By Bashir Adefaka
Alhaji Sefiu Alao a.k.a Omo Oko is a Fuji music star with a mind of his own. Based in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, the recipient of many chieftaincy titles and several awards of honour in his Abeokuta home, says in spite of all his riches, “I’m still working harder to attain the height in the profession.”  Excerpts:

How did you start out in life?

I am one of the Fuji musicians established here in Abeokuta. I was born in the 60s and attended African Primary School, Oke Igbore, Abeokuta from where I moved to Unity High School. I started my Fuji music in 1982 and I’m married with two children. My mother was an akara (bean-cake) seller and my father was a bicycle repairer. He also used to sell bicycles. I was with them helping them in their respective trade and work till the time I started Fuji.

What attracted you to Fuji?

Sefiu Alao

Fuji work to me was by chance and not as a result of my determination to really do it as a job. Like the story of other similar fuji musicians in those days, I was singing Fuji on the streets without any hope of making it a full time job. The reigning Fuji stars of the time were late Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, may Allah bless his soul and Alhaji Kollington Ayinla. No other ones except people like Monsuru Akande before the likes of Agbada Owo started singing Fuji. Those were our models in those days. That was the situation before I started my own Fuji in 1982.

How have you benefitted from Fuji?

Well, I thank God for everything. I have been recipient of many chieftaincy titles and series of awards. I am a chief of Idimu in Lagos; I got awards from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State Polytechnic and the University of Ibadan. I have been recognised even beyond Nigeria. I received several awards and in seveal countries including Austria and Ghana. I am a chief here in Abeokuta, Ogba Ashade in Lagos under His Royal Highness, Oba Ibrahim Ashade and I have been honoured with awards by many associations. Former Governor Gbenga Daniel also gave me award to show appreciation of what people described as good job.

What stands you out?

I do a lot of researches to ensure that whatever becomes the content of my work, tallies with current issues that people want to listen to and appreciate greatly. So much that I compose my songs myself. I then arrange those ideas in scripts in the order they should go. I have done about 27 albums. Kandoso ’90 was the first. All my albums are well circulated and accepted by people but Ojumo’re was the one that shut me up to stardom. Before Ojumo’re I had done three albums. So, Ojumo’re is number eight. After that I did collabo with Bayo Oju, Shina Akanni, Pasuma, Muri Thunder and Saheed Osupa.

When you look back. what comes to your mind?

Ah, this work? I feel within myself that I have not reached that stage. My position about the job is that, instead of one seeing this time as time to sit back and start counting blessings, this is the time to work harder and not to relent at all. So, one has work hard to make considerable impact. That is why nobody, at my level should sit back and say, “where we have reached is what they call success.”No, I haven’t got to that stage. I’m still at hustling stage (laughs). I’m still working harder to attain the height of the profession.

Why do you think your music is special?

The stage shows that what we do is more decent than the others. If you remember when Alhaji Barrister was alive, his work was different from Kollington’s and Kollington’s work is different from that of Wasiu Ayinde. So also you cannot compare Pasuma’s music to that of Obesere and you cannot compare Osupa’s work with that of Sefiu. Each and everyone of us is blessed with his talent. In my own case, I take after the old Fuji style the way it used to be sung by Ayinde Barrister. That’s why kings and very important personalities, who detest trouble_ridden party shows, look out for which Fuji musician will stage a decent work and who, while he plays, all the area boys will be calm and won’t make trouble. We also sing the old genre of the music.

How much did it cost to sign an album at that time?

We signed three albums for N5,000 in 1988. One thing about this job is that one has to serve his duty and I served my duty. I recorded 10 more albums after the first three but I did not finish when I turned back because I had already made my name and they too had started reaping their money. We had to go to court in a bid to free myself from the control of a record producer and that was where I got the freedom. If I want to sign any record now, I will take nothing less than N2.5 million and that is because of low sales returns. I see recording as writing examination; not until we have released it and have seen people’s acceptance or otherwise that we know the result of that examination. That is my own way of reasoning.

Most of you colleagues have more than one wife. Why is yours different?

It depends. It’s not only musicians that have many wives, transporters do. Even you pressmen do. Or are you saying there are no pressmen that have two or three wives? Even actors are talking about having many women because women develop interest in them right on TV set (laughs).

Yes! All celebrities, men or women, it is only God that guides them in this regard. There is no way out of developing interest in women except self discipline. It’s natural to love women but when you discipline yourself, you will not have beyond your ability. In a nutshell, the danger in having many wives is in the children’s upbringing. If you have five, six children and you give them good and quality training and they become successful in life; that is your own life achievement. That is a huge success But if you have eight or nine wives and you can’t fulfil your responsibility to them as husband: one asks for money you can’t afford it; the other asks for N10 you give her three naira, another one calls and because you merely see her name on phone you start to nag, that doesn’t make one’s life a better one. Because no doubt, one of them will work against your happiness sometime.

How do you cope with your health as a busy musician?

There is one important thing doctors tell us; they ask us to have enough rest and that when we sleep well, we won’t have problem with our health, and I have been doing that.