For somebody, who has been a Fuji musician for over three decades and has remained relevant, how do you feel when you look at the journey so far and the legacy you want to leave behind?
I am grateful to God for the grace to have got this far. I don’t think I need to bore the readers with how the story began for me. I think what is important for me is to keep my game on, while I try to keep encouraging the younger generation to take over from us when one is no more active to do what we can do. My plan is to use the resources God has blessed me with to help them grow and maximise their potential in whatever capacity God has blessed them with.
You are over 50 now, what do you think about life at this age?
At this point, it is more about legacy. People say Ayuba is scandal-free; he’s respected and his brand of music is different. I love those compliments, and I want to keep that legacy going. For somebody who is from Ikenne in Ogun State, where the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo hailed from, you will agree with me that we value integrity and legacy a lot. Till today, Awolowo’s name remains a reference in every facet of human endeavour because of the legacy he built before he died. That’s the kind of legacy that I want to build for myself. I want to touch lives meaningfully; help the needy; put smiles on the faces of people as much as I can and make them happy. Impacting lives positively is my aim now. For me, it is not about the millions in your account, it is about how you affect millions of people positively with your millions.
But there is little you can do as a musician. Are you thinking of joining politics?
I have learnt to say never. We are all political animals because we play politics in everything we do, even in our homes. While I am not telling you I have made up my mind to go into politics, but I can confirm to you that I am not saying no to what will make life meaningful for those coming after us.
In what capacity would you want to serve should you decide to join politics?
I don’t know about that. I have been called by leaders in Lagos State and even in Ogun State on a number of times to come to give it a shot, but my response has always been that when I decide to join, I am joining to make a difference. When that will happen, I don’t know.
Does it occur to you that the number of Fuji musicians, who have ruled the airwaves for more than 20 years, are still the ones we hear about? Are you not worried that the industry that you have worked hard to build is not reproducing new acts that could take over from the older ones?
It is sad but there are a number of reasons why Fuji music seems to have been pushed to the back. It is quite disturbing but we can’t really do much about it. Let me explain a few things to you so that people would know why things are the way they are. To set up a band as a musician is not a tea party. Funding that band to make sure that they are well taken care of and up to the task all the time is not something you can achieve over night. There are many Fuji musicians in Nigeria but you may never hear about them because they don’t have the platform to be heard. Not everybody would be like K1 or Ayuba or even Pasuma.
What exactly do you think is the problem this time?
These people came at a time when things had not gone bad. They have managed to remain relevant because they have been around for a long time, and have gone through a lot to get to the level they are today. The people coming after them, you need to ask them if they could be patient and courageous to go through similar situations that those who came before them went through.
But music production has gone digital now…
Stop believing the digital platform thing that you hear people talk about. It is not as it seems, and you may not know if you are not involved. How much have been paid to the artistes who have given their jobs to them? How much was really made? When you give your album to them, only 20 per cent of the gain would come back to you.
The artistes will not tell you what they are going through at the hands of these digital music platforms. It is a rip off. Today’s youths are impatient, and I don’t blame them. It is the way things have turned out globally. There is a quick way to making music now. You can record your song anywhere now, unlike before. All you need as a hip hop star is a laptop, which will supply all the beats that you need and, of course, your microphone. Once you can get that with a producer, you can release as many songs as you can.
We have seen some Fuji acts embracing hip hop stars…
It is part of their plans to remain relevant. If the world is going in that direction, it is sensible that they toe the path. I am not against doing collaboration with other musicians as long as it does not change your style of music. Let me also tell you that some of these hip hop stars wished they had musical bands like the Fuji musicians. You are not qualified to be a musician if you don’t have a solid full band that can follow you anywhere to play at live shows. What you see them do today is not music, they are just entertaining the people. These songs won’t stand the test of time. Look at some of the songs you listen to, they don’t last six months. I am not deriding the hip hop musicians, but they need to have a normal band that would help their so that they could always been regarded as real musicians.
Does that mean Fuji music may go into extinction once you and others like K1, Pasuma, Osupa leave the stage?
Well, I think it may happen but we can prevent it. One thing we need to do is to kill piracy first. Fuji music is not the only genre of music that is currently experiencing a lull. It is happening in the Juju genre too. When you make an album, it is your hope that you would make money in return. In our case, we always incur debt when we struggle to drop a new album. You may ask me why? Piracy in the industry has rendered many people useless. How do people know you exist if they don’t listen to your album? How do you reach out to people without an album? When you dropped an album, and the first set of people that called you would be pirates, asking you to come and settle them if you don’t want them to pirate your album. They have become so brazen that they don’t fear anybody. Making an album costs a lot of money, especially if you are somebody, who is a perfectionist.
You dropped a new album about two months ago after a long while. Why did you change your mind?
I decided to drop Bonsue Reloaded two months ago because I listened to the yearnings of my fans, who have been asking me to drop a new album. I have said countless times that I can’t spend millions of Naira producing an album that would be pirated and its proceeds going into another people’s accounts. If you have listened to the album, you would have noticed that it is not the regular album you hear out there. If you have given your job to Laolu Akins for production, you can’t expect anything less than a master class.
How are you sure the new album would not be pirated this time?
For me, at this point it is not about whether it is pirated or not. It is about doing what you feel is best for you and those who appreciate your music. One can’t rule out the factor of piracy. As a matter of fact, I have decided that I would be dropping new a new album every year. Whether it is going to be pirated or not, I just want to keep entertaining my fans for their support and loyalty over the years. You may not see other Fuji artistes do this because they may not have the resources to do it, but I will continue to encourage as many people as possible so that Fuji music remains alive.
We have seen K1 Live in Concert. When will you throw up a musical concert for your fans?
That’s the mistake many people make, which I don’t ever want to make. Where will I get the kind of support I need to throw up a massive concert like that? Even K1 that did has not tried it again (after then). Do you know how much it will cost to stage a concert of that magnitude? I can’t afford to run into debts because I want people to know that I am still relevant. In a sane and well-structured society, concerts of that nature would be sponsored by corporate organisations; in fact they would beg you to partner with them because of your popularity and status. How many of them would do that for you today? Many, who tried it in the past, are yet to pay up their debts. I don’t think it is wise.
What happened to Bonsue Records and the digital platform you floated about three years ago?
It has failed to live up to its expectations because of lack of proper structure. Another problem is the issue of piracy. When you try to help put people’s career on the roadmap, but you don’t get the value for your money, you will be forced to invest your money into something else and wait till proper structure that can take care of things are put in place.
and then