Ebenezer Obey’s son, Tolu, who is also a musician, tells OLUFEMI ATOYEBI that his father used music to correct erroneous impressions of his path to success
How much of your father did you know when you were young?
My father, Ebenezer Fabiyi, popularly known as Ebenezer Obey, was a very busy man when I was a boy, although he has slowed down a bit now, he is still a busy man. So it was difficult to see so much of him when we were young. I am the fifth child of my parents and I was born about 40 years ago.
When I was six years old, I knew my father better. By then, I had developed my own mind. I watched him sing on the television and each time I saw him, I would take a ruler and imitate him playing the guitar. The family was always amused when I did this. I have a very nice and quiet father but he is also a no-nonsense man. He loves and cares for his children but he is also a strict disciplinarian. Back in those days, he would not beat or shout at his children but he had a way of making you do the right thing. He would stand by you and correct you when you go wrong. It did not matter how long it would take you to do the right thing, but he would still make sure that you got it right. My mum was the one who enforced rules in the house with iron hands.
What would you say is his life philosophy?
His approach to life is positive and simple. He believes that no man is born without a talent and that everyone will determine his path to success in life. Above all, he believes in God. When I was growing up, he told me that he did not have anything when he started singing and that at that time he did not do it for the money. He had a talent and he was eager to develop and use it for his good. But God turned it to success and he was able to feed his family and help many others through his music.
Did his fame and wealth reflect in the way he raised his children?
We were raised like any other child. There was no special treatment from our parents but as the children of a famous musician, people gave us that special treatment outside the house. My father could give his driver a large sum of money but he would not give his children anything. I thought he was mean but it later dawned on me that he was teaching us a great lesson. It took me a long time to understand why he was doing it. His slogan is that you must earn a good name for yourself.
When I started my band, he told me to go and work and that he would not give me any instrument to start with. He said he would only assist me after I had made a good start. By then, he would have justified any request I made. Meanwhile my father had given out expensive set of instruments to other budding artistes.
He taught us not to believe that failure exists. To him, every disappointment is a way to make you a better person. When he is making plans to do something, he explores all possibilities. He opens many channels so when a path proves impossible, he switches to the next plan. Having been with him for a long time, I have come to understand that success only comes with meticulous planning.
How was he able to cope with stiff competition from other great musicians like Sunny Ade and Dele Abiodun?
What we must understand is that my father is a man of ideas. He has been in the industry for more than five decades and over the time, he has been able to adapt to changes in the industry. At the beginning, guitar was the pillar of his style of music. He later introduced the talking drum and later, he brought in the keyboard and many others.
Apart from being the band leader, my father is also a multi-instrumentalist. He plays the drum, the guitar and he sings very well. So he knows his music well, he knows what he wants from his band members.
I have tried to study his music from 1960 to 1990 and it’s just amazing how much initiative he brought to juju music. We are in the era of evangelism now and he keeps thinking of what else to introduce into gospel music. What I have noticed is that he keeps raising the standard and backing it with the latest musical instrument. That is a way to sustain your dominance and relevance in any industry.
Is it appropriate to refer to your father as a wealthy musician?
He is an evangelist and he fears God. That is the only truth about him. He keeps telling the children and every member of his family that he is not a millionaire but a man blessed by God and who can afford to feed his family. When I was in primary school, my friends told me that my father was a rich man but I disagreed with them. I wanted to ask him if he was truly a rich man but he was not around.
I went to his room and checked his wardrobe, looking for a stash of money but I could not find any. The following day, I told them that I could not find so much money at home and that I only saw plenty of foods. It could be a funny tale but that was the truth. He later explained to me that he made money regularly but shared with those who had none. He still does it today.
What kind of relationship exists between Obey and his workers?
My father works round the clock. After giving instructions to his workers, he stays around to supervise the work. The relationship between them is excellent; his workers call him daddy or grandpa as a way of appreciating what he had done in their lives. He gives them whatever they want and listens to them at all times. However, he does not joke with the standard he has set. He ensures the standard of his work remains high. I have travelled with him on several occasions and from what I have noticed, he treats his band members equally.
When he retired from singing, the members went their own ways happy. But when he decided to return as a gospel musician and evangelist, all of them were glad to come back to him.
I imbibe a lot of my father’s leadership qualities which have helped me to maintain the structure and happiness in my band. No one will follow a leader that makes his followers sad. Followers are faithful to their leader only when they gain something valuable from him. It may not be necessarily financial gain.
There were rumours of supremacy tussle between your father and Sunny Ade in those days. How much of this do you know?
These are pure lies. As I grew up, I tried to study my father’s music from the beginning and I also listened carefully to Sunny Ade’s music, looking for traces of war of words between the two musicians. When I could not get anything, I asked my father about the fight with Sunny Ade, which people talked about. He told me that there was never a time when they had a quarrel. He said people only gave their own interpretations to his lyrics, which were totally erroneous.
He told me that he was always busy just like Sunny Ade and that no one would have the time to sing abusive lines when there were many important issues to discuss with music. In those days, my father’s schedule would be busy for two years without a day left for rest. Those who wanted him to come and sing at their parties chose a day he gave them. So he chose dates of parties for people. He only had time for us on December 31 of every year. As role models, my father and Sunny Ade lead exemplary lives. Before now, he had released many songs where he told the people that he was in good terms with Sunny Ade.
He had so many songs in praise of some states in Nigeria and their governors. Was he paid to sing their praises?
He was not approached to sing their praises. They were songs that came out of inspiration. The governors he mentioned were doing well to alleviate poverty and difficulties from the states where they ruled so it was only normal to encourage them with his music.
What were the challenges he faced in life?
He told his children that God is his inspiration. He does not allow a challenge to outweigh him. He prays a lot and teaches the children and grandchildren in the same way. So it is difficult for us to know when he is facing a challenge.
Famous entertainers do have women around them. Was it the same with your father?
I only know my mother as his wife. At 50, he released a biography about himself and he did the same at 70. I am sure that the two books deal excessively with many aspects of his life. But he never told me anything about any other woman.
Your father released some songs where he addressed the issue of drug trafficking and secret of his wealth. What brought about the concepts?
There were many unpleasant suggestions in those days that my father’s health was failing because he did money ritual and that he would die soon. He is over 70 years now and he’s still living. Some people also said that he set fire to a house in London to destroy evidence when policemen were coming to arrest him for trafficking in illicit drugs. All these were the price of success. He then released babu lukudi to explain how he acquired his wealth. He also released fire fire ki panapana to de to address the drug issue. He told me that he was at a point richer than the record company (Decca) that was producing his music because millions of copies were being sold. He said he never believed that he would still be famous at old age because the belief then was that stars or famous people only lasted for a few years. So he worked so hard to acquire what he could at young age, fortunately for him, he is still doing well in the industry.
Did he encourage you to go into music?
I started playing all the musical instruments early and by age 10, I was at the peak of it. Each time he travelled abroad, he would buy a musical instrument for me and I loved playing them. In 1982, I picked interest in guitar and in 1987, I met Fortune Ortega who showed me the secret of playing guitar. I was the lead guitarist of my father’s band when he came into the ministry. We worked together for sometime before I formed my musical band. He really encouraged me but he did not tell me to choose music as a profession. His message to us was that we should all excel in our academic studies.
What about your other siblings?
He did not force any of us to sing but we all sing and play the musical instruments. My elder brother, Lanre, sings a lot. We started the band together before he left to study in the US, so I took over from him. I had a terrible voice so I concentrated on playing the instruments. But when he left, I told God to give me a good voice because there was nobody to take over from my brother. After a while, people who heard my songs praised me and said I have a sweet voice. That was how I started singing.
Why did he transform from being a secular musician to a gospel artiste and an evangelist?
He had always been singing about God before his brief retirement in the 1990s. But when God called him, he answered to His call and began to use what he has to praise Him. As a gospel artiste, he has achieved more than he did as a juju musician. God continues to bless him and from what I know, he has better and modern musical instruments now. In fact he just bought another set of instruments worth millions of naira. When God calls you, He does not leave you to suffer.
What do you think your father is missing from his past?
We lost my mother about two years ago and that vacuum is still there in my father’s life.
Does your father still meet those socialites he sang their praises in those days?
He still maintains the relationship with them. People like Sani Sheu, Otunba Jide Oshinubi, Tunde Allen, Layiwola Amoje, Funsho Kinoshi, Niyi Adegbenro, Awofisayo, Bukky Ogunnowo and many of his old fans still come around to see him. Muslim cleric, Alao Arisekola is one of his best friends till today. The first time, and maybe the only time Arisekola entered a church, it was through my father’s invitation. They act like brothers.
How did he celebrate his children’s birthday?
In those days we held parties in the Christian way. Today, he calls us on the telephone and prays for us on our birthdays.
Did he ever visit you in school?
He did that many times. He visited me in his three-seater Mercedes Benz when I was at Trinity School, Idi-Aba in Abeokuta. He also visited me when I was doing Computer Studies in Abeokuta.
7 things you didn’t know about my parents
•Due to his tight schedule, he chose party dates for his clients
•He did not beat or shout at his children
•He attended to visitors from morning till 11pm
•He plays every musical instruments
•In the past, he only spent a whole day with his family on December 31
•He did not have quarrel with Sunny Ade
•He was the first person to take Alao Arisekola to church