Entertainment
Portable and eccentricity of stardom
In the course of my research into the work, Ayinla Omowura: Life and Times of an Apala Legend, I concluded that stardom and eccentricity are intertwined. One of my sources told me that one day in the late 1970s, Omowura, the late Yoruba musician, as a litigant in a matter that took place in an Abeokuta, Ogun State High Court, walked into the courtroom clutching a half-smoked wrap of burning marijuana. The judge was so scandalized that he shouted, “Get out of here! Where do you think you are!” apparently in deference to his stardom; otherwise, he should have been arrested forthwith.
Virtually all musicians parade one eccentric feature or the other. Iconic maestro, poet, philosopher and staunch defender of African rights, Winston Hubert MclnTosh, popularly known as Peter Tosh, was in this mould. Aside from his staunch belief, like many other Rastafarians, that smoking marijuana was a spiritual purification exercise, Tosh was extremely controversial and did not care whose ox was gored.
Tosh’s first major hit after separating from his friend, Bob Marley, was an atavistic album he called ‘Legalize It’ released in 1976. It uncompromisingly sang the praises of the banned narcotic called Indian hemp, lauding its alleged health benefits. Its album sleeve had him smoking marijuana chalice pipe in a countryside hemp plantation.
Tosh once told a 40-000-strong audience that he was not a man of peace as “peace” was “the diploma you get in the cemetery” because, on the tombstone, it is written, “Rest in Peace!” In his bassy voice, encrusted by heavy ganja he smoked anywhere, unabashedly, he shouted: “Hungry people are angry people.” His memorable words landed with a thud because earlier at the concert, he had ordered camera journalists whom he labelled “lickle pirates from America… wid dem camera and dem TV business” to cease filming him.
Barely five months after, Tosh was arrested by the police. He was mercilessly beaten and in the process, his skull was cracked. He only stayed alive by feigning that he had been murdered. This probably explains the recurrence of the brutality of Babylon (the police) in his songs. In his ‘Na go a’ jail track, he banalized the criminalisation of hemp smoking and made a mockery of the system which relentlessly hounded the weed smoker. “This here smoke that you see me with, sir, I just got it from an officer; And this here little bit of green Sensimilla, I just got it from an Inspector, He’s my friend… I hear one leader say, If it wasn’t for the little Sensi, Him no know what happens to the economy; I see another leader, Go in a Half Way Tree, And he set them ganja prisoners free…” he sang, stating that even the priest smoked marijuana.
In one of his vinyl, Sakara music great, Yusuf Olatunji, once threw away the prudery associated with African elders. He sang that he once went to Ibadan on a musical engagement and his host dashed him a “baby” to please his soul. You would think that women were commodities to be given out as gratification of souls. On getting home, said Olatunji, he couldn’t narrate what transpired to his wife. “O se mi l’alejo o, mi o je rohin fun’yawo mi file o, o fi baby kan ke mi, en o gba’rohin nij’o ti mo dealer,” he sang.
The eccentricity of Fela Anikulapo Kuti was also largely known. From marrying 27 wives in one day, to publicly smoking weed and appearing almost naked in public. When musician, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, got embroiled with the law for refusing to honour police invitation, he merely fed into the troll of the eccentricity of musicians. Last Tuesday, videos of how he pelted policemen with curses after their attempt at getting him arrested for rough-handling some men of the Nigeria police hit the internet. At the expiration of the 72-hour ultimatum given him by the police, as I write this, he is said to have been locked up in a police cell at Eleweran, Abeokuta, preparatory to his arraignment in court. Police alleged that it acted based on a petition written to it by a Nigerian studio owner whose office the musician allegedly destroyed while ordering “his boys” to beat him up.
Half-literate, Portable, like most of the musicians of his ilk, is alleged to romance the banned substance Rastafarians call African herb. Sometimes, he lapses into incoherence that probably speaks to some mental disconnect but the depth of his musical rendition is most times confounding.
It is gladsome that the Ogun state police spoke of how the law is no respecter of persons and thus, the need to arraign Portable in court. It must also follow it to the letter. Its public relations officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, had said that the police believed “that you are an artiste or a star does not make you above the law… and the law is no respecter of anybody”. Those interested in fine-tuning celebrities and stars should take a deeper interest in Portable. I have written of how Brenda Fassie, a South African diva, died of drug addiction, denying her fans her great talents. The question is, can’t eccentric behaviour be divorced from artistry? I fear that Portable stands the risk of being swallowed by the tide of his eccentricity. Like his predecessors.
Dr Adedayo, a journalist, lawyer and columnist writes from Ibadan, Oyo state
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.
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.
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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