Babatunde is the first son of the late highlife singer, Fatai Olagunju, popularly called Fatai Rolling Dollar. In this interview with SEGUN OLATUNJI, he talks about the kind of life his father led
What kind of job do you do?
I don’t do any particular job for now. I am a pensioner. I retired from the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, Lagos, where I worked in the establishment’s printing department. I retired when a new boss was transferred to the place. When he arrived, he decided to send many of us away. We were first asked to go and resume in the Abuja office. But when we got there, retrenchment letters were handed over to us. We were later retired in 1996.
What have you been doing after your retirement?
Like I stated earlier, though I don’t do any work for now, I did a lot of jobs in the past to keep body and soul together. Some of my friends assisted me by giving me electrical fittings jobs to handle. At the moment, I rent out chairs and tables to those organising social events. In fact, it is my major source of livelihood now.
Didn’t you go to school?
Of course I did. I attended Surulere Baptist School for my primary education. I later went to Sapade Grammar School, Ogun State for my secondary education.
Why didn’t you take interest in music like your father?
As his first child, I did not live with him for long. My stay with him was very short. As a young boy, I lived with his younger sister and when I became mature, I left her to live alone. I later got a job and started fending for myself. At that time, my father was not really doing much in terms of singing. He had stopped playing music. I recall that he did not engage in anything related to music for about 15 years.
Did he try to influence any of his children?
He really didn’t do that because he wanted us to follow our passion. But one of my siblings, Jamiu, has shown interest in music. He really wants to be a musician. He stays in Lagos and my father’s band members have been trying to tutor him in order to fine-tune his musical skills.
Why are you not living in Lagos like your other siblings?
I decided to leave Lagos when the landlord of the house I was living then gave the tenants quit notices. He said he wanted to renovate the house. I was not interested in searching for any accommodation then since there was no money on me. So, I made up my mind to relocate to Ikenne in Ogun State.
Was there any particular reason you chose Ikenne?
One of my younger brothers used to live in Ikenne. It was painful that he died some years ago. Since his death, I have been living in the town.
What can you recall about your late father?
My father was a very good musician. He was very thorough in his job. When he stopped singing for some years, he took up another job as a painter. He was also very hard working when he was painting houses for his clients. That was the kind of man he was. He put a lot of commitment into anything he did. Painting became his main source of income for many years until God helped him to again return fully into music.
How did he create time for his family when he engaged in music fully?
His profession as singer was quite demanding. But somehow he did not allow the demands of his job to overwhelm him. He still found time to be with his family. If I called him that I would be visiting, he would ensure he stayed at home unless there was an emergency. Even at that, he always tried to make sure that he was around whenever I visited him.
How did your mother explain his absence to the children?
She would tell us that because our father was a musician, he would have to travel at short notices and could spend days or weeks before returning home. So, we got used to his work schedule with time. He could leave Lagos for Abuja, Kaduna or Jos and not return for weeks. My mother often told us to be patient with him. Each time he came back, he would shower us with gifts.
Did your mother and father live together?
Yes, they did. My mother bore five children. But of the five children from my mother, I am the only surviving child.
How often did your father take you out for picnics?
My father took us out for picnics quite often. It was one of the ways he tried to make up for the times he was away. When I was very young, he used to play at a hotel called Omoladebu in Mushin Olosa area of Lagos State. During that period, Chief Ebenezer Obey was one of his band members. My father always sent Chief Obey to bring me from home to the hotel at 6pm before he started performing. I was about five years old then.
How did your father relax at home?
He loved to relax by sleeping and that was usually after eating. Sometimes, he enjoyed playing with us as a way of relaxing. If he was not playing with us, he could visit some of his very few friends.
What values did you imbibe from him?
I learnt from him that stealing, drinking and adultery don’t pay. He never engaged in extra-marital affairs. He was very contented. He was a very hard working and thorough man. These values reflect even in his musical compositions.
How did he handle disagreements with your mother?
My father was a gentleman. Whenever he had any disagreement with my any of his wives, instead of getting angry, he would just dress up and leave the house. In such a situation, he might not return until late in the night. He knew that by the time he returned, tempers would have calmed with the disagreeing individuals ready for amicable settlement. He did this often and it worked well for him.
What impression of him do you have listening to his songs?
I see the picture of a great man, an enigma sort of. His songs are for mature minds. They are different from the kind of songs that currently litter the nation’s music terrain. His music is full of knowledge and lessons about life.
Who were your father’s friends?
He kept few friends. But many of them are no longer alive. One of his friends was called Tejuosho and he used to live in Abeokuta. He had some friends in Lagos who used to visit us when I was young. There was also one called Mr. Adesida.
Why didn’t he keep many friends?
I don’t really know. But I think he just didn’t like keeping many friends.
How did he discipline any child who misbehaved?
My father did not spare the rod. He used to beat us whenever we did anything wrong. Even as old as I am, up till his death, he could use the cane on me if I offended him. None of us was too big for him to cane.
How do you feel being his child?
It is a great honour being one of the children of Fatai Rolling Dollar. He was a good father and I am proud of him. His name is a source of pride to us because many people like him. If you ask about me here in Ikenne, many people know me. It is because of who my father was. In fact, people in the vicinity call me by his nickname name-Rolling Dollar.
Did he have any favourite meal?
Yes he did. He loved eat eba and rice. I think I took after him in that regard because I can eat eba thrice daily.
What was his special mode of dressing?
He loved to wear buba and sokoto which he often specified to be sewn in a particular style. He didn’t like agbada. After his death, none of us could wear his clothes because of their unique style of sewing.
What was his schedule like?
He kept a very tight schedule. Whenever he was not on tour, he would also be busy with rehearsals. He was always rehearsing.
How sociable was he?
He hardly attended parties except when he was billed to perform in such occasions. He preferred to stay at home with his children.
Have you ever watched him perform?
Yes, I have watched him perform many times. I watched him play at Garden City Hotel many times. I was then living in Surulere, Lagos.
When was your last moment with him?
It was shortly before he died. He was travelling to the US and I was with him. Before his departure, he was hale and hearty. It was when he came back that he took ill and was hospitalised. He got well and returned home himself. He was billed to return to the US to meet with one of his children there but his health relapsed. He returned to the hospital and was on admission until he died.
What were the things you discussed the last time you saw him?
We didn’t discuss anything intimate that day. I rarely visited him since we talked more on the phone. I only apologised when I called him one day that I would not visit him as I had promised. He only said I shouldn’t bother myself about him. But from the tone of his voice, I knew he was very sick.
What do you miss most about him?
We miss him in many ways. He was not just a father but a very good one at that. I usually sought his advice on issues bothering me. He was the one taking care of my only son. He lived with him. My father was the one who sponsored his university education. I miss my father for so many reasons.
How has the family been coping since his death?
We are managing and God is helping us. I am supposed to be taking care of my siblings but as a pensioner, there is little I can do because of my financial state. In all, God is with us.
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