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| EBENEZER OBEY-FABIYI |
(Ode to the Commander)
As
the evergreen commander of post-independent modern music marks his 70th
birthday anniversary this week, I am inspired to honour him, salute his
untiring prolificity and his matchless humility…
In
January 2000, this (below) is what I wrote about the moody groovy mooosic man
of Yaba… as a frontline member of people who made significant contributions to
Nigerian music in the then outgoing millennium…
‘’EBENEZER OLASUPO OBEY-FABIYI
It took his parents few years to
notice traces of musical robustness in him after his birth 57 years ago (he was
58 in 2000). Obey-Fabiyi however, had to wait 16 years to start what has turned
out to be a most illustrious career.
He toiled with the "rave-of-the-moment" Lagos bands of Ade
Ade, Akibo Salvage and Fatai Rolling Dollars between 1958 and 1963.
Right after leaving Rolling Dollars and founding his own International
Brothers Band, Obey released a delightful debut, Ewa Wo Ohun Oju Ri.
From a repertoire in excess of 100 compositions, Nigerians of the 20th
century have been titillated by the sonorous philosophy and lingering
didacticism of this Idogo, Ogun State born maestro. A check list: Board Members, Ketekete, Happy Birthday To
You, Awon Ika Eniyan, Laise Lairo, Iwo Eni To Nsebi, Abanije Eniyan and so
on.
As this century winds up with Obey-Fabiyi devoting his incredible talent
to the ministry of God, we salute this astute businessman, devoted father and
creator of Miliki music.’’
Ten
years after, in March 2010 (in a multiple article in the Guardian on Sunday – “Our
Music Is Dying Slowly, And Still Smiling”), I splashed these words…in my
argument to underscore why people like Obey may never die musically…
‘’…So,
when such musicians refuse to “die”, it is simply because they can reposition,
reinvent and revitalize their craft and style on a platform that is alive,
evolutionary and controllable by them: the band. Talent and band management can
go a long way to make you live long beyond the immediacy of your ‘hit’ music.
… Another is Commander Ebenezer Obey, who
along with Sunny Ade, clutched the Nigerian musical world by the jugular, for
two decades. Though some critics lampooned him (Obey) for returning to secular
music long after he abandoned it for the Lord's vineyard, I think they are
myopic. His musical antecedents had illustrated that the best of his music were
embellished in biblical imagery. He sang God before he 'met' God. Even Paul,
the greatest of the Apostles, recognized that a minister of God must not be a
burden to his church. Paul returned to his tent-making job even after planting
several parishes. His credo: He who does not work should not eat. Running a
music band is his work. He can return to it, not only to consolidate his
position as a composer of extraordinary talent, but as a successful manager of
men and music. Except it is proven that he exalts men over God, the ex-Miliki
man is justified to return to music, albeit with distinct modifications, to
reflect his now pristine status….
(Those
two quotes are part of my recently published book, ‘Footprints: Interventions
in Nigerian Entertainment’).
And now this: Today, I join
millions of appreciative people in doing ‘gafara’ on behalf of the undisputable
sage of Nigerian music; the genuflector of the uninitiated; the stand-alone
‘araba’ that breathes sweetness into the most solitary homes… that his mouth
will not miss the sap of heaven…that his name and voice, by the grace of
‘Olodumare’, will continue to spread joy and gladness.
To do what he has done…what he
is doing…and what he can do…is simply unsurpassable. Live well and live long Commander
Ebenezer Olasupo Obey-Fabiyi.
Femi
Akintunde-Johnson, FAJ
April 2, 2012
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