Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey

Artist Profile: Ebenezer Obey

Discography

Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi

Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey

World-Known Juju Musician

BORN April 3, 1942, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Obey's earliest musical experiences were as a member of the local church choir while a child in Abeokuta - his parents, both devout Christians, were also members. In 1955, he joined the local band Ifelode Mambo, which despite its name was actually a juju outfit, playing guitar and thumb piano.

He also played briefly with Fatayi Rolling Dollar and the Federal Rhythm Brothers Orchestra before moving to Lagos in 1963 and forming his own juju band, the International Brothers, in 1964. Under Obey's leadership, the International Brothers forged a highly individual style of juju. Abandoning the percussion and single-guitar style developed by I.K. Dairo , Obey added two more frontline guitars and electric bass, speeded up the tempo and simplified the beat. The formula struck an immediate chord with Nigerian juju fans. Obey enjoyed his first hit, 'Omo Lami', in 1965, followed by even greater success the following year with 'Olo Mi Gbo Temi'.

By the early 70s, Obey was rivalling King Sunny Ade in album output and sales, achieving major local hits with In London, On The Town , Board Members and Aiye Wa A Toro. In 1971, he renamed his band the Inter Reformers and retitled his style miliki system (essentially a shrewd marketing move, for the music continued in the same juju style he had introduced with the International Brothers, heavier and faster than that played by most of his peers).

In 1972, he opened his Lagos nightclub, the Miliki Spot, and for the next two or three years reigned as the city's pre-eminent juju bandleader. By the mid-70s, however, Obey was beginning to be threatened by the younger Ade. Juju fans split into two camps: those who followed the Master Guitarist Ade, and those who favoured the sweetness of Obey's vocals and the philosophical nature of his lyrics. It was with their lyrics, above all, that the two men identified themselves. Ade's reflected his belief in traditional Yoruba religion, while Obey, always the perfect Christian gentleman, preached the orthodox values of love, the family and peace in the household. He also took on the role of Government spokesman, explaining the switch to the right-hand side that took place on Nigeria's roads in 1972, and the need to follow more recent campaigns, such as Operation Feed Yourself in 1976 (with Operation Feed The Nation), or the austerity measures that followed the end of Nigeria's oil-based boom in the early 80s.

While Obey never achieved the international profile of Ade, he actually preceded the latter in the attempt. In 1980, he licensed six albums to the London-based OTI label (including Current Affairs and What God Has Joined Together). Lacking the promotional and financial muscle of a larger label like Island Records, with whom Ade signed in 1982, OTI were unable to sell Obey outside the expatriate Nigerian market and a small number of white enthusiasts. In 1983 he tried again, signing to Virgin Records, and releasing the adventurous funk and highlife infused Je Ka Jo. Grossly under-promoted, the album failed to convince expatriate Nigerians or make any impact on the growing white audience for juju. A similar fate befell the Virgin follow-up, Greatest Hits. A third attempt, with yet another label, the specialist independent Stern's, produced Solubon. It too failed to reap a sufficient audience. Ever resilient, Obey next set his sights on the US market, touring there to great acclaim - but with little effect on record sales - in 1985 and 1986. He continues, however, to be a major recording and performing artist at home in Nigeria.

While Obey never achieved the international profile of King Sunny Ade, he actually preceded the latter in the attempt. In 1980, he licensed six albums to the London-based OTI label (including Current Affairs and What God Has Joined Together). Lacking the promotional and financial muscle of a larger label like Island Records, with whom Ade signed in 1982, OTI were unable to sell Obey outside the expatriate Nigerian market and a small number of white enthusiasts. In 1983 he tried again, signing to Virgin Records, and releasing the adventurous funk and highlife infused Je Ka Jo. Grossly under-promoted, the album failed to convince expatriate Nigerians or make any impact on the growing white audience for juju. A similar fate befell the Virgin follow-up, Greatest Hits. A third attempt, with yet another label, the specialist independent Stern's, produced Solubon. It too failed to reap a sufficient audience. Ever resilient, Obey next set his sights on the US market, touring there to great acclaim - but with little effect on record sales - in 1985 and 1986.

He continues, however, to be a major juju artist for his recordings at home in Nigeria and abroad.

Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi

Background:

“Though I was born in Lagos, but I grew up in Idogo village, in Abeokuta, Ogun state where I found my mother taking me to church.

"My father married more than three wives; my mother is the second wife. My elder sister, Mrs. Grace Olasunbo Akinyede (nee Fabiyi) and I are into music. My immediate brother is Clement Oluseye.

“My first contact with music was in my primary school where I was attracted to the school band by one of the members. Eventually, I rose to become the bandleader. Subsequently, I joined the school's cultural group – the Idogo Boys and Girls Club. The club had some instruments that many members couldn't play.

"Highlife maestro, Adeolu Akinsanya (now late) was one of the reigning musicians and the reigning instrument was Bongos, which nobody could play in our club. However, it did not take me too long to master the instrument and combining it with singing. I was the youngest in the group.

“My mother rose against my interest in music but that was where my passion lay. I couldn't go far educationally because we were not economically buoyant and there were fewer secondary schools then.

"But when Chief Obafemi Awolowo (now late) introduced the idea of Secondary Modern School, I was enrolled and my interest in music was renewed.

Genesis
“After I left school, I worked as a clerk. Soon, one thing led to the other when I saw two elderly people, Sir Akinbobi Salvage and Bangbose popularly known as Abembo Mayana playing guitar on the street in Mushin , Lagos . I followed them for so long until I was absorbed into their group.

"After the first day of playing together, they gave me one pound two shilling while as a clerk I was being paid three pounds per month.

"The lesson of a huge financial reward made in a single day was not lost on me. From there, I began to receive regular invitations to play for different groups through which I later got introduced to Fatai Rolling Dollar at the age of sixteen.

“Rolling Dollar was not a bandleader when I met him, but an instrumentalist playing with Joe Araba. I actually formed the Fatai Rolling Spot Band. I became a composer and we played Agidigbo music whose champion was Adeolu Akinsanya.

"Not long after, I went ahead to form my own band. Before Agidigbo music came into prominence, there was Kokoma, then Juju. Agidigbo was originated and popularised by Tunde King and Ayinde Bakare.

"Juju music was more popular among the partygoers but the rave was Kokoma and Agidigbo. I.K. Dairo, who played with Ojoge Daniel, came up with his own innovation with guitar and accordion. This helped to push Agidigbo to the background.

"When Agidigbo began to die, Adeolu Akinsanya quickly moved to highlife and his first popular song was Ba bata miso, Iwo elegbemi. From I. K. Dairo came Dele Ojo, and then I came followed by King Sunny Ade who was initially with Moses Olaiya (Baba Sala).

“My own band, Ebenezer Obey and his International Brothers' Band was formed in 1963 at age 18. My first album was, E wa wo ohun oju mi ri [This is what I saw] a single released on DECCA Records, but it was a commercial failure.

"The album was a story of an armed robber who went to rob a shop at night, but unknown to him, the shop was electrified. I saw that experience as a good lesson for the youth.

"The album that brought me fame was Olomi gbo temi (My dear listen to me). The album sold as the music could be heard from house to house. Since then, whatever I touched became gold. In four years, my juju music became popular. There was the God factor in this.

“When you have a God-given talent, you don't know you have it until it germinates, waiting for people to nurture it. As a composer, I realised that I could put any song together at any moment.

" My voice has always been the magic. To establish my own identity in the field of juju music, I fused highlife into juju and used my vocal prowess as the magic, and it worked.

“Before me, everybody sang together, everybody did vocal and the leader led but what I did was to allow my voice to dominate while giving half a minute to my band boys.

" That allowed my meaningful lyrics to sink very well. It was a strange innovation and before I knew it, I was on my way to the top. My music then became a hybrid of highlife and juju.

“Though remuneration was poor but through performances at parties, hotels and other places. I made more money. I subsequently had a contract with Decca, a recording company in Lagos . I started with them as a recording artiste and ended up a director of the company.

Composition
“When I am in the mood to compose, I can compose up to thirty songs in a day. If a song is good, you know it and feel it. A good song must have a melody. If the melody isn't catchy or arresting, the record wouldn't make it. It will come to a point where everything becomes spontaneous.

" When I wanted to go for recording, I didn't necessarily need to think seriously of what I would sing. Most of my compositions were done live on stage.

" Most times, the melody would come to me on stage and my band boys would be wondering how the idea came. I believe everything comes from God.

" The Almighty breathes down music into me. Sometimes when the spirit to sing a new song comes, it would hit me and I would tell my boys.

When they see me in the mood, the boys would be happy. "They would cheer and shout “Oga!" Immediately, the guitarist would start striking the chord and the music would just be flowing and everybody would be playing his part as if we had rehearsed it.

DECCA
“Mr. Cress was my musical father. He was the man who gave me the opportunity to prove myself. Life is a gamble.

"Life is a game of chance. I learnt from my days as a pools clerk that life is a game of luck. In the pools business, people are looking for quick money.

"Many people lose money, hoping and dreaming to win. Their motto is “If I don't win today, I will win tomorrow.” Even if they win today, they are not satisfied because they believe they could still win more money by using what they had won on pools. And in the end, they would lose all the money.

"However, mine has not been like that. All my life, I have always been lucky to be in the right place at the right time and meeting the right people like Mr. Cress, who gambled on me and won.

" If I had not insisted on seeing Mr. Cress at all cost, I would have probably missed the chance of my life. In addition, DECCA too would have missed a star.

“Somehow, I believe it was God who led me to see Mr. Cress. There are many talented people who cannot hit the limelight because there is no one to discover them.

"Like flowers sprouting in a lonely desert, they waste their sweetness; their glory and their beauty are left undiscovered.

Investments
“I established the Ebenezer Obey Music Company Limited in Sango-Ota, Ogun State in 1979 so that I could produce and distribute my own music. We soon had branches in Agege and Palm grove in Lagos , Ibadan , Aba and Kaduna .

“From 1963 to 1993, I became a foremost Juju musician with more than 100 albums, 30 gold discs and two platinum. This means that more than 100,000 copies of each of the 30 records have been sold and more than a million of each of the two Platinum discs has been sold.

"My brand of Juju music became known as Miliki after an album I released in 1972, the flip side of which I sang about the cholera epidemic that ravaged Nigeria at the eve of the year's annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

“However, in spite of my fame and fortune, I was not satisfied within me because God was calling me to stop playing Juju music but to become a full-time evangelist and win people into His kingdom.

Rapport with Christ
“I was raised in a Christian home, but I never knew the difference between giving one's life to Christ until after I ran into problem.

"I owed my property owner a 3 months rent of 6 pounds and he gave me a 7 day-quit notice. I began to avoid him. I would return home late in the night and leave before the break of dawn.

“One day, I found myself in a church called SIM (Sudan Interior Mission) which is known toady as Evangelistical Church of West Africa (ECWA) Prior to that time I had not entered a church in 3 years.

"That day, the Pastor's sermon was on I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me. When the pastor finished his sermon, he said, “is any one of you here passing through troubles and torments? Jesus can do it and you can do it through Christ.

"He began to mention different kinds of challenges after which he asked, ‘”are you owing, are you a debtor?” This he repeated about five times. It was as if someone had told him about me. He later asked if any one would like to give his life to Christ, that day, we were ten that came out.

“Subsequently, I met with the pastor and narrated my challenges to him. He prayed, counselled and eventually followed me to see the property owner who then cancelled the notice. That was how the problem was solved and that was how my rapport with Christ began.

The call
“After a successful musical career that spanned over 30 years, the Lord started opening my eyes to certain things. I heard the voice of the Lord calling me ‘Son, I want you to leave what you are doing.

"I want you to come and work for Me'. I was reluctant in my heart because Juju music was in my blood. I said no, why should it be me. The struggle continued for years with each year bringing a clearer picture of what God wanted me to do.

"Later, I started a fellowship and opened the Decross Fellowship Centre, where we had midweek programmes. We sent new souls won for Christ to different churches around Agege. I was still not ready for the church proper.

"But my wife was all for it. She said if God has called you, you have no option than to yield. So after many years of declining the call, I said yes to the Lord and I was ordained on my 50th birthday by Archbishop Benson Idahosa (now late) in 1992 at Abeokuta .

The ministry
“My calling is clear. When I came on the gospel scene, people bombarded me with engagements and it was like I was in the world. However, God said no, that was not what He wanted me to do.

"He said He had called me to be a preacher, using music as a vehicle. When I asked Him to clarify His purpose, He gave me Ebenezer Obey Evangelistic Ministry, that is the umbrella body for the outreach programmes.

"There is also the church, Decross Gospel Mission of which I am the General Overseer. God later gave us the vision to plant churches, because the ministry would continue long after I have been called home.

"So we had to train our people in line with the vision. I have ministered in so many churches because of the acceptance God has given me.

Training
“God is known to make something out of nothing. I was not a theologian; I wanted to die a musician because it was my passion. But God said, “don't worry. You're still a musician but now you' will use music as a vehicle of soul winning.

"I sought advice on how to go about this from people who have come before me, many of whom had extended hands of fellowship to me. Pastor Billy Ingram, an African-American in California , USA , advised me to go for an Observation Course rather than a 5-year Bible course.

" He said we all have different callings and different callings have different approaches. I went and prayed over it.

"I took Ingram's advice and then travelled out. This really helped me. This course was in two bits of three months each. I saw how things were being done.

"Evangelist A. Daud was of great assistance. In addition to that was the ECWA church that sent me a pastor of my choice to assist me for two years, but for logistics' reasons had to extend his stay to 5 years.

“Our emphasis at Decross is on the development of people, we want to develop unstoppable achievers. We want people to know that they are achievers, no matter what they are passing through.

"If there are obstacles on the ways, they should look properly for the solutions God has prepared within those obstacles. We wouldn't joke with that.

Legacies
“It is not common with artistes to have albums recorded more than 30 years ago still selling in the market. This is the Lord's doing. God knew what He wanted to do with me, so He gave me an outstanding career. Even now, people are still enjoying the music while younger artistes make hits out of them.

“Jesu Olore o! the first gospel record I did was accepted widely. One thing I realise is that there is a need to help both the secular and gospel artistes because the industry is passing through a stormy period, most especially the problem of piracy. Pirates now feast on gospel works because more people are now turning to God.

“When I was elected the Chairman of National Association Recording Industries (NARI) God told me it was because of my wealth of experience. So whether in PMAN or amongst gospel artistes, my experience is always available for use.

"I am also on the Board of the Nigeria Copyright Council (NCC) God is using the personality He has given me to help the industry. I believe these are part of what God has in store for me.

Honorarium
“We do not charge fees in the ministry, we are only given honorarium. But the instrumentalists do charge because they are professionals. Where people want me to come with my band, they must be ready to cater for their allowances.

'But if I am invited to minister all alone, honorarium or not, I am fine. The first honorarium I received was N50. Part of the training is that whatever honorarium given should be appreciated.

The Family
“God has given me a wonderful family. My wife in particular has given me the necessary support that I need in the ministry.

" I am sure God knew the kind of wife I needed before He created me. When I was scared of ministerial work, my wife encouraged me and made things easy.

“My children had also expressed fear that I may not be able to cope being a celebrity. My first son even thought I would fall ill if I quit music. However, they gave their support and here we are. Today, some of my children are Pastors in our ministry as well as in other ministries.

Business
“God has given me good children and loyal people who manage the businesses I established when in I was in secular music. God is a director in my companies that is why I am able to do and think less about the businesses. God brings better ideas to my children and their team. Therefore, they are handling the businesses well.

“For a long time I have not stepped into the headquarters of my companies at Ota. I could go there once or twice in a year. I am not bothered because if you invest one hour in the things of God, God pays you back in arrears and in advance. God has never forsaken me because I left all to serve Him.

"When I came into the ministry, people were asking me what I was going to do in a place where I wont take salary. Nevertheless, I am serving God with the abundance my business.

“Let me be bold to say that when I was in secular music, God really blessed me. Most of what He gave me I sowed back into the ministry when I started out. I use all the money I have to serve God. I use every kobo to work for Him Whatever comes to my hand I put into the ministry.

"When God commissions you for His work even if you have nothing, He would bless you. Right now, we have reached a stage where God is raising millionaires and successful people among us.

“Now I can see many people who are committed to what we are doing. The people God is raising are doing many things in the church. When I look back to the early days in of ministry when many people had nothing. I always give thanks to Him.

Additional reports by Tope Olukole, (Nigerian Tribune) Adewale Ojo (Contemporary Age) and Decross Magazine.