•Popular LAGOS Alaga, BISOLA BAMIDELE
Popular Lagos Alaga, Bisola Bamidele is the face behind Bisbam Aso-Oke, she is popularly known as Alaga Iyawo on Instagram, this beautiful chocolate goddess has being an Alaga for 25 years, she has anchored weddings for politicians, Lagosians, top cloth merchants and other notable personalities in the society.
She also runs an Aso-Oke business where she design Aso-Oke for her brides. She is a self taught Alaga and we can also call her one of the best Alaga trending on social media. She has earned the love of so many prominent people in the society because she is so good at what she does.
Some people call her Lady Bisbam, Bisbam has a signature gele which makes her stand out from the crowd, she is tall, dark and very beauty, she is blessed with a beautiful figure.
This beautiful lady has worked for top politicians like, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, two-term Governor Osun State, Rafiu Aregbesola and lots more. Last week, she spoke with City People’s Society Reporter, TOYIN OGUNDIYA on the things Alaga’s go through in anchoring an event. Below are excerpts of the interview.
What does it take to be a popular Alaga?
Okay, you must be fluent both in English and Yoruba, you must know your source, you must know different songs, you must be able to know songs of different tribe especially in Nigeria, you know we have different tribes in Nigeria. You must get yourself prepared for whatever tribe you are working for and you must be able to speak in public, not being shy of anybody or anything, to be a popular Alaga, you must keep to time because people love those that are time conscious and you must be prayerful.
Why do you have to be prayerful?
Well, wedding is a very good thing, the word of God says, marriage is good, marriage is honourable but then, there is nothing good that doesn’t have a bad side, so when you are prayerful, things will work well for you, you should always commit the couple and the families into the hands of God. When your event is going on smoothly, when you work for one or two people and they know that the outcome of your event is good, they will refer you to others, they would say, if she conducts your child’s event, the outcome will be fine.
What do you mean by the outcome will be fine?
I mean, when the couple are able to give birth and they live happily together.
Do people consider that?
Yes, they do for instance, I conducted an event for a family and they called to tell me that the wedding I conducted, the wife has given birth. They believe when you are prayeful, you are the best choice and they also like it when you pray for the couple during the cause of the event.
Why is it that most Alagas are teachers?
Yes, that is because teachers are fluent, we are use to speaking in public, we are use to addressing people, it is not a new thing for us to stand and address people in public, you know we teach, we can handle different topics: I was once a teacher but I had to resign because now, I travel a lot. As a teacher, when you are in the classroom, you deal with different types of student or pupil, both the stubborn and quiet and you are able to calm or control the stubborn, so when you get to the public and you meet clients that are arrogant, stubborn or those that get angry easily, from your experience as a teacher, you will be able to manage them.
That is why teachers flourish mostly in this job, other people do this job but most of them don’t really flourish in the job.
How long have you been an Alaga?
I marked my 25 years on stage on 13th of December 2018, people know me to be “Lady Bisbam” everywhere but when I got to Instagram, I changed my name to “Alaga Iyawo” and I became the award winner of the best Alaga of the year 2018.
It’s your 25th year in the Alaga business and you are doing very well, how does that make you feel?
I am fulfil, like I said earlier, I resigned from teaching to face this job and I am so happy doing this job, it is a passion for me, I love it so much.
Do you think the job is worth it?
Yes, let me tell you a secret, the salary you work for in a month, if you get like three or four bookings in a week, you have already covered the salary, so it is worth it.
Tell us how you started your Alaga business?
It is a long story, I was still a single lady then, that was the year I was to get married and one of my friend was about getting married and there was no Alaga, in fact, she did not know that she was suppose to hire an Alaga, and I happened to be there and then in church, I was a Sunday School Teacher, a choir and they know I interprete as well, so people started saying Sister Bisis go and welcome the grooms family, that was how I started and when I got there, I was like welcome our family, they know I am outspoken and I can face crowd after that event, other friends started saying you will be the one to conduct my event because my Alaga told me to pay a some amount of money, and I don’t want to pay, so you will be the one to anchor it for me. With time, I started preparting myself, I watch lot of videos from the previous wedding we did in our family, I memorise, I study a lot and I also mingle myself with those top Alaga’s so that they can be my mentor, I ask them things I don’t know.
Did you learn from anybody to gain more knowledge about it?
No I did not learn, it is just a gift, like I said earlier, I started like a joke and from there I started watching video clips of previous wedding in my family and I decided to add one or two things to bring about a change and also if I see those top Alagas in those days, I clinch with them and they teach me songs of some tribes that I don’t know, I also listen to music a lot from that I get to know more songs.
Can you tell us big weddings that you have anchored?
Oh, a lot, you want me to start mentioning names, recently we did an event for Alhaja Risikat Amori Odumosu, the Iya Oja of Lagos and I have done a lot for top Lagosians, the Iya Oja Eko’s, I have done two weddings for Lai Mohammed, I have done for the Governor of Ogun State, I have lost count, I have done for a lot of politicians, I have lost count because I am not with my diary but I have worked for lots of people.
Which wedding will you consider the biggest wedding so far? How do you say biggest, is it in term of the money we made?
In terms of the persons personality.
I said I have worked for Lai Mohammed, I anchored 3 weddings for them, I have worked for His Excellency, Rafiu Aregbesola, His Excellency Ibikunle Amosun.
When we talk of the biggest, I want to refer to all these Lagosians, the Cloth Merchants, to us they are the biggest because at their event we have fun and we make lots of money.
You have a signature gele, how long have you be tieing it?
Oh, it is just of recent, when I travel out of the country to London or America, I discover that I pay money to tie gele, so in April I travelled to Kenya, I wanted to pay for someone to help me tie the gele but there was nobody to pay to; this signature has been with for long but I dropped it because of the layered gele, so I decided to go back to my signature and when I tied it, everybody love it, I can see people copying my style and I am happy about it.
Apart from being an Alaga, what else do you do?
I am into Aso-Oke, I am the CEO of Bisbam Aso-Oke, it is a prominent name, we are everywhere, I ventured into the Aso-Oke business about 6 years ago because I know most of my client will either do Aso-Oke, so after I resigned from teaching I started the Aso-Oke business. When you book me for any event and you don’t have any Aso-Ebi vendor, I can also be your vendor, most of my bride when you see them on Instagram, I do their attire.
Why do you think a traditional wedding is compulsory in Yorubaland?
It is compulsory because the Bible says you have to take permission before marrying anybody, traditional wedding in Yorubaland is compulsory because that is where you take permission from the brides parent, you pay your dues, bride price and also make sure you meet all the requirement. You can’t just take anybody’s daughter to alter without meeting the parent first, it is not in our culture, you have to meet with the parent, seek their consent and provide everything that is required of you, then they will release their daughter for you.
What are the challenges you face as a popular Alaga?
A lot of challenges some people feel they can just harass us or treat us any how by proposing or passing advances to us. It is very embarrasing to us when men approach us and say oh, I love you, I love your body, it can be so annoying, how can you love someone you are just meeting for the first time.
Another challenge is, the way the field is large and because of the way some Alaga has actually spoilt the industry, they believe all of us are the same, people will be like oh, Alaga will request for a huge amount of money but it is not so, it is not all of us that charge like that, some of us are very time conscious and we don’t take money unnecessarily.
Some believe that some Alaga’s are not married…
Yea, yea.
Why are some of them not married?
Well, in this job if you are not very wise, you can’t keep your marriage because you go out everyweek, men will come to you and you also make money every week, if you are not wise, you won’t keep your home.
Some women become so arrogant and by so doing they misbehave. But those of us that are wise, we still keep our home, despite what we see, despite the challenges we face, we still respect our husbands we still love and care for them and we are still very submissive and to the glory of God, my marriage is 25 years, in December 2018.
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