Words: Adedosu 'kenzy' Adekunle
85 years old High-life Musician and one of the oldest Artiste in Nigeria,Open up as he took and share with journalist,on his past - religion,smoking habit,family and how he almost lose hope.
At the time you were really down, what was going through your mind? Did it ever cross your mind that you will bounce back big?
To be honest, I had lost hope at some point. I was so frustrated that on one particular day, I nearly jumped from the Carter Bridge into the lagoon. It was a good Samaritan who saved my life. Then, I was living somewhere at Moshalahi, Yaba, just three houses from the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s house. During the time of the ‘Unknown Soldier’ saga, I was attacked and all my musical equipments were destroyed. My car, a Peugeot 405, was also set ablaze. With no other source of livelihood, I settled for a job as a security man from 1980 till 1999. Sometime that year, I was attacked by robbers, but as a former boxer, I engaged them in a fight and overpowered two of them, but I was injured in the eyes and taken to the hospital. When I got back home, I got this feeling that I should not resume my job as a security guard. Then, I got a job at a church to play instruments for them. The salary was small, but I needed a job to survive.
So, you converted to Christianity?
I never did! But while I was working in the church, I changed my name to Francis Olayiwola Olagunju but I left the church after I was accused of not closing my eyes during prayer sessions. I told the pastor I would never close my eyes, because I want to be the first person to see Jesus Christ and receive blessings when He comes. They also accused me of smoking and I replied that, that should not be their business.
Do you still smoke?
I was once a chain smoker, but now, I smoke once in a blue moon.
When exactly did you experience a turnaround in your life and did you have a premonition?
As I said earlier, I had lost hope, but I got closer to God and I kept praying that he should lift me out of poverty. And God did it when I waxed an album "The Return" in 1999. Thereafter, I released another album "Won kere si number", which became a national anthem. From this point, things changed for the better and I started travelling abroad since 2006 at the age of 76. Before then, I never got inside an aircraft. My first trip was to Morocco sponsored by the French Cultural Centre. Now, I have been to Holland, United States, Germany, Sweden and so on. God is marvelous because I never believed I could ever interact with white people and also entertain them.
What lesson did you learn from all of the things you experienced while things were tough?
One lesson I learnt is that you must only rely on God and no one else. When life was okay for me, I had many friends, but as soon things became really bad, they all deserted me. Also, I would never forget how I lost three children within three months. They only had minor ailments and before I knew it, they died one after another. When the second one died, I took him to the cemetery and when the attendants insisted on collecting money from me, I dumped the corpse with them and told them to do whatever they liked with it. But God later took control and has multiplied my blessings.
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