10 Yrs After His Death
If there is anyone who misses the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister the most, the person is Miliki maestro, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey. Many don’t know that the duo, Obey and Barrister were very close despite that they were not singing the same genre of music.
Though, the late Barrister played big in Fuji music and he was the Fuji creator, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey also was one of the pioneers of Juju music.
Do you know that the late Barrister and Evangelist Obey were close for over 40 years before the former died? They were so close that there was no day that the late Barrister would not call Evangelist Ebenezer Obey when he was alive.
Even when the heat of rivalry became hotter and Barrister had issues with another Fuji artiste, the only musician he ran to was Ebenezer Obey. They were so close that he called Evangelist Obey Fabiyi his elder brother “Egbon Mi”.
Perhaps, we should take you down memory lane on how cordial and chummy the relationship between Barrister and Obey Fabiyi was. Barrister shared the same philosophy in music with Ebenezer Obey.
Ebenezer Obey contributed in no small measure to the musical growth of the late Barrister.
Barrister never shied away from acknowledging this fact in most of his songs.
It was obvious, he respected Obey a lot as he called him “My Adviser” in an album entitled: Oke-Agba.
He sang, “Chief Ebenezer Obey ni adviser mi, a ki ba ni irin ka ma mole eni, oko Juliana mi O lola, Juliana mi omo olola o.
Obey omo lakeesin, Obey omo lakeesin…. literally meaning you can’t be a close friend of a person and not know his house.
Another incident, which made many to know how close Obey and the late Sikiru were was when a socialite and music promoter, Bisi Ajala (Ajala Travels) and Sikiru were fighting. The late Sikiru Barrister demostrated that he was great supporter of Obey Fabiyi. The Late socialite Ajala was a lover of motorcycle. When Sikiru sang a song then saying “ti o ba si ti Ebenezer to be mi, nse ni ba fi orin fo igba ayanga. Nba ki oni tohun ki keke mole, ni bi ti Concord aircraft gbe wa , ko to dari bo ma ti di olowo repete”. (If not for Ebenezer Obey who is pacifying me, I would have told the motorbic rider to ride his motorbic all over the world, while I take Concord aircraft. Before his arrival, I would have become stupendously rich).
How was the rift settled? It was Evangelist Ebenezer Obey, who convinced Barrister to let Ajala be and the fight came to an end. Ask within Lagos circuit then, you would be told that with Ebenezer Obey on your side, you could get Barrister to do anything.
In 1980, Ayinde Barrister dedicated an album (Fuji disco) to Ebenezer Obey in memory of Obey’s father. Barrister sang: “Omo bi Ebenezer lo wu mi, Remilekun Olasupo o, Omo bi Ebenezer lo wu mi, Omo to maa gbe ni sin ni” (I want a child like Ebenezer Obey).
Barrister was even the one who performed at the burial along side other musicians like KSA and Admiral Abiodun.
On December 16, 1989, when Ebenezer Obey threw a classy wedding for his 2 eldest sons, Sina and Lanre, Barrister was the coordinator and also performed on the occasion.
In 1992, Barrister referred to the wedding as a yardstick to measure the success of Obey as a musician. He sang a special song: “sebi eri Ebenezer Obey to se Igbeyawo omo e, bo se larinrin to, Olasupo Remilekun Aremu omo lakeesin, Obey Commander mi, ise orin lo fi ni laari”.
This must have been the reason Evangelist Obey wept profusely when the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister died.
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