KSA and Chief Yakubu Bolarinwa Abioro in London in 1971 before things fell apart |
By
now you must have become familiar with Anti Wura, Buroda Alani’s third wife. If
you are new to this blog, please read Ayinla Omowura story to know more about
her. She was my ‘social media’ whilst growing up. She was the one who told me
how Ayinla Omowura died. It was from her that I heard how Ayinde Bakare disappeared in strange circumstances. It was Anti Wura who told me about the
battle between Yusuf Olatunji and Sanusi Aka.
But
the story Anti Wura really enjoyed telling us was how King Sunny Ade was at a
time in his career ‘banned’ from playing music.
What
was however strange was that at every retelling, Anti Wura always managed to
add one or two new facts. The first time she told me the story, she said KSA
was banned for five years. A week later, Anti Wura was certain that it was 10
years. A month later, she swore with all the 301 gods in Ile-Ife that the court
banned Sunny for 40 years. By 1984, my uncle’s wife was categorical that Sunny
Ade was banned for life!
Today,
Onigegewura brings to you the true story of the epic battle between King Sunny
Ade and Chief Bolarinwa Abioro. Unlike Anti Wura, Onigegewura will tell you the
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
It
was in 1974 that the news broke. Chief Bolarinwa Abioro, the Balogun of Ipokia,
the Chairman of African Songs Limited, had taken his star musician to court!
Everyone who knew KSA knew Abioro. Everyone who knew Abioro knew Sunday
Adeniyi. Sunny was the son. Abioro was the father. What could have gone wrong
between father and son?
KSA
was the second artiste to be signed on to the stable of African Songs Limited.
Ayinde Bakare was the first. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister was the third. Like most
creative people, young Sunny Ade was more concern about his passion and less concern
about the business aspect of music. His passion was to play music and to excel
as a musician.
It
was enough that Abioro – one of the biggest men in the music industry at the
time – was ready to promote him. They brought documents for Sunny and his band
boys to sign. They called it a contract. It could have been called any other
name for all that KSA cared. Won ni ko wa je saara, o ni ojo ti wonu ju. Se ata ni won ni ko mu wa ni, abi iyo. You are invited to a free feast, you are complaining about the short notice, are they asking you to bring salt or pepper? Sunny Ade and his boys didn't hesitate. It is doubtful if any of them read what the contract
said. The most important thing was that they were going to become recording
artistes. Sunny signed. His band boys signed. Everybody was happy.
KSA, Abioro and other artistes of ASL |
The
contract was for 5 years. However before its expiration, KSA had become a
household name. His album, Challenge Cup,
sold in excess of 500,000 copies. It was certain that King Sunny Ade was
going to dominate the music scene for a very long time to come. African Songs Ltd
knew a good product when it saw one. The management of the company didn’t wait
for the first contract to expire before they brought a new contract.
The
new agreement was carefully worded. KSA and his band boys agreed to perform and
record exclusively for ASL for a period of five years. ASL had full copyrights
to all compositions and recordings of Sunny Ade. ASL was entitled to the sole
right of production, reproduction, and use of King Sunny Ade’s
performance throughout the world.
That
was not all. During the period of the agreement, KSA was prohibited from
rendering any performance whatsoever to himself, any company or group of
persons. The contract also stipulated that ASL had the option to renew the
agreement at its expiration for a further term of two years or for any longer period.
Sunny Ade had no such right.
That
was not all. On the sale of every album which price was then fixed at N6.00,
KSA and his boys were entitled to a princely sum of 20 kobo. Yes, you read that
right. African Songs would go home with the remaining N5. 80 kobo. Onigegewura's mathematics has never been good. He is just an amateur historian. You can do the
sum yourself.
Still
basking in the euphoria of his growing fame, Sunny gratefully signed again. His band boys
signed. 20 kobo was still something. Orogun iya re da sokoto fun o, o ni ko bale, melo ni iya to bi o da fun o? You are complaining that the trousers made for you by your step-mother was not long enough, where is the one your own mother made for you?
They were expecting their 20 kobo royalty on every album. Well, when the time came for actual payment, it was then discovered that mathematically and arithmetically, it was not supposed to be 20 kobo. They had not factored the cost of publicity and promotion! And since it was the artiste that was being promoted, he must be the one to bear the cost! After the addition and subtraction, Sunny was given 15 kobo per album.
They were expecting their 20 kobo royalty on every album. Well, when the time came for actual payment, it was then discovered that mathematically and arithmetically, it was not supposed to be 20 kobo. They had not factored the cost of publicity and promotion! And since it was the artiste that was being promoted, he must be the one to bear the cost! After the addition and subtraction, Sunny was given 15 kobo per album.
KSA
was not Chike Obi, the mathematician. But he knew that 20 kobo and 15 kobo were
not the same thing. Compared with his contemporaries in the music industry, KSA
realized that he was holding the short end of the stick. His colleague, Baba
Commander, Chief Ebenezer Obey was earning as high as 70 kobo per album. Others
were earning between 35 kobo and 60 kobo.
KSA, Queen Oladunni Decency and Baba Commander |
That
was when Sunny decided to ask Chief Abioro for a raise of the royalty payment.
The chairman listened patiently to KSA and his colleagues. He was nodding as
they canvassed one reason after another why a raise was in order. When they
finished, Chief Abioro flipped open a file he had on his table. He brought out
a bundle of documents. Even from where he was seated across the table, Sunny
saw that it was a copy of the contract he signed. “An agreement is an
agreement. It is a binding contract!” The chief informed them. “This is what
you signed. This is what you are entitled to! No more, No less.” He returned
the documents to the file. Case dismissed.
But
Sunny was not done. “Chief, this is not about contract. You are our father. Our
request is for adequate compensation! Let’s leave the contract aside.” Chief
Abioro looked at the young star the way a parent looks at a child asking for
another candy. “Leave the contract aside? We should leave the contract aside?”
The chairman asked incredulously. “You know, it would be nice to leave the
contract aside. But you know what? That would be illegal!”
Haba!
Illegality ke! . It was then that someone brought up the idea of requesting some
of his friends to plead their case. Sunny agreed. After all, Eni ti o mo oju Ogun, ni pa obi ni 're. It is the person who is conversant with Ogun, the god of iron, that is usually given the duty to administer its rites. They went to meet Prince
Okunade Sijuwade who would later become the Ooni of Ife. They also met with
Chief Afolabi Joseph. Even Chief Ebenezer Obey was also requested to intervene
as well as Chief Nurudeen Alowonle. (You will soon read about the epic battle between Nurudeen Alowonle and Haruna Ishola on this blog.)
The
eminent persons appeared in the court of the Balogun of Ipokia as ‘amici curiae’ on
behalf of the musicians. Amici curiae are lawyers invited by the judge(s) to assist in filling briefs that may be helpful to the court in deciding a case. Our eminent persons argued their case like experienced advocates.
They cited relevant sections of the unwritten Yoruba constitution. They cited
Yoruba proverbs. They made reference to the story of Oduduwa. The presiding
chairman listened to their submissions and summarily dismissed the case.
Contract is contract!
Chief
did not only dismiss the request for a raise. He opened another file on his
table and brought out a new set of documents. Your guess is right! A new
five-year contract! By now, Sunny Ade had learnt enough law. He had become a professional mathematician. He had obtained his Master of Business Administration from practical experience. He knew the
implication of putting pen to paper. He applied for an adjournment.
The
King of African Beats found himself in a quandary. His new songs were ready
but Chief had threatened not to release any new album until he signed the new
contract. And KSA was not ready to sign any new contract until the issue of
royalty was resolved.
KSA
remembered his grandmother’s proverb. Ti abiku ba gbon ogbon ati ku ni igba erun, iya abiku a gbon ogbon ati sin oku e si etido. If an abiku
decided to die during the dry season when he knew that the ground would be hard
to dig, his parents would also decide to bury him by the riverside where the
ground would not be hard to dig.
Sunny
Ade decided to release his record with another company. His plan was to use the
album to bargain for a better deal with African Songs. Instead of the measly 20
kobo, he was confident that the chairman would be ready to pay him at least
N1.00 per copy. The album was recorded in Nigeria but taken to London for
mixing. What Sunny Ade did not know was that Chief Abioro was a master at the
game. Before Sunny could get a copy of his own album, Chief Abioro was already
in possession of the new record.
Baba
Ibeji was composing fresh materials at home when the court bailiffs arrived. They served him with an order of interim
injunction! The court order was as comprehensive as it was broad. Sunny Ade was
prohibited from sale, distribution, marketing, dealing, etc. etc. of the
record. He read the order again. Even without being a lawyer, he knew the
implication of the document he was holding.
With palpable emotion, his
mind went back to how he came to Lagos from Abeokuta with only one shilling and
eighteen pence! He remembered his years with Baba Sala. He recalled how he got
stranded with Baba Sala’s travelling theatre in Jebba and Kano. How he did not
see his mother for two years whilst he suffered to make it as a musician. He
recalled how his first album sold only 13 copies. Now when he was at the
threshold of success, this court order! With grim determination, he knew he
couldn’t afford to quit.
KSA and his mentor, Baba Moses Olaiya |
He
remembered his first day at Oshodi when he missed his way trying to locate Moses Olaiya’s
house and how he was directed instead to Dr. Victor Olaiya at Tinubu. He
recalled how he knelt down in the dust of Oshodi to pray. Immediately he knew
what he must do. Sunny went down on his knees and with an emotional voice, he
prayed and prayed.
It
was not the Sunday Adeniyi that knelt down to pray that stood up. He had become
empowered. He had become emboldened. That same evening, he established his own
label.
Sunny
Alade Records was born!
He
didn’t bother to sit down again. He remembered the threat of Chief Abioro to
bring him down at all cost. He needed a lawyer who knew his law and who would
be prepared to fight his cause against the Magnate. He went off in search of
Gani Fawehinmi.
Gani
collected the court papers and looked at the claims. He looked at his client.
He looked again at the claims. Chief Abioro was not leaving anything to chance.
He knew what he wanted from the court. His lawyer had read the agreement
between African Songs Limited and Sunday Adeniyi.
Chief
Abioro wanted only four things from the court: a declaration that the agreement
between ASL and Sunday Adeniyi and his boys was still subsisting; an injunction
restraining Sunny Ade from distributing or selling the record; an account of
all sales of the record; and N1 million for breach of contract.
I
hope you are not sneering at the N1 million as being ‘chicken change’. Remember
this was in 1974. The price of a brand new Volkswagen Beetle car was about N500
at that time. N1 million in 1974 was a princely sum!
On
the day of the trial, the court was filled to capacity. Gani Fawehinmi was armed
with every conceivable legal authority. The law books he brought to the court
were more than enough to open a library. There were books on Contract. There
were books on Human Rights. There were volumes on Intellectual Property. Gani
even brought some books on Slave Trade.
The
first application Gani brought before the court was for an order to compel
African Songs to produce its statement of account over the preceding three
years. The court granted the order. It was discovered that the company was
making almost N900,000 every year from the sale of Sunny Ade Records. It was
also discovered that the total sum that KSA received was N62,000 in the almost
ten years he was with the company. How can you be asking me what is 900,000 divided by 62,000? I have told you that I’m not a
mathematician. Please don’t ask me about percentages or fractions.
KSA playing for Chief Idowu Shofola, SAN at Ikenne |
Gani
did not forget to raise the issue of how 20kobo became 15 kobo. He also cross-examined
Chief Abioro at length on the onerous terms contained in the contract. Gani put
it to the chief that the contract was in restraint of trade and that it was
therefore null and void as it amounted to colonization of King Sunny Ade, a free citizen of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria and a citizen of the Commonwealth!
My
Lord Justice L. J. Dosunmu listened patiently to the parties. His Lordship also
asked the witnesses some probing cases.
The court thereafter adjourned the matter to February 14, 1975 for
judgment. It did not even occur to the
King of African Beats that the day was St. Valentine’s Day. His only preoccupation was
to find out the direction in which the pendulum of justice was going to swing.
On
February 14, people started arriving at the court as early as 7am. The court
officials had hectic time controlling the mammoth crowd that had come to court
to witness the historic decision.
In His
Lordship’s judgment, Justice Dosunmu held that although some of the terms of
the contract were stringent, that was not a ground for holding the contract
invalid. In effect, the contract between ASL and KSA was therefore valid. As
the court pronounced on the validity of the contract, Sunny looked at his
lawyer. Gani signaled to him to be calm, the court had only resolved one issue
out of four.
With
regard to the second claim, the court held that since the records in question
had been distributed all over Nigeria, there was no way the court could order
them to be recalled. The court therefore refused to restrain Sunny Ade and his
marketer, M. Ola Kazim from distributing the album. A tiny smile crossed
Sunny’s face.
The King of Music |
The
court having found that the contract was still subsisting, KSA was ordered not
to release another album pending the expiration of the contract with Chief
Abioro’s company, which was due in six months. Six months! What am I going to
be eating? Sunny thought. Apparently, this was the only part of the judgment that Anti Wura, Buroda Alani's third wife must have heard, and heard wrongly too!
As
if reading Sunny Ade’s mind, Justice Dosunmu said he realized that Sunny Ade
would need to eat and feed his family in the six months that the contract had
to run. His Lordship therefore held that the injunction was limited to only
recording of albums and that Sunny Ade was free to do live performances for
fees. His Lordship said that this was in
order to avoid a situation where the King of Music would starve or be compelled
to go back to Chief Abioro.
The
Judge had hardly risen before King Sunny Ade jumped up to hug his counsel. He was free! He gave Gani a bear hug. He
had learnt his lesson. Creativity and Business must go hand in hand. Years
later, the King of Music recalled: “The lesson
I learnt from the episode is that if an artiste is churning out hit records, he
needs to keep an eye on the business side of things. If not, he would be in a
mess.”
I
thank you for your time.
Onigegewura©
Historian Is Not a Judge, History Is.
Historian Is Not a Judge, History Is.
Image credits: King Sunny Ade and Chief Idowu Shofola, SAN
The right of Olanrewaju Onigegewura© to be identified as the author of stories published on this blog has been asserted by him in accordance with the copyright laws. I encourage my beloved readers to always identify Olanrewaju Onigegewura© the Amateur Historian, as the author of these stories when they ‘Forward As Received’.
The right of Olanrewaju Onigegewura© to be identified as the author of stories published on this blog has been asserted by him in accordance with the copyright laws. I encourage my beloved readers to always identify Olanrewaju Onigegewura© the Amateur Historian, as the author of these stories when they ‘Forward As Received’.
Whao! This is another interest piece. Looking at sunny Ade king of music, no one could have thought he had went through all of that to be successful. Never give up no matter the situation to attain success in life. Thanks to onigegewura for this piece in which have learnt lesson of life.
ReplyDeleteOnigegewura can afford to make shakara now and claim to be a HiSTorian due to the technology available to him today but i put it to you that you have nothing on our beloved Aunty Wura.. She is a walking Sabi Sab,"person wey know wetin dey". Little wonder she was always able to stretch, include and subtract a fact or two from the original heresay whenever she wanted to churn out her new standard revised edition of the story of the day. Aunty wura would be worth her weight in gold today.. Sadly, that era is long extinct.. More power to your elbows onigegewura unfortunately, you are second only to Aunty wura in the art of story telling.
ReplyDeleteAnother hit Onigegewura!
ReplyDeleteThis Unknown is @bukolaiji
DeleteProud to have schooled with you
DeleteYour blog is the only Nigerian blog I follow. You are a brilliant story-teller. Your work always look well researched, planned and well-written. You also managed to create a nitch. This is the most difficult part of any business.
ReplyDeleteYou must find a way to prevent other blogs infringing on your copyright. I have come across a few who simply lift, copy and paste your work on their website. I get mad because you must have put in hard work and sweat.
Great observation. Onigegewura, take heed!
DeleteThat the master story teller may not also fall into the pitfalls of the historical events he painstakingly reports. Your talent is your business. Follow the two... Great work sire.
DeleteHistory on point and a lot learnt.Do not be ignorant learnt as much as possible especially in your field.Kudos!
ReplyDeleteInteresting read, and also came with a morale. Thanks for the insight.
ReplyDeleteWell written once again, translation of a legal battle into everyday language. Well done sir!
ReplyDeleteWhat more can I say. Always intriguing and captivating. You relive the story as if it happened yesterday. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteWhat more can I say. Always intriguing and captivating. You relive the story as if it happened yesterday. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteWhat more can I say. Always intriguing and captivating. You relive the story as if it happened yesterday. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteWow! This is such an interesting, captivating and educative write up. God bless Onigegewura for this and many others. I'm looking forward to the next story already. Well done sir.
ReplyDeletewooooow
ReplyDeleteHey bros, you are doing a great job. May I ask that you explore the business aspect of your skills? Unless you are doing all these humongous tasks for social re-engineering or charity.
ReplyDeleteWow. Leadership comes with with experience and not wonder the King of music still relevant in the industry today. God Bless OnigegeWura for bringing us today story.
ReplyDeleteWow. Leadership comes with with experience and no wonder the King of music still relevant in the industry today. God Bless OnigegeWura for bringing us today story.
DeleteMay they not steal the golden pen. You have made a story out of a complex legal matter for non lawyers to enjoy without stress. I salute your style and creativity. May the pen never run dry.
ReplyDeleteI can't stop laughing! My mum will be thrilled to read too. Well-done boss
ReplyDeleteAlhaji Agba Ayinde Barrywonder & Cheif Commander Ebenezer Obey introduced me to the person of Cheif Bolarinwa Abioro. I bet this Shylock business attitude led to the individualism reigning now in our music industry.
ReplyDeleteI wish Onigegewura will do a piece on Yusuf Olatunji's spat with S. Aka.
The entire global music industry has been described by many analysts as a "slave plantation" that has been living in the past for its entire 70-odd years of existence. The mobile software app industry in only 10 years of its existence has overtaken the much older music industry in yearly revenues as a result of this malaise!
DeleteMany world renowned musicians have left the profession and even suffered untimely and mysterious deaths on account of their association with the mighty music labels of the world, so KSA can count himself fortunate that his dealings with Chief Abioro were not as toxic as has been experienced by other less fortunate minstrels...
You are right. Imagine the Sweet Mother Coroner, Nicole Mbanga dying in a motorcycle accident even while his evergreen album was raking in millions of Nairn for the Producer/Marketer!
DeleteMonkey dey work,Baboon dey chop! We have always been an exploitative society. Till today, the mantra is "chance anyone and everyone you can, since you yourself will not escape being chanced"
ReplyDeleteIkòkò tí ó máa j'ata, ìdí è máa kókó gbóná. Sunny Ade I greet u and thank God for your resilience. U remain an icon of struggle and native intelligence.
ReplyDeleteOnígègéewúrà your history is inspiring. It a not a history of destruction or a write up for destruction, it is indeed a history written in gold. Máa kò'wé looooooo
This is awesome. I salute sir.
ReplyDeleteEven now record label owners, Music promoters are still having issues with musicians in terms of payment of royalty and music promotion. Kudos to onigegewura but more kudos to Anti Wura the griot who implanted the seed of story telling in the heart of Onigegewura.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting and captivating piece. Once again, kudos to onigegewura.
ReplyDeleteGREAT MIND GO TO HISTORY AND BRING OUT GREAT THINGS, THIS CHEATING CAUSES THE FINANCIAL INCAPACITY OF MANY JUJU MUSICIAN IN NIGERIA, WHERE TALENTS IS BEIGN CHEATED AND ROBBED IN THE NAME OF PROMOTION....MAY GOD ALMIGHTY BE WITH ONIGEGE WURA, IBRAHIM LAWAL, AND THE PEOPLES LAWYER LATE CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI FOR DELEIVERING KING SUNNY ADE FROM ABIOROS SLAVERY......ALL WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW IS HISTORY VERY SOON. THIS IS A GREAT LESSON AND GOOD VICTORY FOR SUNNY ADE..(BY SIR KP AKINPELU....Nairobi Kenya)
ReplyDeleteAm always and will remain proud of you
ReplyDeleteKindly follow your passion don't look at the immediate gain but God will definitely continuing enriching you. Amen.
ReplyDeleteWhat a story!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the refreshing historical perspective. God bless!
ReplyDeleteWhat more can I say.. So much to take from this story.
ReplyDeleteSo much to learn. You have done it again. Kudos
Unfortunately, king Sunny Ade did not find Gani Fawehinmi worthy of any of his songs even in death.
ReplyDeleteI insist you approachh Nollywood to make all these episodes into a film.
ReplyDeleteThis type of contract is still trending up till today, as many of the young musicians are always overwhelmed by the euphoria of being promoted and overlook the contents of the contract they are signing. How I wish they read this! Beautiful history again bro.
ReplyDeleteThere is has been wickedness in this country for so long. 20 kobo ni nu N6 ni tori Olorun!!!! O tun wa ge si 15k. AH!!! Apayan gidi ni man yen. Very evil!!!
ReplyDeleteOnigegewura, you have done it again! Splendid and superb!!!
ReplyDeleteMind blowing account of what could have robbed us of an immense talent. Of a truth, aiye o le pa kadara da, won kan le fa owo ago sehin ni". Detractors cannot change destiny, they can only delay it. Kudos to onigegewura for another job well done. I dey gbadun you like oyinbo dey gbadun cigarette. Loving it like McDonald's. Hic!
ReplyDelete"Bi omode o ba itan, a ba aroba. Aroba si ni baba itan". You are the king of "aroba", onigegewura. Kudos!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed your blog. Keep up the good work :-)
ReplyDeleteWonderful!!! I see most Business deals as "epitome of greed". Most of the so-called Gurus are nothing but "living-greedy-creatures", not all though. Who is to be trusted in business in particular, and in other aspects in general? Nice to know the fact of this case, though I knew little about it then , but heard quite a lot around that time. Olorun a ma se alekun imo fun yin o (may God increase you in knowledge). Asalam alaiykun.
ReplyDeleteGreat work. It reminds me of Adebayo Faleti 📖 books. We are animators I am thinking.... May be we can work together. I am still thinking.... If you can think faster let me know
ReplyDeleteOnigegewura, you are fast becoming a veritable and an iconic story renderer. Complex legal stories cum issues of yesteryears are brought to the fore with great simplicity, elegant prose and much lucidity.
ReplyDeleteOne can only keep on commending you and praying the Almighty God to grant you more and greater sagacity and energy. I commend your dexterity, industry and commitment.
Kudos to you bro for this beautiful work. Just keep wondering how you combined your time on this work with your current task. Pls help welcome Mr. President.
ReplyDeleteWhoa. Your rendition of the whole story is so funny, but delivered in a way that is educating and exhilarating. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteNice retrospect...
ReplyDeleteI am in for the jokes, good sense of humour, Inspiring as well.
ReplyDeleteRead always with rapt attention. Kudos always.
ReplyDeleteFrom kayode omolayo(JP)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great historic fact again. moreover let me ask whete is anti Wura now. credit must be given to heŕ. she might not be accurate but she has thr information always. What a pleasurable reading again. This is no more amateuric but professional delivering of information. it was captured as if it happened just ystdy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great historic fact again. moreover let me ask where is anti Wura now. credit must be given to heŕ. she might not be accurate but she has the information always. What a pleasurable reading again. This is no more amateuric but professional delivering of information. it was captured as if it happened just ystdy.
ReplyDeleteWrite on the celebrated case of State v Ogundipe, also known as Apalara's case. It will make an interesting reading
ReplyDeleteThis is a thought provoking true life story. Humbly narrated and fully simplified. Tnk you.
ReplyDeleteWooow!!! Nice one, so interesting.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.
Very happy interesting story, love it, never give up in struggle to make success.
ReplyDeleteOnigegewura, This is an excellent piece. I salute you.
ReplyDeleteNice piece...keep it up
ReplyDeleteGreat story simply told as usual. Clearly, passion alone is not enough, employ help of the experts!
ReplyDeleteWhere did the judiciary lose their forthrightness? and when did the people lose their believe in the judiciary?
ReplyDeleteFor what should be the last hope of the masses, what we hear coming out of their, these days, makes it to be like a sinking morass, hence the masses resorting to self help! O ma se o!
Wonderful piece of contemporary history. What a judgment by a Godly Judge!
ReplyDeleteThough I am aware of the fact that Chief Gani Fawehinmi and KSA are from the same Ondo Township, I don't think that KSA did enough to eulogise Gani by way of dedicating a track of one of his hut albums to him like he did for Barr. Abiola Oshodi though it may be against the ethics of the legal profession to advertise or Gani himself being a simple person while alive may not want such publicity.
Thanks to Onigegewura for bringing this age long story in which I have heard different versions myself to the public domain.
Exactly what i thought.Fawehinmi was a very principled man.He probably left stern instructions to Sunny not to sing about him..But still,i feel Sunny should have remembered him when he died.
DeleteBut this could be because he wasn't really releasing new materials again at the time Gani died
This is a great hidden piece of history. Sadly, this event being over 40yrs old is still ubiquitous with present day artists.... We haven't learnt.... And most don't intend to till the tide becomes overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteThis is powerful and thought provoking from onigegewura. I opined that by the time one follows this blog for a year, reading all these celebrated cases from Onigegewura, one is likely to become an amateur lawyer, knowing the minimum requisites for business and moral conducts that will be rid of infringements on others. The case of chief Abiona parodied the activities of today's promoters and marketers. They frame contract terms with carefully selected words to enslave and ensnare an unsuspecting upcoming artist. They seem to intend to muzzle the cow that treads the corn as against the Biblical teaching. If people will take a cue from this and give contract terms a human face and a clear conscience. The glory of KSA eventually dwarfed all the achievement of chief Abiona. What an irony. Many thanks sir for this piece.
ReplyDeleteWhat an historical report! Some of us that were KSA lovers and followers were really devastated by the events. This report provided missing links on the travails of Master Guitarist we knew then. This is appreciated
ReplyDeleteAgain,the story is guide to upcoming Artistes and anyone for that matter to engage the services of sound Lawyers before signing any agreement and or contract.
ReplyDeleteI am also interested in the Eji Badero/Raji Oba case. It is another classical story with many versions.
ReplyDeleteArtists should learn not to rush to append their signatures to contract terms, especially those drafted by legal minds without having a solicitor to help in interpreting same aforehand!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the level of illiteracy is so high among them that they deal with producers and marketers on 'trust' only to cry foul thereafter!
Its good and life saving to have a lawyer!
Good read. Thank gou
ReplyDeleteGood read. Thank you
ReplyDeleteEngaging, insightful and excellent storytelling. A salute to our history and culture. Well done! Looking forward to reading more! Thank you for making history live!
ReplyDeleteWao!I remember how we heard Sunny Ade was banned for breach of Contract under Chief Abioro and I know a neighbour one broda Idowu working at Abioro''s TYC (Take your Choice) I hope am correct as am yet to enter my evening classes secondary school then. This piece was so educative and reminded me of how we do crowd around record distributors then in Mushin in our large numbers listening to the loud speakers from those stores playing Sunny Ade....esu biribiri ebo mi o.....iwaju lololoko nwa mi lo behin lolonko nwa mi lo mi omo. Thanks my brother. God bless u
ReplyDeleteGood job Onigegewura. Ï Wish this Write ups could come out in a book.
ReplyDeleteI am a converted blog follower. Take a bow Onigegewura.
ReplyDeleteI am a converted blog follower. Take a bow Onigegewura.
ReplyDeleteProper is Key to any business dealing
ReplyDeleteNever knew this about Chief Abioro. I know much about him, family and affluent life. Died in early 90s. He was the richest man in his town, Ipokia. I lived there while growing up. I'm not sorry to say, his act towards KSA even when the later referred him a father was pure greed and wickedness.
ReplyDeleteI like
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