Popular Nigerian artiste and songwriter, Adekunle Gold, has revealed that he begged God to take his life when he was 20 years old.
According to him, he was born with sickle cell anemia
“One of the most intense crises I had was at the age of 20, I remember laying in my bed in the middle of the night asking for an end to it all. I begged God to take my life away because I couldn’t understand what I did to deserve the pain my body and mind was under. As usual with sickle cell after some days, the pain subsided and God asked me; “that end you begged me for, do you still want it?” he told fans on a newsletter published om Friday, July 15,2022.
The 35-year-old singer said: “I was born with sickle cell disease. It was life and death, it was physical, mental, financial, you name it, and I went through it all.
“It was tough, painful and frustrating for me. The pains and shivers were unbearable. They (crisis) always came in the night, when my family had no means to transport me to a hospital.”
Adekunle Gold stated that at some point his family couldn’t afford the hospital bills so he had to endure the pain.
“The most intense crisis I had was at the age of 20, I remember laying in my bed in the middle of the night asking for an end to it all. I begged God to take my life because I could not understand what I did to deserve the pain my body and mind was under.
“As usual with sickle crisis after some days, the pain subsided, and God asked me; “That end you begged me for, do you still want it?” Of course I said no and that’s when everything changed for me. That was when I realized that I had been given another opportunity to live my dreams and show those that mocked me that sickle cell anemia was never going to end me, that it would never hold me back from my dreams and aspirations.”
He added that although some symptoms resurface once in a while, the disease gave him hope and taught him to be resilient.
On a final note, he penned a message to sickle cell warriors, advising them to stay strong.
“If you know anyone going through any struggle, physical, health, mental, be kind! Show compassion! In fact, be kind to everyone, you just never know what they are dealing with privately. Be supportive, be gentle and love endlessly,” he advised.
“If you are a sickler, know that the disease does not define you. Don’t allow it to limit your dream or cap your potential. Spread your wings and dream big! Hope to see you soaring the big skies.“he added.
Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko, popularly known as Adekunle Gold and AG Baby, is a Nigerian Highlife singer and songwriter.
He gained prominence after releasing the 2015 hit single “Sade”, a Highlife cover of One Direction’s “Story of My Life”.
He is married to music star Simi and they have a daughter together.