Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi, Nigerian Juju music icon, marks his 70th birthday anniversary amidst pomp

From a famed career as a Juju singer and later as an evangelist with Decross Gospel Centre, Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi, the iconic Nigerian musician, has loomed large on the country’s musical front for over five decades. Little wonder then that when the famed Juju musician celebrated his 70th birthday anniversary, April 3, the artistic and the society at large virtually paused to pay homage to Baba Commander, as he was fondly called during his reign as a Juju crooner.

They rallied round him as the array of events moved from the launchingof two books, to the dedication of a town hall at Idogo for the people of the town where he grew up in Ogun State. The birthday was also marked with Christian religious ceremonies and finally to a celebration where King Sunny Ade, his long-time friend and contemporary in the Nigerian Juju genre and King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, a prominent Fuji artiste both performed, April 3. At the various events, huge crowds assembled in celebration of the Miliki exponent.

Obey-Fabiyi did not start out on this acclaimed note though. He was born to Egba parents from Abeokuta who lived in Idogo, a village in the Yewa axis of Ogun State. His parents were of humble origins but they had high hopes for Ebenezer, their younger son among three children comprising the first child, a girl and two boys. They thought  he would turn out to either be a medical doctor or a lawyer. However, going to school to achieve this dream was difficult as his poor parents struggled with the fees and so, he had to do menial jobs like carrying cement bags or building blocks at house construction sites, to newspaper vendorship, and so forth to acquire early education. It was at school that he got nicknamed as “Obey” because he was fond of telling erring students to “Obey me first before complaining.”

Later, upon recommendation from an uncle who was a top government official, Obey-Fabiyi alongside his friends would have got a job with Vono, a foam manufacturing company. But he naively reduced his age by five years following the advice by his friends and the expatriate there refused to employ him just because he was under-age.

He noticed that whenever he tried any venture, it was unsuccessful. But, any time, he goes out to social events, he discovered that he has a knack for singing or composing songs effortlessly. With time, musical groups always sought him out to sing for them but his mother was strongly opposed to the idea. Eventually, she soft-pedalled after her son begged her to let him pursue his dreams.

So, he started his musical career. From playing around the Idogo area and later Abeokuta, he moved to Lagos, where he first got a one-room rented apartment in Mushin Oloosa. It was so rough for him then to eke a living, in fact, his landlord once gave him a seven-day quit notice because he defaulted on payment of three month’s rent. “The business was sustained only by passion. It was very difficult…at that time,” Obey-Fabiyi recalled.

It was so tough that he had to trek from Mushin Oloosa where he lived to Abibu Oki Street on Victoria Island, Lagos, where the office of Decca Records was located. He was nearly turned back by the security guard at the entrance gate. So, he told him: “I’m a future star, I came to record for your company and when I record for your company, my record will sell and will change the fortunes of the company. I trekked all the way from Mushin and I’m going to trek back because I have no money.” The guard, looking at his rough appearance and sweaty face which Obey-Fabiyi kept wiping off with his shirt, did not think so and refused him entry into the premises. Later, he budged and allowed him in. There, he repeated the same message to the secretary who sternly warded him off because the artiste manager is on a six-week vacation and there was no way she would allow a ragamuffin “future star” into the managing director’s office. He refused to leave and the ensuing commotion attracted the attention of the managing director, MD, who summoned Obey-Fabiyi. The expatriate was shocked when the budding singer promptly prostrated on entering his office, begging and repeating his mantra for a contract. Somehow, the white man saw what others could not see in the young man, summoned the artiste manager from his vacation and urged him to give Obey-Fabiyi, whom he was already calling “Future Star” a chance. He even gave him money to return home and return at a later date.

Then, there were no demo tapes and artistes often audition live before record distributors. To get a record deal, the distributors must purchase at least 500 copies. Obey-Fabiyi fell short by 19 copies. When the MD later heard that his “Future Star” had 19 outstanding slots to make the deal, “he said he had booked 25 copies and that was how I made it,” Obey-Fabiyi said, adding, “That came to pass in my life. I became that ‘Future Star.’ My music got into almost every corner of the world.”

So, eventually, like his lyrics said in one of his numerous albums, Obey-Fabiyi’s story turned from trekking to Ni’lu America, A de Philadelphia, New York City, Washington DC pelu Chicago, gbogbo e aresepa ni meaning “in America, we performed at Philadelphia, New York City, Washington DC and Chicago as if we were on a jolly stroll.” But, before that, he performed regularly at Miliki Spot on Olorode Street, Lagos, before doing that on the world stage. His band evolved from Ebenezer Obey and the Green Spot Band, to Ebenezer Obey and Inter-Reformers Band and later to Ebenezer Obey and International Brothers Band.

He is famed for many hits which are still hotly purchased today because of their highly philosophical lyrics and dubbed “Evergreen Obey’s songs.” In the musical world, the ratings of Single Disc, Golden Disc and Platinum Disc are used to rank sales of musical records. Obey-Fabiyi’s record were never Single Discs, they were either of the two topmost rankings. Among the hits, however, were mega-hits like Omo Soja, Ketekete, Alowomajaye, Olo Mi Jowo, Paulina, Black and Proud and Board Members. He released the popular Board Members track without any prior rehearsal. In fact, he and his band mates wanted to record another composed song when they had a brainwave to try out a song. There, the lyrics, stanzas, choruses and instrument accompaniment was decided impromptu. “And that became the biggest hit of all. Amazing,” he said.

A peculiar characteristic of his career was his rumoured feud with King Sunny Ade over superiority. Though the issue was stoutly denied by them, many Juju music lovers believed otherwise because they believe that the lyrical barbs they then observed in their lyrics were targeted at each other. At a point, they were forced to address this topic in their individual albums. Now, after many years, the two foremost Juju musicians would soon play together for the first time ever in a musical show slated for later in the year to celebrate both Obey-Fabiyi’s birthday and King Sunny Ade’s 50th year on the musical stage.

Eventually, after a soaring musical career, he quit secular music in 1992 to become an evangelist. He had evaded the call for almost 15 years when some ministers of God were relaying divine messages to him that he had been chosen by God to be a priest. Initially, he pooh-poohed the idea until later, he had a personal call. Eventually, he heeded the call and so, Decross Gospel Ministries was born. He has also released a few gospel albums even though the clamour for his return to secular music never faded. He did not relent. Even when he performed at the inauguration party of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, he refused to give in to pressures from Stella, his late wife, to play Juju music but played gospel music instead. However, lately, he has started honouring invitations to perform Juju music.

The veteran singer, however, suffered a setback when he lost Juliana, his wife of many decades in 2011. The two shared a strong bond that he even referred to her by her native praise name of Asake in his popular love song titled Olo Mi Jowo. He was very devastated by her passage because as he lamented, “I thought she would outlive me.” She was not the only woman who bore children for him though. Referring to the other children by other women, Obey-Fabiyi rationalised it with a Biblical quote that “When he was a child, he ate like a child and spoke like a child but when he became an adult, he put away childish things.” He attributed the development then to   his worldly lifestyle of indulging many women who often flock around stars.

Because her void cannot be filled by anyone, Obey-Fabiyi has ruled out re-marrying.  But, he cleverly engaged in double-speak over the issue. On one hand he said, “Personally, I don’t think I am going to remarry because at 70, my grandchildren are even getting married.” But, “I don’t know, only God knows…let me leave it to God. If God says yes but I honestly do not know,” he said.

Nevertheless, as he looks back at his life at 70, Obey-Fabiyi, the self-acclaimed “Future Star” who later became a Star, believes he has led a very fulfilled life. Experience has taught me that it is not everything that you want to do that God gives his approval…I have more successes than failures, that is why I said I have lived a fulfilled life.” “I see failures as those things that God does not want me to do because I’ve always succeeded in most things that I set out to do. And I thank God for those things I couldn’t achieve,” he said.