introHe needs no introduction, for his is a household name in Nigeria and from whichever angle you look at it he has excelled in his chosen profession, music. Dr. Sunday Ishola Adeniyi Adegeye, popularly known as King Sunny Ade, has come a long way in the history of Nigerian music and now has a matured view of the music industry. Rowland –Timi Olonishuwa caught up with him recently when he paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Governor of Kwara State, Chief Joel Ogundeji and the acclaimed king of juju music spoke on the issue piracy in Nigeria among other burning national issues. Enjoy!
How have you been able to cope with piracy?
You see, the stealing of someone’s intellectual property is something nobody can cope with. We are only praying that the present administration will come to our aid and help us fight more. We now have a law on the ground and we want a thorough implementation. This is because creating music, putting in the little resources that you have got, not to talk of the sleepless nights you have had to endure and then over night, even before you bring it out, some one else has already done it and taken the glory depriving you of the profits and credits for your work, its suicidal, but we pray it would all change soon.
While you were the president of PMAN, you had a record of unbeatable excellence, now somebody else is there, how has PMAN been able to tackle this case of piracy, because it is a very serious problem militating against creative arts in Nigeria?
PMAN can only be one of the warriors in the fight against piracy because it has to do with the law of the land, the enforcement of the laws of the land so everybody has to come out and assist us. You see, when we talk about piracy in Nigeria, the first thing people think about is the music industry and pirated records. I tell people, see, a day is coming when they would attempt to pirate a human being it’s that serious. Nigerians are creative but this issue of piracy is killing the creativity of our people so the government and good people of this country should not see this fight as a PMAN thing, no! It affects us all and all hands need to be on deck to battle this evil to a stand still. What ever PMAN is doing is only a contribution to what we all should be doing
The lyrics of most young musicians nowadays do not seem to contribute anything to the development of the society. What is the cause?
I usually tell my colleagues and friends, I mean fellow musicians and journalists respectively, when you write a song and somebody says ‘hey, don’t play that, it’s immoral’ and you say ‘go to hell’. You take that same song to two or three others and they repeat the same, you take it to a radio or television station and they reject it, you will not play such a song again. But the problem is that anything we do, anything we sing is accepted by the public so the evil of bad lyrics still lingers on. Curbing this malady is very important to the continued sanity of our society. Look at most of the Radio and television stations in the country, they have most of their programs paid for and he who pays the piper dictates the tone but are they putting into consideration the morality of the society? That’s the question. I think commercialization of programs should be controlled as the first step to curbing this shamelessness.
Sometimes ago, not the recent past, when I sang this song, ’ gbo ohun awon angeli to korin’ representatives from the Christian association came to my house one early morning to draw my attention to how inappropriate and offensive it was, when they had convinced me I had to write my recording company to stop the sells of that record. Today I am happy I was not so popular then…
Why do you insert incantations in some of your lyrics?
(Laughs) you know I have been asked this same question several times and each time I’m amused because some people think so highly of such things whereas they are at your fingers’ tips. But to answer your question, I got them from D.O. Fagunwa’s books and my reason for using them is to blend elements of our culture into my music and judging from the acceptability my music has enjoyed over the years I want to believe I achieved that aim. Then again, despite dancing to the pull of culture one needs to balance it with morality, refine it in such a way that it would be useful to the youths because today is ours but tomorrow is for our kids.
Sometimes ago, you did a record for Lagos State and efforts at making it clean, when are you going to do something for the 7 point agenda of Mr. President?
Those who know me very well would testify to it that I love Nigeria. We have to start from somewhere and that is what that record you mention is all about. Lagos state has been in the world press as the most dirtiest city in the whole world so eventually somebody stands up and say let’s clean it and we are seeing the outcome of such an effort, the onus falls on us to tell our people to appreciate such a person and also maintain that spirit of cleanliness.
On the 7-point agenda of Mr. president, I am working on something because we really need to make it work but you understand one has to be extremely careful so that one does not step into the political aspect of it. I am not a politician but all of them are my friends, its only the names of their parties that changes.
Sir, many marvel at how you have been able to maintain your youthfulness despite your age and busy schedule, how do you rest?
Well, it’s hard for me to say, point blank, this is how I rest but any opportunity I get to rest I grab it with both hands. Then, you see this rest you are talking about is in two forms; one is sleeping while the other is simply giving your soul peace and quiet in a secluded place. The greatest rest is the one you give your brain. The moment you carry too much on your head, you may go to sleep but when you wake up again you will still remain the same
My mother use to tell me; ‘you can’t do it, it’s only God who can do it for you’. With such a powerful philosophy at the back of your mind all you need do is follow the routine of working as hard as you can and resting as hard as you can while you allow God to do the rest for you…
You used to love eba and egunsi soup, is it still the same?
(Laughs) of course it still remains my favorite. Infact they have made it more attractive with shrimps and dry fish. You know, it is very important for you to understand your system. I do not just eat anything because everyone is eating. Even when you are in a gathering, check yourself, what you can afford to have in your stomach or else you might embarrass yourself even before you leave such a gathering
You have not been very regular in Kwara State for sometimes now except when you have an engagement and rumours have it that it is because you are not in good terms with your wife, how do you react to this?
Well, that is my private life but that would not stop me from telling you that it is her, that is my wife, who can tell you why I don’t come often to Ilorin because she knows my programs more that anyone else. I do not pretend and that is why you see her beside me today. The truth is that, I have been very busy. You know in those days I had one or two companies supporting my music career; a nightclub and a recording company but today I have a record company, a video company, I have a studio, I have a contracting company and some others. It is not for me to dabble into all because I have people delegated to see to the running of these companies and they are doing well but that does not say I don’t have much on my hands. For example, I left Osun state to come here and I’m still going back because I have a play there, before that I would stop at the Government House and when am through I go to Lagos for another play. Let’s assume it is because of the Easter festival but apart from that everyday, Monday to Friday, I attend, at lest, six meetings apart from boardrooms
And you know, I don’t want too much money, I want something that can make me happy not so much wealth that I would be losing sleep over, like this economic melt down that is causing some very wealthy people to be hypertensive…
Sir, I would like to revisit the issue of bad lyrics. The popular belief is that the lure of easy wealth and lack of employment push most youths into music and so they churn out anything that come into their heads. How would you react to that?
I would say it is because music has gone onto the same level with football. You know in those days, footballers are in every home but now it is music people are trooping into. The reason differs just as the personality and background of the individuals differs
Okay, take for an example, an Okada rider. It is not just because he is unemployed, infact most of them have other jobs; it is because there is no enough transport system. And just like His Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Kwara State has said, there are enough things we can make. The problem is that in our own way of life in Nigeria, apologies to my fellow citizens, we have this bandwagon mentality. You remember when this community bank first started everyone was rushing into the business, now Okada came and people are rushing in. Definitely, it is good at times to follow but you need to be creative about it. For example, religious organizations are establishing Universities and that is fantastic.
The first thing is to imbibe the morals they are preaching and the youths are the target. You inculcate good morals in the school and you are able to study with peace of mind and when you graduate you are sure of a nice place to fix yourself in, that is what the Americans do, now nearly every home has an office, your laptop is your office, you connect to the world and start doing your legitimate business.
Another thing again is that we need to appeal to our government to still do more for the people especially in the areas of good roads. I came back from South Africa recently and could not believe what I met there yet we are the giant of Africa. We need to match that claim with both physical and human development and our government in various levels must do something about this.
Thank you for your time
You are welcome.
