Category: Entertainment

A PLUS-SIZE actress Allwell Ademola last weekend made a grand entry into the league of Nollywood producers as, on Saturday, June 8, the thespian premiered her debut movie Adeda. The event attracted a constellation of stars mostly from the Yoruba sector of Nollywood.

The star-studded event also had some of the biggest music merchants performing before a large audience comprising industry heads, colleagues, movie lovers, friends, families and an array of media representatives who turned up for the premiere, held at White House, Ikeja.

Though the event started a bit behind schedule, it only took a few moments after comic actor Baba Tee took to the stage to set the ball rolling. Guests soon forgot the frustration of waiting for the duo of Saidi Balogun and Alariwo, anchors of the show.

The atmosphere was fired up after the first performance by the celebrator, Allwell, stunned all with her stellar performance. She sang melodiously that those who had been itching to dance had more than they bargained for even before the likes of Biyi Samuel, Atorise and Dele Taiwo took to the stage.

The premiere of Adeda no doubt scored high but certainly not in the area of logistics and sound which marred the screening of the movie at some point. Apart from the technical fault which prevented movie enthusiasts from seeing the movie and the time wasted, the event was successful.

Stars that graced the event included Kola Olaiya, Alinco, Lagata, Kunle Adegbite, Saidi Balogun, Funsho Adeolu, Ayo Adesanya, Adex of Earthquake, Biodun Okeowo, Doris Simeon, Ojemba, Biyi Samuel, Lanre Teriba, Dele Taiwo, Alariwo and others.

Armed with a third album titled ‘Ko Si O’, sonorous gospel act Yinka Ayanda is set to thrill with a collection of lyrically powerful concoction of songs that espouse African culture and tradition. She revealed more about her life, her career as an air hostess and her passion for music in this interview with AHMED BOULOR.

WHAT does music mean to you? Music is love. It has to do with your soul, what you feel in your heart, when you feel something strange inside. It is God’s glory of communicating with others, what you feel about life, about yourself; expressing your love, passion, affection, and feelings generally.

Tell us about your family and educational background

I am the first child of my mother and I have a younger brother. I’m a graduate of English. My growing up was the least any child would wish for. Not soothing at all because I was not born with silver spoon. But I thank God for the kind of life He has given me. I was not mentored to be like this. I had it very rough and wouldn’t want to remember it again. I am married and blessed with two lovely kids.

I’m also a career woman. I work with an airline which I’m not ready to disclose now. Above all, I am a singer. I attended Ekimogun Nursery School and later I got enrolled in Surulere Primary School. I also attended Akintan Grammar School, Surulere, Lagos. I started my tertiary education with Lagos State Polytechnic before I crossed over to the University of Ado-Ekiti where I studied English Language. I proceeded to enroll for speech presentation and etiquette with Sidney Offeni Film Institute of Speak Right, Stand Right. From there, I did some courses in the aviation industry before I started working as an air hostess.

Tell us about your parents

My mum is from Ogbayi Akoko, Ondo State while my late father was a native of Ikare Akoko, also in Ondo State. Talking about their influence in my life, I think they are just there like other parents that have the blessing of having a child. I will say God just made me to be who I am today. I did not have any formal training from my parents. But looking at me now, you can hardly believe I had been through hell in life. Glory be to God.

How did music start for you professionally?

My first album was in 2010 but I have been singing since I was 12 years old in my church and by the time I was 18 years old, I was already leading the choir.

Would you say your time as the leader of your church choir was a stepping stone as a professional musician?

Yeah, I’ve always loved music but I was not ready to give up on what I wanted. I wanted to actually grow to a stage that I would be able to finance it myself. That’s why it took me longer before I released my first album.

What inspired you into music despite your lucrative job?

It was my traveling experience. When I travelled out for my holiday and I saw the way people were living fake lives because they had the notion that when you get abroad you pick manna from heaven or pick money from the streets of London and America. They deceive people back home that they live in luxury but they are actually living like rats overseas. This kind of unacceptable lifestyle changed my orientation and I said to myself that it is better I open eyes and use my music to enlighten people who are also dreaming of leaving the country in search of greener pastures.

Because I don’t know why one will be suffering abroad, indulging in certain jobs that you cannot do in your own country. I saw hell when I first travelled to the U.K. With the way Nigerians are living there, I discovered that I was even better off. For instance, here in Nigeria, if you pay me a visit, I can afford to give you N2000 for recharge cards but the only thing they can give you there is food. You are on your own if you do not have loyalists. Nobody will give you money for top up card; you have to earn the money and if you are not smart, they will be planning to get the money you brought from Nigeria. Hence, I resolved to advocate a contented life of hope and determination for people through my music, which was the bedrock of the first album.

What type of music do you do?

I do basically African contemporary music.

Why did you choose such genre?

It is an inspirational and motivational genre of music. If I’m not good at being a motivational speaker, I should be able to use my God-given talent to communicate and pass positive messages across to people.

After the release of your first and second albums, there were rumours that you mastered your voice and style like that of Shola Allyson. What’s your reaction to that impression?

The fact that I love Shola Allyson does not mean I sing Shola Allyson’s music. I don’t think I sing like Shola Allyson because I am different and unique in my own style.

But you work with the same producer.

Yes, we have the same producer. My last album Ise Mi was produced by Tolu Fafowora who happens to be Shola Allyson’s producer too. That would not make me sing like her. In fact, I’ve only seen Shola Allyson once in my life and it was not through Tolu Fafowora. I met her at Lagos State Polytechnic, Isolo. She came with her husband a long time ago and I spoke with her about music, and she gave me Tolu Fafowora’s contact. I love her as a person and I love everything about her music as well. I even wanted her to come for my album launch but to no avail.

Going by that impression, how do you plan to correct the belief of some people who still think you sound like Shola Allyson?

I have corrected it in my upcoming album. Apart from choosing another producer, I tried as much as possible to do it in such a way that it won’t have any resemblance with whatever Shola Allyson does.

Tell us about your first album

The title is Teni-Teni. It was released in 2010. It was about the experiences I had in London when I went on holiday. All the songs on the album are all meant to enlighten, advice and appreciate my fans. I actually went to Benin Republic to perform Teni-Teni and I got an award at the event. I also performed in about three places. Then I came up with the satirical album Ise Mi’ in 2011.

Did you face any challenge like sexual harassment in the industry when you started?

My brother, I saw it coming. So, I said to myself that I won’t do music until I was ready to finance it myself because I won’t let anyone take advantage of me. That was the main reason I waited till 2010 before I could start music professionally. Now, I thank God it’s all going fine.

Did you make money from your last two albums?

Not really…

So what are you doing to ensure you make money from your forthcoming album?

By the grace of God, it will not happen again. You know we can only hope, it is God that determines everything. There are people I met when I did Ise Mi and Teni-Teni that I pray that I should never come across again. Even if I come across them, I will need to be 20 million miles away from them. I believe with the efforts we have been putting in place on this one it will come out good in the end.

How religious are you?

I observe my five daily prayers to God because I do not have any other means other than God. He has made me, He sustained me to this state. I owe nobody anything but God.

How are you coping as a Muslim convert?

I was a Christian by birth. I got into Islam through my husband and I have never regretted being a Muslim.

Marriage, career and music are three different endeavours that require serious focus. How do you combine them without lapses?

That makes me a master. It means I’m a giant but it is the grace of God. Even if you are doing one thing and you don’t have the special grace of God, you can’t get anywhere. It will interest you to know that I also fly. I’m an air hostess with Arik Airline. It’s only God’s grace that has made me relevant on all fronts.

How does your husband cope with your constant absence from home due to the nature of your job?

My husband is no doubt my guiding angel. God specially made him for me. There’s no perfect husband or perfect wife but my home has remained intact not because of love but because we share good understanding.

What wrong do you want to right in the music industry?

The people in the industry are mature, there’s no way I can be telling them what is wrong or right. You just do your part and leave the rest. Just keep spreading the good news and may be one of these days, God will touch their hearts. There is nothing anybody can do about the choice of song any artiste deems moral enough to the ear. All I can do is to continue with what I know how to do best.

You are a very busy woman, how do you actually unwind?

I unwind with my family. When I am not working in the studio, flying or having appointment with my directors, I will definitely be at home with my family. I’m not a party person and I don’t keep friends to that effect. I’m a very homely person. Off camera, I’m a very shy person and even when I’m on set, you need to drill me hard to be able to deliver.

What is your unique selling point?

I am not in music solely for money because music cannot give me half of what I make from my job. I’m driven by my experience and passion; I’ve to educate the world through the message that my songs have to offer. That is why I will never follow a trend or copy anybody.

Fame comes with a lot of challenges, how have you been managing it?

Hope you remember I am no more a spinster? See, with the kind of job I even do, I meet with people in charge of Nigeria on a daily basis. I have a rapport with them and to make things funnier, I’m always on board in the business class where I see all the top personalities. So, if I’m not tempted there, nothing can tempt me again because those are the people that can change my life in two days.

Do you have any advice for young ladies who want to toe your path?

They should go to school in order to have their destiny in their hands. They should pray to God immeasurably for guidance. Education is very important. Be determined in life irrespective of your situation or what you are going through in life. Just be focused, know what you want. In life, there are lots of distractions so don’t get distracted, you should run away from people who cannot add value to your life.

After decades of serenading the music scene, highlife maestro Fatai Rolling Dollar finally bade this world goodbye. OVWE MEDEME and DUPE AYINLA-OLASUNKANMI take a look at the colourful life of the artiste as a husband, father and an entertainer.

BORN Fatai Olayiwola Olagunju, he got the moniker ‘Rolling Dollar’ in his school days in the early 1930s. Back then, he said in a recent interview, he used to be in the school football team. When it was time to play, he would go to the pitch with some American dimes in his pocket which he spun expertly between his fingers. The alias, as it would turn out, became legendary.

While the nation was looking forward to celebrating a day that has come to be regarded as critical to its democracy, it came as a rude shock to the entertainment world, with particular reference to highlife lovers, when on Wednesday, June 12, it woke up to the news of the demise of the veteran who had given a greater part of his life to highlife music.

His career as a highlife artiste started way back in 1953 and he is said to have trained a number of professional musicians such as Evangelist Ebenezer Obey, late Dr. Orlando Owoh and Bob Aladeniyi, among others. To his credit, Rolling Dollar has played music throughout his life time and has travelled far and wide preaching the gospel of music.

Though he had a healthy run of his career, firing on to the ripe age of 85, Baba, as he was simply known in close quarters, saw the down side of his career. The 90s were dark days for the guitarist but to his credit and with the aid of quite a number of industry watchers and lovers of his genre of music, he made it back with his hit song, Won Kere Si Number Wa, a song which became the anthem of the elderly and the hip to the extent that it was used as signature tune for a brand.

In the words of Femi Esho, who worked closely with the late artiste, Fatai Rolling Dollar lived a wonderful life full of ups and downs. Describing him as a very great man, Esho recounts how the legendary singer, at some point, had it rough.

“He was Ebenezer Obey’s boss when Ebenezer Obey was his second in command. Things went bad for him and he became a night watchman at the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Ebutte Meta. With the assistance of God, I and Benson Idonijie, we were able to put him at Ojez Restaurant where he played and some organisations discovered him and he started to shine again. He is a very strong man and a wonderful guitarist. He is very humble, very friendly and easy going. He played until his last moment,” says Esho.

Music promoter, Benson Idonijie, throws light into his exit and grand return to highlife music in Nigeria. Bringing Rolling Dollar back, he said, was a long process. “When in the late 90s, I was on a highlife revival initiative and I had to rely on him to provide the basics. That was how I went for him. We had always been in touch. We had been together since the 50s and I knew how good he was so I got him involved in the initiative. I was lucky to have a club I was managing, that was Ojez. I got him to perform every month and that was how I started promoting him,” Idonijie recounts.

On the circumstances that led to his leaving the industry, Idonijie revealed that it stems from the fact that Rolling Dollar is a traditional highlife musician. “In the 60s, with the arrival of Ebenezer Obey, Sunny Ade, Dele Abiodun and all that, after the exit of highlife, juju music took over and the type of juju music that came was that of the urbane social music type. It was not the traditional type that Fatai Rolling Dollar and the others were used to. He refused to identify with the new wave at the time.”

For the Chairman of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Tony Okoroji, though in shock at the news of the singer’s death, he will ensure that that Fatai Rolling Dollar is immortalised. “Just before leaving the country, I had been given a hint by a mutual friend, Mr. Niyi Ojemakinde, the radio personality, that Pa Fatai Rolling Dollar was in hospital. I had so badly wanted to go and see him but there was just no time. He was a legend, a fantastic person with a very positive attitude to life who treated everyone with courtesy. I believe that his attitude to life was responsible for the long life he lived and that should be a lesson for all of us. He was committed to the unity of the Nigerian music industry and never missed any meeting of COSON. He will be missed by a lot of people whom he inspired,” said Okoroji.

The illness which began after his American tour was said to have confined him to the bed after he complained of pains in his legs. Said to have been in the hospital for a brief period, Pa Rolling Dollar was reported to have been in a coma; a news that was vehemently denied; with family members confirming that he was recuperating.

Findings indicate that one Ayo, younger sister to the legendary Orlando Owo, had a child for him.

Eldest daughter of Rolling Dollar, Adejumoke Badmus, has a story to tell. The last time she spoke with him, she said, was three days to his demise. “He kept saying it was time for him to go but he wouldn’t say where he was going to. I told him to stop it as we still needed him around. I am shocked that he had to die,” she lamented. According to Jumoke, Baba has an under-developed plot at Ikorodu and it would be a thing of joy if the Lagos State Government helps in turning it into a music village.

In his 80s, the music legend still fathered babies and, according to him, he was still interested in going on as long as he lives. He left behind 16 children already, the last being about three years old. He was said to have been involved with two other women apart from his very first wife who died in 1999, one of them a German.

To his second child, Adewunmi Olagunju, Rolling Dollar was a caring father who would be missed very much. In his words, Fatai Rolling Dollar spared no cost in calling his family in faraway Cameroun where he resides.

Speaking on the sad event, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, General Manager, COSON, said the octogenarian’s exit is indeed a very sad one for our rapidly growing music industry. “It is indeed very sad to hear of the death of Pa Fatai Rolling Dollar whom as you well know is a frontline member of COSON and a major stakeholder in our music industry. It is a sad moment for the industry and we say may his soul rest in peace,” he said.

According to Chukwuji, the death of Pa Rolling Dollar is more painful at this point in the history of the development of the industry that his fatherly counsel and wealth of experience would be needed. “He has been a great source of encouragement to so many of us especially the younger artistes. One other thing he epitomises is that good music and good stage craftsmanship will always excel. You will recall that his hit track, “Won Keresi Number” was one of the songs nominated at the just held COSON Song Awards for the 10 best songs of the 60s. That explains the quality of the composition. Again, may his soul rest in peace,” Chukwuji added.

Ayo Balogun, President of the Association of Juju Musicians, also spared a thought for the late artiste. According to her, Baba would be missed greatly as his demise leaves a deep gash in the highlife world that would be hard to fill. She further stated that because of the sudden nature of his death, the association has not met to state what role they would be playing.

Present at his Agege home where his remains was taken to were his contemporaries, including Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade (KSA). For KSA, it is a time of genuine sober reflection as he states; “With the demise of Rolling Dollar, I have come to realise that no matter your age, humility pays. He was a very humble man with virtues we should all emulate.”

Obey, however, was apt in his portrayal of the legend. “He is my boss and friend and I will miss him,” he said.

WITH a gathering of about 2000 students in Primary 5 to SS2 and about 250 teachers and parents, the third edition of Teach Children to Save Summit was held at the main auditorium, University of Lagos on Friday 24th May.

The summit, as explained by the Project Director, Laja Shoniran, is one of the components of the Teach Children to Save Initiative, a national ‘Catch-Them-Young’ campaign that promotes financial literacy and inclusion by teaching children and youths the value of money and the importance of savings.

“Teaching our children and youth about finance and inculcating in them the savings culture is a foundation for promoting sound financial management skills for managing resources/ enterprises, because these children in a few years will become the MDs/ CEOs, political leaders, economic players, policy makers and so on. Training them to save today will help guarantee their future and the future of our great country,” Shoniran explained.

Female rapper, Sasha P, who was also present, took some time out before the show rounded off to talk to the participants about passion and adequate use of their God-given talents to avoid waste or misuse.

She intelligently made up an acronym to aid their understanding of what she was saying; D.D.E.E.P (Discover your talent – Dare to dream – Encourage yourself and each other- Evolve everyday – Pray because your life depends on it) and she ended her speech by performing one of her inspirational hit songs, Adara.

According to the organisers, the summit was organised with the following objectives; -To use fun-learning activities to teach children and youths about savings, banking, financial literacy and the need for financial inclusion.

HEART-POURING accolades went out to comic Yoruba actor cum emcee, Baba Tee, at the star-studded premiere and movie launch of Adeda which held last Saturday at the White House Hotel, Ikeja.

While Baba Tee wasn’t originally the emcee for the event, time and chance afforded him the opportunity to show to all present what a bundle of talent he is. Scheduled for 2pm, the event eventually started at about 5pm. It didn’t take long for the guests who were waiting patiently for the duo of Saidi Balogun and Alariwo, anchors of the event to come rescue them from the boredom to begin to nod to Baba Tee’s unrivalled sense of humour and spontaneity. It was best described as laughfest as guests literally fell over each other, laughing out their hearts. There was no dull moment, not a single one. The actor effortlessly carried the guests along for close to five hours or more that the show lasted. Even though at intervals, he poured encomium on the anchors, who he referred to as his ‘bosses’, the crowd couldn’t ask for more.

Baba Tee’s acting skill may have eluded most of his colleagues and fans but definitely not his ability to create a sensation at an event of this sort. It was not surprising that most of the guests started calling for his contact shortly after he got off stage.

The event, though, had two other comedians, Ojemba and Baba B, it was like swimming in the wrong river for the fast rising duo as their effort couldn’t measure up. It is no gain saying that the comic actor stole the show.

Dele Taiwo, Lanre Teriba, Saidi Balogun, Funsho Adeolu and wife Victoria Adeolu, Biodun Okeowo, Ayo Adesanya, Biyi Samuel were some of the stars who graced the event.

Adeda, a movie which centres on the trials of an helpless African Woman, parades a rich cast of talented thespians; Saidi Balogun, Funsho Adeolu, Allwell Demola, and features frontline Fuji artiste Pasuma, among others.