A first-of-its-kind documentary in the annals of Fuji as a genre of music will be premiering in February 2024. Interestingly, the documentary by a Nigerian-born Professor, Saheed Aderinto, would be featuring Fuji music star, Alhaji (Dr.) Sefiu Alao Adekunle, Agbara Orin, in the first 3 minutes of its premiering in the United States of America.
For more than 2 years, Saheed Aderinto, a Professor of History and African and African Diaspora Studies at Florida International University, has been engaged in shooting a special documentary on Fuji music tracing its origin to its evolution as an internationally recognised music brand. In the course of his deep research, he engaged Sefiu Alao in an extensive audio/visual interview session at the Fuji star’s palatial home in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
And the Ibadan, Oyo State, born and raised Don who was spell-bound with the very warm reception, as well as the very deep content he got during his interaction with Sefiu Alao when he visited, has kept in touch with the management team of the Fuji star to keep them abreast of the progress of his extensive research work.
Initially, Professor Aderinto was ecstatic to inform the management team of Sefiu Alao that he was glad to find the materials he got during his interview with Sefiu Alao worthy and useful enough to illustrate a paper he presented at the American Historical Association Conference, the largest gathering of professional historians in the world, sometime in January 2023. He said the paper was titled, “More than Sound and Lyrics: How Fuji Became an African Popular Culture”.
And by February 2024, according to the erudite scholar, the first episode of the main Fuji Documentary he has been shooting would be ready, and would of course be premiered in America, and Agbara Orin would be featured in the first 3 minutes of the documentary. So, what more can a Fuji music star ask for, to feel fulfilled with his chosen career?
One is tempted to ask a rhetorical question which comes in Yoruba street parlance, “Shey Sefiu Alao wa kere ni!?” (Is Sefiu Alao a small fry in the music firmament!?) Of course, not. And he even has the potential to go bigger and bigger, as time goes on.
Meanwhile, for those who may not know who Professor Aderinto is, there might be a need for a quick reminder. He is an exceptional scholar of Nigerian origin who made the whole of Africa proud earlier in the year 2023 by winning the prestigious Dan David $300,000 price in History, for which Bola Tinubu who was then the President-Elect congratulated and celebrated him on all his official social media handles.
So, any project coming from such an internationally acclaimed schorlar like the upcoming documentary on Fuji music has the unbeatable potential of taking the careers of the Fuji artistes featured in it, to a new height of international magnitude.
Therefore, congratulations are to Sefiu Alao ahead of the February 2024 premiering of the documentary by Professor Aderinto in America.
Saheed Ojubanire,
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