Entertainment
Ayinla Omowura Vs Ayinde Barrister: His Atheistic Declaration | By Tunde Busari
While dissecting the campaigns of Napoleon, a renowned philosopher of war, Carl van Clausewitz wrote: “We do claim that direct annihilation of the enemy’s forces must always be the dominant consideration.. once a major victory is achieved there must be no talk of rest, of breathing space…but only of the pursuit, going for the enemy again, seizing his capital, attacking his reserves and anything else that might give his country aid and comfort.”
The summary of Clausewitz postulation is that enemy must be fought totally and crushed in totality. That must have been the mindset of the late, Apala maestro, Alhaji Ayinla Omowura towards Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister when Omowura was hit by realization that he needed to fight Barrister and kill what he dubbed fuji music at infancy. How?
It is an unwritten ethics that two warring musicians must restrict themselves to the use of innuendo and metaphor to get at each other and satisfy their respective promoters and fans. But Omowura shattered the law and fired a direct salvo at Barrister to unmask any veil from the target of his hot lead. In his elpee released in 1979, the overly confident Omowura sang:
Ayinde
Ki o ma se je n gbo o
Pe mo ji e lorin lo
Ko je je bee
Oro apara niii
Omowura’s non-conformist choice was deliberate to splash a mud onto the face of Barrister’s identity and reduce him to a weeping boy in the community of music lovers. On the strength of the school of Clausewitz, Omowura needed to be pardoned because he had measured the astronomic rise of Barrister and felt the danger it could and indeed would constitute to his fame and stability.
He had seen the then 30-year-old Barrister leading his full band to a musical tour in the UK in 1978. He had heard about his exploits in that tour, at least the one which Barrister narrated in his ‘London Special’, a vynl, released on his return to Nigeria. He had observed how social and political elites were outdoing one another to have Barrister performed at their functions before and after the general elections which ushered in the Second Republic on October 1, 1979 and returned the soldiers to the barracks after 13 uninterrupted years in power.
Most importantly, Omowura had remembered the effect which his voluntary engaging Barrister for naming ceremony for his baby in 1974 had on his fans base.
Relying on Dr Festus Adedayo in his famous book titled AYINLA OMOWURA: LIFE AND TIMES OF AN APALA LEGEND published in 2020, a copy of which he autographed for me on May 1, 2020, Barrister’s acceptance was noticeably on ascendancy as early as 1974.
On page 127, he wrote: “The relationship between Omowura and Barrister was really very close until 1974 when the former invited him to sing at the naming ceremony of one of the children given birth to by one of his wives, which held in Mushin. By then, it was gathered that Barrister had climbed up in musical reckoning as well as such, when Omowura invited him to come and sing for his guests at the naming ceremony, which he gladly accepted, there was no way that Barrister’s fast growing acceptance in the musical world wouldn’t be at cross-purposes with Omowura’s who saw himself as the numero uno among Yoruba musicians…It was gathered that at this time in 1974, Barrister had got to challenge the favoured and highly reckoned musical top class like Ebenezer Obey and Sunny Ade at the duo’s musical dens in Yaba, Lagos State.”
If the same author could turn round seven months later and write: “If Omowura had not died, there would never have been the Barrister who supervised over the traditional Yoruba African music stratosphere of the 80s to 2010 like a wild wind,” then I should show understanding that every mortal can slip at one time or the other.
But with the above reference, Omowura could obviously not have obstructed Barrister’s invasion of the indigenous musical space because Barrister had already depleted Omowura’s fans at Omowura’s party due to his classy performance which magnetised Omowura’s fans on dance floor. What later became Alhaji Chief Sikiru Ayinde Barrister Fans Club paradoxically started from the balkanization of Omowura fans in Mushin, a situation which set the tone for the rivalry and fight which Omowura fought to the finish in May 6, 1980.
Islam, Christianity and African Traditional Religion recognise the paramountcy of a supreme being and influence of destiny in man’s journey on the surface of the earth. Every believer in God, therefore, should and must recognize that whatever he will or won’t become in life is inscribed on the sheet of his or her destiny.
Yes, Omowura’s prodigious body of lyrical compositions are incontrovertible. They are even more evident in the ongoing Tunde Kelani publicised production in Abeokuta. Yet, Omowura did not create, neither did he write Barrister’s destiny. So, Dr Adedayo’s claim, ko je je be, oro apara niiiiii
Entertainment
Eight Stabbed, Hundreds Arrested at Notting Hill Carnival
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that eight people were stabbed and hundreds were arrested during last weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s largest street festivals, held annually in west London.
In an update on their policing operation late Monday, the Met reported that five people were stabbed on the final day of the three-day celebration, which is internationally renowned for its vibrant display of British Afro-Caribbean culture.
This followed three other stabbings on Sunday. Three of the victims were left in life-threatening conditions.
Police made at least 230 arrests on Monday alone, including 49 for possession of an offensive weapon.
These arrests added to the scores of others made earlier in the weekend. In addition to the arrests, three firearms were seized, and 35 officers sustained injuries during the event, which attracts around a million attendees every August bank holiday weekend.
The number of arrests and incidents this year closely mirrors last year’s figures when there were 10 stabbings and approximately 300 arrests.
Despite the heavy police presence, with around 7,000 officers deployed, the carnival was once again marred by violence, particularly knife crime. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of revellers enjoyed the event without incident, filling the streets of Notting Hill with colour, music, and dancing.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Ade Adelekan expressed his frustration over the recurring violence, noting that a woman attending the carnival with her child was among those stabbed.
“We only very narrowly avoided a fatality,” he said, urging attendees to report any crimes they witness.
The Notting Hill Carnival, a celebration of British Afro-Caribbean culture, has its roots in the 1950s, following the post-World War II influx of immigrants from former British colonies.
The annual event is known for its feathered dancers, steel bands, and earth-shaking sound systems, symbolizing the rich cultural heritage of the Afro-Caribbean community in the UK.
Entertainment
Portable Granted Bail After Night in Police Cell Over ₦14m Debt
The Lagos State Police Command has freed renowned street artist, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, following a night spent in police detention.
Portable was apprehended on Tuesday in Lagos’ Abule Egba vicinity for purportedly defaulting on the balance payment for a G-Wagon vehicle he had purchased from an auto dealer.
Reports suggest that although the ‘Zazoo Zeh’ maestro acquired the vehicle valued at ₦27 million, he only disbursed ₦13 million, leaving a ₦14 million outstanding balance.
In footage that went viral, Portable was observed scaling a gate as law enforcement officers approached him with an arrest warrant.
Subsequently, another video emerged depicting him being restrained, handcuffed, and conveyed by approximately four policemen into a waiting vehicle.
During the altercation, a female voice, purportedly that of the car dealer, was heard in the background, issuing profanities and recounting Portable’s alleged threats when confronted about settling the debt.
The Police spokesperson in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that Portable was released on bail on Wednesday after spending Tuesday night in police custody.
He further disclosed that both Portable and the car dealer are expected to reconvene at a later date.
“He (Portable) has been released; he was granted bail on Wednesday to come back with the complainant later,” Hundeyin stated, stressing that “the outcome of that meeting will determine our next line of action.”
This incident marks not the first encounter between the singer and law enforcement.
In April 2023, Portable was detained by the police in Ogun State and arraigned on five charges related to alleged assault and theft at the Ifo Magistrate Court, in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Subsequently, he was held at the Ilaro Correctional Centre before being released upon meeting bail conditions.
Entertainment
Autopsy Results Fail to Determine Cause of Mohbad’s Death
In a recent inquiry into the untimely demise of Nigerian musician, Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as Mohbad, held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof. Sunday Osiyemi, a Forensic Scientist and Pathologist, revealed that the results of the autopsy conducted on the deceased failed to unveil the cause of death.
Speaking before Magistrate Adedayo Shotobi, who presided over the coroner’s inquiry, Prof. Osiyemi cited various factors contributing to the inconclusive findings, notably the significant decomposition of the body due to the extended delay of 21 days before the autopsy was performed.
Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Wahab Shittu, representing Mohbad’s family, emphasised that according to the pathologist, the body should have been exhumed within 12 hours post-burial to prevent decomposition, a critical factor in determining the cause of death.
Shittu further elucidated that the pathologist referenced the administration of certain drugs to Mohbad before his demise, suggesting a potential correlation between the drugs and the difficulties encountered in pinpointing the cause of death.
“He also went further to say that it may be attributed to reactions to certain drugs administered on him before he died. Again he then qualified that to say he does not know whether it is those drugs that actually led to his death,” Shittu stated.
With the cause of death remaining elusive, the coroner adjourned the proceedings to June 11th for further examination and cross-examination of the pathologist’s findings, signaling a continuation in the quest for answers surrounding Mohbad’s untimely passing.
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