THE French poet and philosopher, Jean Francois Saint-Lambert, once remarked: “Often I am still listening when the song is over”. He may have had Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi in mind. From the 70s until he joined the Lord’s commission and now back in the wings, every single album Obey waxed leaves a pulsating thought in the memory of those who understands good music. To start, this is perhaps the only opportunity I have to pay my debt of gratitude Chief Ebenezer Obey for the honour he graciously extended to me when he played at my mother’s 90th birthday in 2014. A friend of mine had offered to pay for a band and knowing that I am a quiet fan of Obey, he contacted him saying he did on my behalf. Obey not only cancelled his earlier commitment on the day, he instructed that I be told to pay just a token to cover the cost of logistics alone. My mother cannot fathom still what wand we pulled to bring down Obey to perform the way he did on that day. I remain ever grateful Commander.
Today, when the elderly, the reflective minds and the music connoisseurs listen to the fast tracked, hip hop and rap music that categorise the present generation, they only shake their heads in regret and amazement. How do you enjoy any music that lacks meaning but only leaves you either sweating or tear-eyed melodramatic? Sometimes, my children have a good laugh on me and what they have chosen to call “old school”. It would appear to me however that the “old school” has its honour and its senses which, unfortunately, will take some of the children years to catch up with. One of that senses derives from thoughtful music. And I have musicians like Haruna Ishola, Yusuf Olatunji and Ebenezer Obey in mind. A good music can’t just be summed up by the dance or the sweat.
Two elements endeared Obey’s brand of juju music to me. Obey’s music is philosophical music; it commands your critical attention. You are invited by the guitar and the drums not only to tap your legs but also to bend your mind to philosophical reflection. You get entertainment and deep thought for the price of one album! Unlike the commercial music and the profusion of sweat and aches, it is as if the content of Obey’s music compels you to take it easy on the dance so as not to miss out on the message! Where do you get that kind of music any longer? Thanks to the Asa – Bukola Elemides of this world, and I had celebrated her for this for giving contemporariness to Obey’s genre of music. Our age is an age on the fast track. Make as much money as you can by pandering to the obscene taste and degenerate desires of the people.
Modern musicians seem to exploit the people’s uncouth nature for selfish gain. On the contrary, Obey’s music is an evergreen challenge; a corpus of reflective gems and thoughts. One could almost say that an unreflective person will not find Obey’s music fascinating. The music pushes you to the brink of thought. Second, Obey’s music is an exercise in social experience and national orientation. His songs are not just the regular sycophantic praise singing for the sake of money. What you hear is what you have seen around you. Or what you should be expecting, for good or for ill. After commencing his music career in the mid-50s, Chief Ebenezer Obey quickly mature over time from the normal dancehall melodies of the 60s and 70s to a richer cadence of a mixture of spiritually invocative themes and philosophically rich social analysis. This metamorphosis of Obey’s music also coincided with his transformation from a mere apprentice under the tutelage of Fatai Rolling Dollar to the formation of the Inter-Reformers band in the early 70s. The strength of Obey’s music, for me, is its ability to draw you close within the ambit of shared cultural, social and national experiences.
The songs weave rich Yoruba sayings into an intricate musical complexity. The result is a music that speaks wisdom for living. Again, for me, the culmination of this unique style of music is The Horse, the Man and His Son (1973). This song portrays the mature and quintessential Obey at the height of his musical prowess. This is an existential song that rehashes the theme of man’s journey through life, and the albatross of ruinous expectations we often carry with us.
The moral lesson, Obey counsels, is that no matter what you do, the world still sees you as essentially incapable, weak and foolish: “Kosogbon to’le da, ko si’wa to le wu, ko so’na to le gba, to le fi ta’ye lo’run o!” (No matter the wisdom, or the good behaviour, or the manners and ways you explore, you can never hope to satisfy the world). This lesson cuts to the heart of the African world where the extended family system and the social reciprocity framework conduce often to the impoverishment of a person. Such deep themes can equally be found in Ewa Wo Ohun Oju Ri (1964), Aiye Gba Jeje (1965), Ore Mi Ese Pelepele (1968), Alo Mi Alo (1975), Eda To Mo’se Okunkun (1977), Aimasiko (1987), etc. Apart from the fascination with philosophically inspiring songs, Obey’s musical corpus is divided between spiritually sensitive songs—which defines his latter efforts—like Orin Adura (1965), Orin Ajinde (1966), Edumare Dari Jiwon (1975), Adam and Eve (1977), What God has Joined Together (1981), Count Your Blessings (1990), etc; and socially tuned songs like Paulina (1967), Pegan Pegan (1969), Esa Ma Miliki (1971), In the Sixties (1979), Je Ka Jo (1983), Womanhood (1991), etc. Chief Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi also comes from the stock of that generation who were truly patriotic and care about the progress of the Nigerian Project. Again, that is a dying practice in Nigeria. Musicians today have become adept in pandering to the desires of the powerful for gain. Music is, for them, no longer a stentorian tool for generating strong constructive and reconstructive feelings about one’s fatherland. In music history, Peter Wagner did this to a glorious though tainted height.
Ebenezer Obey inserted himself into the patriotic circle with Gari Ti Won (1965). This was followed successively by To Keep Nigeria One (1967), Isokan Nigeria (1969), Operation Feed the Nation (1976), Current Affairs (1980), The Only Condition to Save Nigeria (1984), Formula 0-1-0 (1989), and so on. Chief Ebenezer Remilekun Aremu Olasupo Obey-Fabiyi is now 75, and he has achieved immortality while still alive. Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, the German poet, once exclaimed, “Art is long, life short.” Obey has lived a good life, and he no longer need fear death. He has already outlived himself. He has expended himself for music, for God, for Nigeria, for family, for others. It is now time for music to expend itself for him. It is time for music—and for us—to appreciate this great legend in a protracted applause that will make all his effort a worthwhile one; and all his life a beautifully written sonnet on the wonderful grace of God. At 75, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey is accomplished in every sense. What characterised a good life more than that a person is able to serve God and humanity in whatever little ways s/he knows? We have had politicians, civil servants, business people, lawyers and clerics in Nigeria who have all contributed their own quota to the advancement of humanity.
Ebenezer Obey has done more. And his success derives chiefly from the fact that he has invaded the homes and minds of Nigerians with music that entertains the bodies and agitates the minds. He did this with music, and this began at a period in our social history when musicians…and other artistes were relegated to the lowest rung of the social ladder. You can’t dare aspire to be a musician! Obey dared…and he conquered. At 75, he could sit back and hear the reverberation of musical and non-musical accolades. One could say that his success is a function of a powerful combination of a gentle deportment and a deep experience of the ways of the world. He knew right from the start what he wanted his music to do. He knew what he wanted to say. The persona of Chief Ebenezer Obey is far from being commercial. •Continued online
