Miliki highlife juju crooner, Evangelist (Dr) Ebenezer Obey-
Fabiyi clocks 74 years today. He talks about his life, music,
and family in this interview with Punch newspaper...excerpts
below:
How does it feel to be 74 years old?
I feel great and I give thanks to God Almighty. I say this
because I have seen the goodness and faithfulness of God in
my life. He has given me everything I need here on earth, and
I want to thank Him for all he has done for me. If one can
think deeply, one will definitely know how to appreciate God
for everything.
Did you ever think you would attain this age?
I never knew I could attain this age, but I have committed
everything about me into the hands of God. There are certain
things in life I don’t bother myself about; because I know God
is in control of my life. My coming to the earth has been
fulfilled and the time I will go back is in the hands of God.
But I can recall an incident which really frightened me. It
happened in the 70s, when I was at the peak of my career.
There was high patronage and I did not have time to rest. So,
I became ill and I had to travel to London for medical
attention. When the doctor observed me, he only said that I
needed rest, noting that I was under stress. He also said I
needed to shed some weight. Then some people started
saying a lot of rubbish about me. They said I had swallowed
‘lukudi’ (a special fetish preparation for wealth), and that I
had undergone surgery when a mysterious bird flew out of my
tummy. People said all manner of rubbish that was
unfounded and unsubstantiated. However, a majority of the
people were happy I was back on the music scene after the
medical check-up.
How did you come about the name ‘miliki’ in branding your
type of music?
There is always the need to brand one’s content. This led me
to create something that when people listen to my music,
they will say, ‘that is Obey singing.’ I play highlife juju music;
miliki is the sound of enjoyment. It is just for identification.
How did your journey into music begin?
My mother started taking me to church when I was still
crawling as a toddler. She told me that each time she took
me to church, I would be found at the choir stand area,
scattering everything in view. Also, at Methodist School, Idogo
in Yewa South Local Government, where I attended
elementary school, I joined the school band and the church
choir. This was where I started developing my skills in music.
I later led the school band. When the youth in Idogo formed
the Ifelodun Mambo Orchestra, I was the lead vocalist and
everything revolved around me, because I was the youngest
member. Later I formed Royal Mambo Orchestra in 1957, and
it eventually metamorphosed into my band. We moved to
Lagos and took the musical instruments along. Initially,
music was a hobby but God made it real for me.
Who were your biggest music influences?
You cannot become a musician without some influences. One
of the music stars of those days was Adeolu Akinsanya, and
his records were my favourites because they were the ones
available. Then I started to compose songs like him, and I
took some of my compositions to him. He encouraged me and
that made me happy. We maintained a close relationship until
his death.
If you did not become a musician, what other profession
would you have gone into?
I don’t really know. Music was the only thing that occupied
my mind. In school, I participated in track and field events. I
was good at table tennis but I was not a good footballer.
How many albums have you released till date?
I have released over 100 albums and the ones yet to be
released are uncountable.
Which one of those albums would you say was the most
successful?
Almost all were successful, because I got gold (500,000
units) and platinum (1 million units) discs from the recording
company that handled my work. I never got sliver disc, which
is the least among the discs for album performance, in terms
of sales.
Your brand of music has meaningful lyrics, which are at
times laced with moral lessons and philosophy, where do you
get your inspiration from?
It is a gift from God and the grace of God upon my life. I
don’t struggle to compose my songs, it is God who inspires
me.
At 74, you still perform at events. What is the secret of your
staying power in music?
As I mentioned earlier, it is the grace of God and then I sing
meaningful lyrics. My music is something one can rub on
oneself as a cream, and it is something one can wear as a
crown. My lyrics are beneficial to society, so as they come
forth people want to sing along with me, because it benefits
them, either in form of prayers or good wishes.
In a previous interview you said you had your “little share of
drinking and womanising;” What do you remember of those
“wild” days before you became an evangelist?
When I was a youth I behaved like a youth, life is in phases.
As a young man, there is a way one behaves, but now old
things have passed away, since I gave my life to God. Many
men of God also have their stories. It is for us not to go back
to those “old ways” anymore. No man was born holy. David
said ‘it was in sin that my mother conceived me.’ Through
Adam, man sinned, but Christ came to redeem us from our
sins.
Tell us about your marriage and how you met your late wife.
My late wife was a true companion. We were married for 48
years before God called her home. We met in one of my
friend’s house — her brother. Immediately she entered the
sitting room, I told my friend that she was my wife. One thing
led to the other, and we became husband and wife.
Do you plan to remarry?
If it is the will of God, I will remarry.
What else should we expect from you in terms of music?
I will continue to make myself available to the work of God
and serve humanity. Anything I can do to help humanity and
my nation, I will do. I still remain in music. I will continue to
use my music to propagate the gospel.
Do you have any regrets?
Not at all. I am happy for all God has done for me. At 74, one
really needs to thank God, because if you open the obituary
pages in the newspapers, you will discover people that were
50, 60 years or even younger, have died.
Your message to Nigeria as you clock 74?
We have made a big mistake in Nigeria, in the sense that
when we were making a lot of money from oil we ought to
have used that money to improve power, water supply etc.
We were supposed to have developed agriculture and invested
in the youth to have skill acquisition. By now we are
supposed to be eating our own home grown rice, because the
rice we are importing was planted.
Corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation and
destroyed the progress Nigeria should have made. What is
man looking for? We don’t need all the vanities of this world.
