battles several times,” he began, before dropping a shocking revelation: “I was in my house vomiting blood for six months.”
Nancy asked, “No way, when was this?”
“2009/2010,” 9ice responded.
“And it wasn’t a medical condition?”
“No, it wasn’t medical,” he confirmed, adding that the unexplainable illness became so severe it forced him to abandon his home.
That dark period, he said, became the beginning of a spiritual awakening.
“The first time I encountered Ifa was during that period,” he shared. “Someone told me, ‘Go and accept Ifa now, so that you can be protected.’ I did. And honestly, I wish I had known Ifa earlier.”
Now deeply rooted in African traditional religion, 9ice made a bold declaration:
“I’m not a Christian, I’m not a Muslim. I’m a herbalist. I tell people and they run away from me. I’m an African, and that’s what I practice. I’ve found my light in my own way.”
He drew parallels between his journey and that of late Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti.
“When Fela used to go to Ogun, we’d be like, ‘This guy, what’s he doing?’ Now I know,” he said.
Quoting a belief that solidified his conviction, 9ice explained, “God said, ‘I will never come to you in a different language from your people.’ Eventually, you understand that this black continent is for black people, and we have our own messengers.”
Concluding the conversation, 9ice used a metaphor to illustrate spiritual plurality:
“Is it one road that leads to Lekki Phase 1? You can pass this way, I can pass that way. Just get there—with loyalty, with sincerity. That’s all.”