Secret of my 45 years relationship with Abiola Ogundokun — Otunba Adisa Osi-Efa | Says “Fuji started & ended with Barrister” + His relationship with Obey & KSA

Otunba Adisa Osi-Efa to Asabeafrika…’Abiola Ogundokun is a very rare Nigerian. Well connected’
Otunba Adisa Osi-Efa is a prominent Lagos socialite of Epe
origin. He has reigned in the Lagos social circle for 50 consecutive years with
his name toping most musical albums of local artistes like the Late Alhaji Agba, Dr. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister,
General Kollington Ayinla, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade and many others.

However, among all the Nigerian Musician living or dead, it was the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister who did much on
this Lagos born business man who is into oil and gas, hospitality and real
estate business. Recently, Otunba Adisa
Osi-Efa
who had his early education in London gave an exclusive interview
to your Africa’s number 1 Celebrity Encounter blog, Asabeafrika inside the Festac, Lagos mansion of High Chief Abiola Ogundokun, Publisher
of CONSCIENCE INTERNATIONAL Magazine
and the Balogun Musulumi of Iwo land. Otunba Osi-Efa who is an uncle to the present Lagos State Governor,
Mr. Akiwunmi Ambode was a special
guest of honor at the wedding of Chief
Ogundokun’s
daughter, Uyioghosa
Ogundokun
to Edo big boy, Osagie
Elaiho
. The 74 years old socialite told us the secret of his 50 years stay
on the social scene, his over 40 years relationship with Chief Ogundokun and
why he is highly respected by top Nigerians Musicians. Enjoy the excerpts.

The GDA chatting with Epe born socialite, Chief Adisa Osi-Efa

Sir, you have been a friend of Chief
Abiola Ogundokun for several years, how will you describe the friendship?
Abiola Ogundokun is a very good friend for a very
long time and a top socialite. He is, and he has been very kind to everybody. I
will describe him as a lovely man, known to a lot of people. He is well
connected in the society.
I think your friendship is three
decades old, how were you able to manage the friendship for that long?
We tolerate
each other, friends do offend each other but we have never quarreled, we have
never quarreled. We have been friends for more than thirty years. I have known
him since early 1970s. I was area manager, Flower Mills of Nigeria and he was in Daily
Times
. That is a long time. He was a practicing journalist before he
went into politics and join NPN.
He is giving out his daughter today,
how do you feel about Uyi Ogundokun’s marriage to Osagie Elaiho?
Well, it is
a happy occasion, everybody wants this kind of occasion to come and it has come
and when we are all alive.

Otunba Adisa Osi-fa to Asabeafrika….’Get Barrister’s album and you will have a full data on me’

How would you describe life in your
younger days, when you look back retrospectively, would you say you regret the
fact that Nigeria is turning this bad during the time of your own children?
No regret,
because we enjoyed our own time. The question is for the young people of
nowadays to consider weather life is good or bad; as far as I am concerned, I
enjoyed my youthful age. I was in the United Kingdom; I grew up in the United
Kingdom
when I was twenty-something until thirty something when I came
back to Nigeria.
Why did you return to Nigeria? Some
young people would have stayed back because of the peck of a well organized
society?
No, no, not
during my own period. Nigeria was good, and if you are educated, you will want
to come back. I am educated. I became Area Manager for Flour
Mills
Golden Penny. That is a grade A company, so, how would I have
stayed in the UK? (Laughs)


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Otunba Adisa Osi-Efa with his best friend, High Chief Abiola Ogundokun

Why I couldn’t stay in the UK…
Yes, I know but a lot of people
studied and became professors only for the society to make them stay behind to
work but you must have been patriotic to have returned home?
Well,
everybody has his choice, Nigeria is my choice. And another factor is that I
don’t want to stay in a place where I am a second class citizen. Everybody
knows me in Nigeria, most people,
especially in this western region. So, I enjoy my life here but if you are in
the UK,
you are on your own. Nobody knows you; you are just a second class citizen. In Nigeria, I can see anybody I want to
see. If I want to see the Governor of Lagos State, I will go and see him. So,
why would I prefer that kind of situation in the UK where you cannot see even the MP to where I can see my governor,
see a commissioner and see anybody.; so, I cherish the integrity that comes
with living in Nigeria and that was
one of the cardinal reasons why I returned home after studying in the UK.

“So, you can’t run away from the fact
that Obey is great, Sunny is great. It is different when it
comes to Fuji (Music)
classification, it is different. It is different from Juju especially when you are talking about those two people. But
when you are talking about Fuji,
nobody near to Barrister; it is not
a matter of who is better, who is great, everybody knows Barrister the creator, the legend is far away from everybody”

Otunba Adisa Osi-Efa to Asabeafrika….’I think at 74 i have had the best of life’

How was growing up for Otunba Osiefa?
I am from a
polygamous home, oh, it is a pity you don’t know me. Go and play (late Sikiru
Ayinde) Barrister’s record. So many, so many; go and play Fuji Vibration. Go and look
for it and you will see how he sang in my honor. You will get to know a lot
about me. There are so many of such titles he did on me, his songs are like a
mobile memoir of my history. Then, you will have heard where he sang ‘Omo
Alufa N’la to ya agbojule loojo’
. ‘Omo sotun ojo tana, oko ojo keji?’
Are you not a Barrister fan? (Asked disturbingly)
Sir, I am sorry, I started listening
to Barrister when I was in my teenage years but I was never deep into him like
I did with King Sunny Ade and Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey? Of course, I love
Barrister because he sings philosophy?
There is no
way you will like Barrister that you will not know me.
Sir, Otunba Osi-efa is from Epe land,
how did you feel for the first time that an Epe son, Mr. Akiwunmi Ambode was
elected Governor of Lagos State?
It is the
greatest; it is the happiest time of my life. He (Ambode) is like my son. My
mother is from Edu family and his own mother too is from Edu family. That is Ambode;
we are on that side, we are from the same family. He is a great man, a very
dynamic administrator and I am proud that he became a Governor in my life time.
Today when you see young people rushing
to greener pastures abroad, what do you feel for them? Do you think they are
missing it?
I don’t feel
anything for them; I don’t feel pity for them because it is their choice. It
depends, you can live anywhere. I left, even when Nigeria was good, that was
the time I left for the UK. I did not even have a visa.
Ah, ah, so, how did you do the magic
of getting to London?
I went
through Dublin, from Dublin down to Liverpool and that was
how I entered the UK then and I
stayed for ten years. I studied, and I had post graduate. You know, anybody can
do that. Some people leave America
which supposed to be the richest continent in the world and they come to Nigeria to settle down or go elsewhere.
You don’t leave a country simply because it is bad or good. If it is good for
you, it is good for you. If it is bad for you, then it is bad for you. If a
place is bad for you it doesn’t mean it is bad for everybody. So, anybody can
leave Nigeria. You can make your
choice and live anywhere. If you decide today, if after becoming a minister,
you can even decide to go and live in another place, does it not happen? We
have seen Nigerian ministers who relocate to go and stay in Dubai, America or even London.
Anywhere is good for you, it depends how you rate it psychologically. I can’t
stay anywhere except Nigeria.

Otunba Adisa Osi-Efa to Asabeafrika…’I never liked to be a second class citizen in Europe, that was why I returned’

What did you studied in the UK?
I did
Business Studies and  post graduate
Management Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University
and Liverpool
John Moore University
.
The quality of education in your days
was so high; do you think it has drastically dropped today?
You mean in
this country?
Yes, sir!
It has
dropped terribly in this country.
So, what do you think is responsible
for this and what is the panacea?
Yes, it has
dropped and the reason why it has dropped is because money voted for education
is not being spent on education. Everything is due to corruption, there is an
amount of budget specified by UNESCO for the development of education in every
developing nation but corruption has eroded the opportunity. When I left for
the UK
with school certificate, it was accepted over there. School cert in Nigeria,
they regarded it as equivalent of GCE—O’
level
. But now, if you take Nigeria’s university degree down to the UK, you
have to start all over again. Except you want to do masters. But let’s say, you
are in the third year here and you leave for the UK and you say you want to
continue, ‘no, you won’t be allowed, you will start all over’. That is because
the standard here is very, very low.

High
Chief Abiola Ogundokun (R) The Oluwo of Iwo Kingdom, Oba Abdulrasheed
Adewale Akanbi with Chief Alani Bankole the Oluwo of Iporo-Sodeke,
Abeokuta

I & Barrister….
So, how would you describe your
relationship with late Alhaji Agba, Dr. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister? Do you think
we lost a music genius in him?
We will
never have another Barrister. On a radio interview titled ‘Nigba Tiwa’, I told Adisa Kowe, the interviewer, I said ‘Barrister, when it comes to Fuji Music, he
is the beginning and the end’.
Why did you say so when we have other
successful Fuji Musicians after him?
Because that
is what it is, five years now, what do you hear about Fuji anymore?
But we still have K1 De Ultimate and
Kollignton Ayinla is around?
K1?
Yes, sir!
K1 is my boy. He is Barrister’s boy. I
am a father to Barrister; so, K1 is my boy. All the musicians know
me, there is no musician in this country that doesn’t know me, even KSA,
OBEY,
K1,
Adewale
Ayuba
, Kollington; there is no musician that does not know me.
Ok, sir, who would you say is the
best Nigerian Fuji musician for now?
You mean
among those who are living?
Yes, sir!
Don’t drive
me into controversy (Laughter). All of them are either my boy or my friend.
They are either my boy or my friend. Somebody like Kollington now is not my
boy, he is a friend. I spoke with him about a week ago, he called me. People
like Adewale
Ayuba
are my younger ones, Obesere is my boy, Pasuma,
mention any of them. Anybody, anybody in the Fuji land must know me.
KSA is a Legend…
King Sunny Ade is presently on a tour
of North America for his 70th birthday in September. Do you think it
is okay he started abroad?
I don’t even
know about that, I didn’t know he is commemorating his 70th birthday
with activities abroad. All I know is that KSA; Alade as I call him is a
legend.
Did you say legend?
Yes, he is a
legend. He is gifted, highly gifted. Not just gifted, he is highly gifted. He
is everything, when it comes to Juju music, KSA…
(Cuts in) I hope you won’t create bad
blood with your ratings of Old Juju Musicians because you cannot run away from
the fact that Commander Ebenezer Obey too is there? 
Yes, yes,
Obey is there. I agree. Obey is a personal friend. I can
call him now and he will answer but I have been closer to KSA.
Good, so who is the best Juju
Musician among the two?
(Prolong
Laughter) No best. No first, no second. They are great. Both of them are
legends.
Oh, you agreed that both KSA &
Obey are legends and no best among them?
You know,
look, Obey’s music is philosophical, it is very philosophical and
when you go to Sunny, you cannot run away. Both of them are just too good in
their creativity. They are damn too good.

The GDA meets Otunba Adisa Osi-Efa

Someone actually said Obey is the
king of Miliki while KSA is the king of Ariya? Do you agree?
In those
days, yes, when we had Ariya Night Club at Jibowu, we were
there. Jibowu loves KSA and we will go there. And Miliki
Spot
at Yaba, you will be there except you didn’t grow up in Lagos. So,
you can’t say I love only Sunny, I don’t go to Obey.
If you do so, it means you don’t know music. If you like Music, both of them
were great, very, very great. This past June, I was in Liverpool, my senior
brother was on a sick bed and they were playing Obey record for him and
he told me he loves Obey so much. I have to call Obey from Liverpool and I
gave the telephone to my brother to speak to him and Commander (Obey) promised
me anytime he was in Liverpool he
will go and see him. So, you can’t run away from the fact that Obey
is great, Sunny is great. It is different when it comes to Fuji
(Music) classification, it is different. It is different from Juju
especially when you are talking about those two people. But when you are
talking about Fuji, nobody near to Barrister; it is not a matter of who
is better, who is great, everybody knows Barrister the creator, the legend is
far away from everybody. That is what Barrister
is. Then, the remaining ones (in Fuji Music) can say ‘I am the best, I am this,
and I am that’.
They can start fighting for the crown of Fuji (Laughter)
How old are you, sir. Your friend
High Chief Ogundokun just clocked 80 recently and I was here to interview him?
I was born
1942, so I am 74.
So, what is the secret of your smart
shape, I mean you look 50 something, actually?
Well, it is
simple. When you are gifted health wise, you will always look younger than your
age. Look at Ogundokun now, at 80 you can see him moving around hosting
everybody here today. So, he is a different person.

Otunba Adisa Osi-Efa; the socialite loved by Barrister, Kollington, KSA & Obey

Is it food or exercise or what gives
you this shape? Tell me more about the secret of looking feat at 74?
I don’t
think there any secret, It is God’s gift. I have seen people who don’t drink,
who don’t smoke and yet they have bad health and still die. Okay, let me tell
you this story, there was an English man who lived up to 90 years and when he
was asked, what the secret of his longevity is, he said ‘smoking’. How did that
happen? He was travelling in an airbus and because he smokes, he was asked to
go and sit at the rear end of the plane, near the toilet. The plane eventually
crashed but he was saved. Every other person perished but it didn’t affect his
own end as that part was safely severed away from the other part and didn’t get
burnt. So, as far as he was concerned, smoking saved him or else he would have
been allowed to sit at the normal place everyone sits and he would have
perished with many other passengers on that flight. So, that is life for you. I
think good health is all about good genes. If you have it, you have it. For me,
it is good gene.
Do you have a philosophy of life?
Nothing
much: live and let’s live. Make the best of your time and make haste when the
sun shine, that is my philosophy of life.

The GDA with the Otunba

Any role model
Except the
person is a white man, I don’t have a role model around. Maybe I will need to
search for the name of a white man who has done something great. Yes, because
we lack honest people in this country, I would have said President Muhammad
Buhari
but he is a soldier. Why I said I would have taken him as my
role model is because people like him are very rare to come by, people who are
very, very honest. People who are not materialistic, people who loves to build
society and not ruin society. President Buhari is indeed a very
honest soul and I love him for that but because he is a soldier, I can’t tell
you he is my role model. I am a civilian and I respect the principle of his
training. If I am to look for a role model, I will look for a white man because
the white don’t live for themselves but live for humanity. And that is what I
represent. I live for humanity.

The Otunba and The High Chief sharing a joke at Chief Ogundokun’s daughter’s wedding

What about your wife and kids?
Yes, I am
married with grown up children and I have about 8 graduates who studied both in
the UK, USA and Nigeria. I am proud to have been able to raise such gentle men
and ladies. I am fulfilled because I am still actively in business. If you look
at my complimentary card which I gave you, you will discover that I run several
businesses from oil and gas to hospitality and real estate. I am very okay and
I thank God for His lasting blessings over my life. I belong to several
community building societies. I do my best for mankind and leave the rest.