When gospel singer Sola Allyson pulled Nollywood star Lateef Adedimeji on stage at her Lagos concert, the crowd was not just clapping for a duet. They were clapping for something bigger, a friendship that refuses to be boxed in by religion.

Religion often divides faster than it unites. Churches against mosques. Hijabs against choir gowns. Yet here was a Muslim actor and a gospel singer, standing shoulder to shoulder, singing like siblings at a family gathering. Many could not look away.

Allyson gave the crowd the gist without hesitation. “Lateef is a creative, I am a creative. Religion can’t separate us. Lateef is a child of God, I am a child of God. We see our father differently, but Lateef is my brother.”

Think about that for a moment. In a country where interfaith marriages spark debates and social media wars, Allyson and Adedimeji were saying plainly that art is bigger than labels, music is louder than doctrine, and love is stronger than dogma.

Adedimeji spoke from the heart as well. “Listening to Aunty Sola’s songs doesn’t make me less of a Muslim. Your songs speak to me just like a Muslim song will. God is a formless entity.” That was not just a compliment. That was a cultural statement.

The audience erupted because what they saw was not just performance. It was proof that Nigeria’s most dangerous fault line, religion, does not always have to mean division.

This is not even their first time together.

In 2022, their collaboration stirred debates, with critics asking why a Muslim actor should share a stage with a gospel singer. Yet they are still here, still standing together, still proving that music and friendship are bigger than bias.

Adedimeji and his wife even featured in Allyson’s music video “Ife A Dale”. If that is not family energy, then what is?
At the end of the night, what happened on that stage was more than a duet. It was a reminder. In a country where religion is often weaponised, two creatives showed us what unity could look like.

Not sermon. Not politics. Only music. Only love.