Rise And  Rise  Of Abeni Agbon | By Tunde Busari

Before I am wrongfully accused of bias, queuing behind female artistes, find time to watch Baba Wande film titled AGBABIAKA and see this woman known as Abeni Agbon at her best form of interpretation.

If you’re not impressed, go and watch ALABI ANIYAMETA. If you’re still not satisfied, three things should be given a serious thought. One, you’re lacking appreciative sensory organs or they are malfunctioning. So you don’t know difference between right and wrong. Two, you’re hater of the face of that woman. Three, you keep in your system incurable phobia for Yoruba films.

Despite known reasons to write Yoruba films off, there still are some pieces which you watch and pick few beneficial lessons and tips. And when an actor plays his or her character perfectly, I instantly enlist in the group of his or her fans until he or she proves otherwise due to complacency or abuse of stardom.

That is my connection with the outspoken woman who incidentally also comes from Osogbo like Iya Osogbo and yours sincerely. Perhaps you need to be an indigene to fully appreciate Abeni Agbon’s acting prowess, especially her diction which is the tongue of my people back home.

To restrict her is to cast Abeni Agbon as a Lagos woman. She may want to be professional by adhering strictly with what she has in her script. However, her delivery, with due respect, won’t sound 100%. That’s the power of our Osogbo tongue.

Baba Wande earns his attraction to viewers by his accent and comportment which are natural comedy content. If Iya Osogbo is asked of another actress to be so named, it is doubtful that she won’t pick Abeni Agbon who is also versed in incantations when featured as a warrior or witch.

In AGBABIAKA, she is the wife, the only wife of Baba Wande, always his match whenever he engages in his usually embarrassing talk in the public. Her actions in all scenes are real and inspiring. Same she does in ALABI ANIYAMETA in which she is the first wife to Yinka Quadri, a wealthy man in his community. There are two other wives but all the three are never friends for 24 hours. They must fight and trouble the peace of the household.

I never come in contact with the film from which she derived her Abeni Agbon stage name. Notwithstanding, I know stage name doesn’t follow actor off locations. The actor must have done justice to the character.

I am confident that Mrs Toyin Oladiran has her traditonal role for keep in the age young female artistes don’t seem to appreciate use of rich Yoruba language. They prefer admixture of bad Yoruba with bad English to give them worst expressions, thereby endangering mass communication. In this circumstance, Abeni Agbon will always get invited to locations.

She, however, needs to do adult classes to upgrade herself. Staring reality of her limitation in face, Lady Waka Queen Alhaja Salawa Abeni put aside her fame and became private class pupil. Today, she speaks acceptable English on live television.

If Abeni singer could do it successfully, you, Abeni Agbon can as well do even better. God bless the work of your talent.