November 8 2008 would remain a day in the life of lovers of Kennery music maestro, the late Dr Orlando Owoh. But for some three women, it is an indelible one. A day they dreaded but which suddenly happened on them. It was the day their idol, their love and benefactor departed the face of the earth. 11 years after, the women still remember. They still love and still reminisce. Taiwo Abiodun recently took a trip into their world.
FOR light-complexioned Caroline Muibatu Owomoyela, hardly a moment goes by without her remembering her loving and caring husband, the indefatigable high-life maestro, Dr. Orlando Owoh.
11 years after his demise, she still mourns his painful exit, maintaining that no other man compares to him.
Settling down with The Nation for a brief chat, she introduced herself: “My name is Caroline Muibatu Owomoyela. Presently, I am the most senior of the surviving wives of the late musician, Orlando Owoh.”
How I met Orlando
”I met my husband several years ago; I cannot remember the exact year. I met him in the 70s. But I know that I had my first child for him in 1973 and that is all I can recollect. That’s a long time ago. He was a great husband, a great lover, an honest husband and my confidant. He didn’t just pick me off the street, he paid my bride price.” Caroline recalled, as she made to trace her meeting with her late hobby.
Asked if the relationship got the nod of her parents, Caroline suddenly burst into laughter, asking, “Which parent would give such consent? Both of us had an understanding, so there was nothing my parents could have said or done that would have counted.”
Recounting some of the qualities that endeared him to her, Caroline said, ”He was a man that always fulfilled his promise. He was not a liar, and the nature of his job does not permit him to lie. In fact, he did not know how to lie.”
Quite surprisingly, she revealed that none of her children has taken after her husband. “None of them sings. My children are all female. Some are in the United States of America and are doing well in their chosen professions.”
Owoh’s many arrests
Recalling his many travail, Caroline said the late musician was arrested many times for different framed-up offenses and charges. One of them, she said, was “When he went to play somewhere in Sobe, where he praised his kinsmen but did not praise some royal fathers, which obviously annoyed them. Orlando was later advised not to spend that night in Ifon. That incident was captured in one of his records.”
“Many may not know but my husband once joined the army and went to the war front. It was one of his kinsmen, Tunde Awodeyi – I can’t remember his rank now, whether colonel or something – who sent him back. He said, ‘Haa, Orlando, what have you come to do?’ He then stylishly brought Orlando back home. He said he did not want him to get killed in the war front.”
On why he sang ‘So dara bee?’
Asked to throw some light on one of Owoh’s song in which he sang about his Peugeot 504 car that was seized, the woman’s face lit up with excitement. ”Yes, I remember the song (singing), SO DAA BE?, where he sang ”Ogedengbe mi o, Oladimeji mi o, o gbe mi lori esin oo o jami kale o, ye ye ye (My Ogedengbe, my Oladimeji, you placed me on the horse and pushed me down. Is that good enough?)”
She said Orlando had bought a Peugeot 504 car on hire purchase from his friend, Ogedengbe, who was a car dealer, but because he failed to balance up on time, Ogedengbe seized the car from him. I remember the case very well. Of course both of them eventually made up and became friends again.”
Her best track
Asked to name her best of his numerous tracks, Caroline said, “I love all his music, none can be pushed aside. (Suddenly she started singing) Ma wo mi roro, ma wo mi roro… all the lyrics in his albums have meanings and rich in content. To him, singing is gift from God.”
Asked to confirm the rumour that the late African Kennery singer goes to studio without rehearsing, she confidently said, ”Yes, he would not do rehearsal. Anytime he needed to record, he just went to the studio and record, unlike other musicians who camp with their bands, practising. It is a gift. If a musician is talented, he would not be looking for songs to sing.”
With him on his death bed
Though not a memory she cherishes, she said she was with Orlando at the hospital, running around and praying for him not to die. “I was with her at the hospital; we were going up and down; not knowing it was time for him to go. We are all human, when it’s time, there is nothing anyone can do.”
Going down memory lane, she recalled how her late husband spoilt her with gifts anytime he travelled out of the country. These days, whenever she and his other widows hear his music being played, their hearts become heavy. ”But there is nothing we can do and we thank God for his life.”
I don’t smoke
Was she aware that her husband smoked Indian hemp? She replied, “Of course yes. He smoked and sang its praise. People are aware that he smoked ganja. But he did not misbehave. He smoked with sense,” she said, with total approval and support.
She however said she and his other wives never smoked. “No, we the wives at home did not smoke.”
Orlando gave money to patients on his deathbed – Folasade Lagundoye –Owomoyela
MY name is Folashade Lagundoye – Owomoyela. I am from Owo, Ondo State. My father is the late Imam Lagundoye, a popular and very discipline Muslim cleric in Owo town. I thank God for the good family I came from.”
We celebrate Orlando even in death
Like a people truly in love with their breadwinner and hero, Folashade narrates how they still celebrate Orlando owoh, even in death.
“We celebrate him every year. We would invite friends and family members for his remembrance and slaughter cow and prepare food. One of his children, Kemi who lives in America, usually buys cow for the occasion. Last year Tokunbo and Orimipe threw a party in December. However, three days before the party, my mother died and I had to travel to Owo. This year we only marked it. Folarin , my daughter and some other children of Orlando joined hands together to celebrate it. You can see that we are frying akara (bean cake) here. We can never forget Orlando. He was not just a musician but a philanthropist. He was a doctor, whose songs heal wounds, cure sickness and bring happiness to all.”
Why he was not buried in Ifon
On the controversy surrounding Orlando’s burial place, Folasade answered this way, “We were not the ones who said he should not be buried in Ifon; it is what he not only wrote down but also placed curse on whoever attempts to bury him there. The reasons were best known to him.
“Whether he was buried in Ifon or Owo or Lagos, the fact remains that he is gone. And for the people who are talking and criticising us, how many of them has looked back or even asked after our welfare? Who amongst them remembers us again? We have had no helper; none whatsoever to ask after the welfare of the children he left behind? Don’t you know how old the children were when their father died? So let’s not talk about that. But I thank God all the children are doing well in their respective endeadvours.”
The good times
Recalling the good times, Folasade said “There is no hotel he was going to play or outing that I would not go with him.
“And… yes, he sang about me in one of his albums, which goes thus: E j’ise mi fun Folashade mi, a o ma rira p’elayo o… Shaaade mi o, Omo Lagundoye….( Deliver my message to Folashade, we shall meet in peace… Shade , daughter of Lagundoye…). That was around the time of the Alagbon problem (when he was charged with possession of illicit drugs). My senior wives were arrested and taken away along with him by the Police and I was left alone at home. He composed the song while in custody at Alagbon and recorded and released it when he came out.”
“Would you believe that the policemen that came to arrest my husband even advised me to leave him? They told me, ‘You this beautiful girl, what are you doing among these people. You should run away once we’ve taken him away.’
Why didn’t she heed the advice and run?
“I did not run away. I couldn’t have. I was the only one left at home and I started going to Alagbon Police station and later Kirikiri Maximum Prisons to the male section (where my husband was ) and female section to meet my senior wives. I would go with food and also did everything humanly possible to make them comfortable. Oh yes, I was young then but why should I run away from the man I vowed to love till death do us part? Why should I run away from my husband who was very nice, humble, caring and loving? I am from a very responsible and reliable home and we don’t do that in our family. We are well brought up and well-cultured. I am like a pigeon who will die with its benefactor. I was ready to die with him, ekuro la labaku ewa .”
“My husband is somebody I can never forget and I remember him every day. I have read many stories that they will build a statue in his honour in Ifon. That sounds good and I implore good-spirited Nigerians and his fans to do it for him.”
United in widowhood
On the seeming love and understanding among the three wives, Folashade laughed and said, “What else? Why should we fight one another? Where is the man we want to be fighting over again? He is gone, so everybody is facing where she is going and being good to each other. The three of us still live in his house.”
Like his co-wives, remarrying is no-go area for Folashade, who was in her 40s when Orlando Owoh died. “What type of husband am I going to marry again? There is no man I’ll marry that will be like Orlando. If I come back to this world again, I will still marry him. What we need now is not husband but assistance.”
When asked to name his best Orlando album, Folashade replied, ”I love the album called Census [sings], Orlando Ifon ni mo ti wa……”
Bundle of talent
“My husband was a bundle of talent. He would not practise and if he planned to wax one record, he would end up waxing three in the studio. He liked sitting down and playing his guitar. He was a multi-instrumentalist and used to sing in the bathroom.”
Although none of Folashade’s children sings but she is proud of those that are taking after their father. “Three of Orlando’s children are into music. Orimipe sings in America, Kunle and Daisi too sing here in Nigeria. Orimipe is the first born. My daughter does not sing. She has a set of twins and she is very successful in her career.”
Never threatened by ladies
For Folashade seeing her husband, Orlando in the midst of ladies at parties was never a threat. “I was always at ease. I am a socialite, when he is playing music, I would be enjoying myself and dancing to his music. Ladies who come to parties have come to spend their money and I knew it is the same money we would spend at home. I knew they would not take him home, so I usually looked the other way. If he did not sing and praise them very well, how will they spend money for him? That is the bitter truth.”
Orlando the philanthropist
Asked if she agrees that Orlando was a reckless spender, Folasade said, “He was a cheerful giver and he gave without looking back! Orlando was kind to a fault. Anytime he came back from play or outing, he would wait outside when everybody had gone to sleep and be giving people money, until the money finished, then he would go to bed. If we fought or argued with him over his action, he would ask whether it was our money.”
She continued: “If he saw anybody going on the road, he would send for him, go inside and give them clothes and shoes. One day he gave a man an expensive wristwatch he brought from America. We all lost our temper but he asked us whether it was our wrist watch. Many would come to him with their personal problems saying their children were sick, some would beg him for their children’s school fees and he would go inside and give them money. Whenever he comes back from America, he would share his dollars with people and warn them not to tell anybody that he gave them money. If any Owo indigene came to Lagos and had nowhere to stay, they would locate Orlando’s house to stay. He would harbour them and assist them. That is Orlando for you.”
Even on his hospital bed, he still assisted the needy. “I was with him at his bedside and there was a patient in his room who had no money to buy his prescription drugs, Orlando instructed me to give him money to buy the drugs. They bought the drugs for him, but unfortunately the man still died.”
Weathering hard time
According to Folasade, it’s been hard time since their benefactor departed, but she blames the music promoters who refuse to pay them. “The promoters with master tapes have not given us a dime in the past five years. If you ask them, they will say it is piracy that caused it and one needs money to go to court. How do we maintain ourselves? Imagine, we have to hustle before paying electricity bill; we need to renovate the house, take care of many things. Sincerely speaking we need help, that is the fact.”
Asked if they get any help from Orlando’s numerous friends, she replied “I don’t know most of his friends. However, they are annoyed that he was not buried in Ifon. God is my living witness, when I did my mother’s burial ceremony Die The Matter gave me money, Oba Francis Apata of Ipe gave me money, so also many other people. Some of my friends like Chief Mulikat Ibidapo asked what she would give me and I told her to give me money and attend the burial ceremony. She gave me money and also came from America to attend. Even her husband, Chief Rotimi Ibidapo ( Bassey) gave me money.”
How she met Orlando
“It all started in 1982. One good day, me and my friends were coming from an outing and we decided to stop at Travelers Inn by the Mobil Station in Owo to catch fun. There, we saw Orlando playing. The following day, I saw Mrs. Abegunde (aka Madam Red) of blessed memory who brought Orlando to my house. The rest became history.”
“Of course no family would like their daughter to marry a musician. I am daughter of a very popular Imam Olagundoye in Owo but my father was that type that would not dictate, impose or force anything on his children. He would instead support you on whatever you wanted to do. In the end I thank God that I have no regret marrying him.”
My prayer
Folashade has a prayer, “I am appealing to all lovers of Orlando to build a statue like Bob Marley’s in Jamaica, Elvis Presley in Memphis and Michael Jackson in his birthplace. It will be a great honour for him.”
Why we’ll never remarry – Funke Owomoyela
SHE is in second position among the three surviving wives of the late musician, Dr. Orlando Owoh. A well-educated woman, she was a secondary school teacher in Ekiti when Orlando met her. Speaking in impeccable English and Yoruba laced with proverbs, she expressed sharp wit and intelligence. Madam Funke Owomoyela is a mother in a million and a woman any man would be proud of. She is a wife who will not betray or deny her husband even in death.
“My name is Funke Owomoyela. You must have been hearing our names from the records Orlando Owoh waxed where he mentioned our names and sang our (wives) praises. Among the surviving wives of Orlando, I am next to Muibatu and Shade is next to me. We all live together peacefully in our husband’s house in Agege.”
Asked to tell the secret of their unity, Funke said “Nobody can break the love and mutual understanding that exist amongst us. Even when our husband was alive, he couldn’t fathom the secret or break the bond.”
She however confessed that none of her children is into music. She was quick to add though that, “Some of my step children like Daisi and Kunle, as well as Orimipe in the United States sing.
Only my grandmother supported our union
Going down memory lane, Funke said, “I was a secondary school teacher in Ekiti State when we met. None of my family members supported our relationship except my grandmother. She was the only who supported our union because she loved Orlando’s music and she said she wanted her daughter to marry a musician, so that when she died, a big and popular musician would come and play at her funeral. In the end, Orlando fulfilled her desires when she died. It was a one in town burial. A fantastic one. It was not only Orlando that came, many great musicians also came to play and they supported me morally and financially.”
Orlando not an ordinary man
Not surprisingly, Funke said she is always sad anytime she hears Orlando’s music. “Aah! it’s as if they are injecting us where it hurts. We hear his music especially over the radio every day. In fact they cannot do without playing his music.”
As a Yoruba and a believer in African philosophy, she’s also of the strong opinion that the dead don’t just die and go away.
“I see him in my dreams; we even hear his voice in his room and when he is having his bath. Sade is the one that would miss him most because they were 24/7.”
KSA no longer picks our call
Perhaps one of the most painful aftermath of Orlando’s death, according to Funke, is the fact that none of his friends is asking or checking after their well-being. “It was when he was alive that he had friends but immediately he died, it’s as if he never had them, as none of them turn up anymore. All their promises are tissues of lies. Even Sunny Ade who was trained in Orlando’s house in Oshogbo does not pick our calls again. It was when he was alive that he had thousands of friends who milled round him and stayed glued here.”
Even artistes royalties, which have been sources of wealth and comfort to dependents of successful artistes, of which Orlando Owoh was and clearly remains one, is no longer coming, Funke alleged.
“Even the ones he is entitled to from the Nigeria Performing Musical Association, which they used to bring every year has since stopped. I believe someone must be cornering it. More painful is the fact that at the end of the year, we would receive a message that we have received royalties, whereas we did not receive a dime. Maybe they think we are all illiterates, ” she said raising her voice in visible anger.
When asked if the family ever lodged complaints regarding this, she answered in the negative. “We wanted to complain, but we were slow. I agree that we ought to have complained since,” she admitted.
Ganja and the Legend
Funke also agreed that their husband smoked ganja(marijuana), but with caution. ”Yes, he smoked ganja but with sense. Orlando had that sense of musical and poetic fitness. You couldn’t even compare his brain with that of people with Cambridge certificates, because he was a genius, very brilliant and gifted. This was a man who would wax three records in the studio overnight.
We always went with him to the studio and he would usually ask us if he did well. He valued our opinions because we were fans before we became his wives.
Why we’ll never remarry
Asked why none of them has remarried since their husband’s death, Funke said, “After what that man did for us? None of us can remarry. If we are talking of a man that loves his wife, Orlando was number one. I have not met any man that would behave like him. He did his best for everybody, he trained our children.
“Indeed, he was a man after our hearts. Very loving, very accommodating and always giving. Anytime he came back from a show, his fans would gather and start shouting his praises, and he would be begging them to give him time to rest; but before you know it, he would be the same person who would be peeping out of the window and call out to them.” Funke said.
His last moment
“We were at his bedside at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) when he gave up the ghost. He spoke with us but you don’t tell everything. What is still strange to us up till this moment is how the news filtered out that he had given up the ghost even while we were yet to inform anybody. We just heard the breaking news on the television: ‘Sir Orlando Owoh is dead!’ How they got the news, we did not know.”
“If death could accept money, some governors would have donated. About four governors struggled to make sure he lived, if they could buy life they would have bought it for him.”
When his death was announced, hordes of sympathisers thronged our house. Some almost killed themselves here. Many also gave testimonies of how he footed their hospital bills or bankrolled their child’s naming ceremony. Some said he gave them dollars when he came back from America, while some said he gave them clothes and shoes. He was nice to everybody and welcomed all to his house irrespective of their status.
“Most times, when he came back from shows, rather than rest, he would be attending to visitors. As we’re pounding yam, we would also be smoothing amala. And he’d be issuing instructions: Pounded yam for six people, amala for four people, eba for eight… Our house would be buzzing like a market place. Such fund memories to cherish! But what do we have today? Hardly does any of them call to say hello.”
She however exonerated one Tunde Oladunjoye, whom she said briefly managed Orlando.
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