By Abiyamo
Gentle lady ni mi emi kinshe fighter o,
Kenikeni mati mi lo sibi ija…*2
(I am but a gentle lady, let no one push me to a duel)
This is a woman whose sonorous voice has always remained a constant one in our home. Salawa Abeni. Abeni Salawatu. As I am writing this, with my earphones strapped on, my hips cannot but keep swaying on the chair and I am not too sure if I am typing or dancing. Yes, I am listening to Salawa’s Gentle Lady. The ageless songbird has cast her spell on me. While I keep dance-writing, I invite you to join me on a fast journey through the life of this amazing nightingale, the first female musician in Nigeria to sell over one million copies. And that was in 1977! That’s not all o, let’s go dia! #NowSwayingMyHipsMadly!
Abeni ade, ma dagba ma jeun omo, emi pelu Okiki shey la joma g’Arafah odun,
Olakunle ko ni ku, ko ni run Atanda,
Esunmobi egbo mi
E bere egbomi o! Odomode to jin si koto to n wa Caterpillar ti yo ma gbehun jade o!
Won tun lashewo nimi
Won lan telokunrin
Awon ti won telokunrin, awon o ma je iya okete
Emi ti mo telokunrin, Wunmi hun o ma jeya Amina
Gbogbo ebu te bu o dun mi, Salawatu mo faramo…
Born on the 5th of May 1961 into a polygamous home, 52-year-old Alhaja Salawa Abeni is one of the most popular female singers to come out of Nigeria. And age has not even slowed down her tempo. Mama Okikiola is still treating many of her fans to her unbeatable rhythms. An Ijebu woman from the Ijebu Waterside in Nigeria’s southwestern state of Ogun, Salawa Abeni did not grow up with her mother but with a guardian. She stated that her own mother was seriously sick for 15 years and her father did not even want her to sing initially. She stated that her father did not believe in educating female children and it was her guardian and headmaster that even ensured that she reached Primary Six at the LA Primary School, Igogu, Epe. Although she feels bad that her father curtailed her zeal for education, she says she is delighted that her children have read all that is to be read and that atimes she reminds herself that one can even read all the ‘Cambridge’ in the world and still be nothing.
Following her exploits in the music world and her outstanding success, she was crowned the ‘Queen of Waka of Music’ by the Alaafin of Oyo in the year 1992. That explains why she is often referred to as Queen Salawa Abeni or QSA. Waka is a type of Yoruba traditional music influenced by Muslim traditions and it has been in place long before fuji or juju.
Like many other females in the Nigerian music industry, Salawa Abeni has been associated with a number of romantic voyages and she even sang about it in her albums addressing rumour mongers who would not mind their business but would prefer to call Salawa Abeni a flirt. That’s the song I was trying to sing in the opening. Following her split with Adepoju in 1986, Salawa Abeni joined the label of her lover and fellow musician, General Kollington Ayinla (Kebe n Kwara). The two got married and Salawa was with him until 1994. Olumo Records was the marketer while Ayinla was the record label owner.
Her times with Ayinla were not the best of times for her. In September 2013 at the Annual African Music Festival in London, she said:
“Even though Kollington and I have gone our separate ways 23 years ago, I still consider him a big part of my life because I bore him children who bear his name. His name will forever be written in the history of my life. Though we do not have a smooth relationship, and I have been solely responsible for the upbringing of my children up to university level, I still maintain the fact that he is part of me.
Just merely listening to her songs, one will notice that Salawa Abeni is very much attached to her children. If she is not singing about Okiki, it will be Olanrewaju. Well, that’s how all real Abiyamos are na One of the most tragic moments in her life was when she lost her son, Lanre, in October 2000. Aminat Okikiola Ilori aka Candy is her famous daughter who attended the University of Ilorin. Salawa hit the waves recently when she threw a superbash for Okiki’s 30th birthday. Her son, Big Sheff (Sheriff Ilori) is also a musician, a rapper to be specific.
-Salawa Abeni also had a son for her late producer, Lateef Adepoju who died in January 2000. The son was named Lanre and she lost him in 2000 in a road accident when they were returning from Ilorin, Kwara State. She took a break from singing for three years following the loss of her son.
Even as you are reading this, Salawa Abeni remains the favourite of many women, especially many of those in the southwestern Nigeria where Yorubas are mainly concentrated. Salawa Abeni endeared herself to the hearts of millions of Nigerian women not only with her sonorous voice but also because of the domestic issues that she always sang about. Using her songs, she became an activist denouncing the way women are maltreated by men.
Salawa Abeni did not have formal education and once said that she is very grateful to God for her fame and success because she never even imagined she would secure the job of a cleaner owing to her poor educational background. Well, your talent will take you where no degrees would.
Kenikeni mati mi lo sibi ija…*2
(I am but a gentle lady, let no one push me to a duel)
This is a woman whose sonorous voice has always remained a constant one in our home. Salawa Abeni. Abeni Salawatu. As I am writing this, with my earphones strapped on, my hips cannot but keep swaying on the chair and I am not too sure if I am typing or dancing. Yes, I am listening to Salawa’s Gentle Lady. The ageless songbird has cast her spell on me. While I keep dance-writing, I invite you to join me on a fast journey through the life of this amazing nightingale, the first female musician in Nigeria to sell over one million copies. And that was in 1977! That’s not all o, let’s go dia! #NowSwayingMyHipsMadly!
Abeni ade, ma dagba ma jeun omo, emi pelu Okiki shey la joma g’Arafah odun,
Olakunle ko ni ku, ko ni run Atanda,
Esunmobi egbo mi
E bere egbomi o! Odomode to jin si koto to n wa Caterpillar ti yo ma gbehun jade o!
Won tun lashewo nimi
Won lan telokunrin
Awon ti won telokunrin, awon o ma je iya okete
Emi ti mo telokunrin, Wunmi hun o ma jeya Amina
Gbogbo ebu te bu o dun mi, Salawatu mo faramo…
It was not until the year 1976 that Salawa Abeni went professional. Following the brutal assassination of Nigeria’s immensely popular military ruler, General Murtala Muhammed, Salawa Abeni released her first album while still under Leader Records. It was titled Late General Murtala Muhammed (Memoriam) in honour of the slain general, and it really launched her into superstardom. She sold over one million copies, setting the record as the very first Nigerian female musician to have such a phenomenal success. Since then, Salawa Abeni has not looked back. Abeni would be with Leader Records until the year 1986 when she parted ways with Lateef Adepoju, the owner of the record label. She released Gentle Lady in 1991.
Like many other females in the Nigerian music industry, Salawa Abeni has been associated with a number of romantic voyages and she even sang about it in her albums addressing rumour mongers who would not mind their business but would prefer to call Salawa Abeni a flirt. That’s the song I was trying to sing in the opening. Following her split with Adepoju in 1986, Salawa Abeni joined the label of her lover and fellow musician, General Kollington Ayinla (Kebe n Kwara). The two got married and Salawa was with him until 1994. Olumo Records was the marketer while Ayinla was the record label owner.
Her times with Ayinla were not the best of times for her. In September 2013 at the Annual African Music Festival in London, she said:
“Even though Kollington and I have gone our separate ways 23 years ago, I still consider him a big part of my life because I bore him children who bear his name. His name will forever be written in the history of my life. Though we do not have a smooth relationship, and I have been solely responsible for the upbringing of my children up to university level, I still maintain the fact that he is part of me.
Just merely listening to her songs, one will notice that Salawa Abeni is very much attached to her children. If she is not singing about Okiki, it will be Olanrewaju. Well, that’s how all real Abiyamos are na
One of the most tragic moments in her life was when she lost her son, Lanre, in October 2000. Aminat Okikiola Ilori aka Candy is her famous daughter who attended the University of Ilorin. Salawa hit the waves recently when she threw a superbash for Okiki’s 30th birthday. Her son, Big Sheff (Sheriff Ilori) is also a musician, a rapper to be specific.-Salawa Abeni also had a son for her late producer, Lateef Adepoju who died in January 2000. The son was named Lanre and she lost him in 2000 in a road accident when they were returning from Ilorin, Kwara State. She took a break from singing for three years following the loss of her son.
Even as you are reading this, Salawa Abeni remains the favourite of many women, especially many of those in the southwestern Nigeria where Yorubas are mainly concentrated. Salawa Abeni endeared herself to the hearts of millions of Nigerian women not only with her sonorous voice but also because of the domestic issues that she always sang about. Using her songs, she became an activist denouncing the way women are maltreated by men.
Salawa Abeni did not have formal education and once said that she is very grateful to God for her fame and success because she never even imagined she would secure the job of a cleaner owing to her poor educational background. Well, your talent will take you where no degrees would.
Acknowledgement: Naija archives http://www.naijarchives.com/salawa-abeni-nigerias-queen-waka-music/7/
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