The entertainment giant who clocked 57 on Monday, March 3, 2014, couldn’t forget in a hurry the joy of the day he was born. According to the successful musician, March 3, 2014, was a very significant day in the history of his life as he was born 57 years ago, and in 1957.
The birthday was celebrated in a fun filled atmosphere at his Ule Ojusagbola, GRA, Ijebu, Ogun State palatial residence. Not only that, the fuji maestro also gave the hands of three of his beautiful daughters out in marriage. They are Idayat, Ameenat and Sekinat who got married on March 4, 6 and 9, 2014 respectively.In this interview with Encomium, Kwam 1 speaks on the weddings, his wealth and so much more.
How happy are you celebrating 57?
I am very happy for so many reasons. First, I was born on March 3, 1957, and I am 57 today. That alone is a big honour. Born 1957 and clocking 57, you can understand what I mean.
Looking back 10 years ago, what were the things you’re doing then that you can’t do again?
So many things. Even the way you react to situations, your utterances and everything you do must be very different because 57 is not just one age by the corner. It’s a big milestone. And you wouldn’t like to see yourself as a failure. If you’re unable to pack yourself together at 57, then you’re as good as a goner.
What would you say is your greatest achievement at 57?
A lot of great achievements. Basically, the Almighty God has been able to see me through the present situation I am in my musical career. Anytime I see the younger ones referring to me as Baba, I ask myself, ‘what is it exactly?’ And the guy referring to me as Baba is just 32 which is obvious I have his age mates among my children. So, if he refers to me as ‘Baba’, basically he knows what he is saying. To me, that’s the greatest achievement. Also, if your relevance is still very much potent, it’s a great achievement. And I enjoy the very best of health. I am not diabetic, I am not hypertensive. So many ailments a lot of people may be battling for 10 years, I thank God I am a healthy person. Except the situation of 2009 when I had to go for the correction of my lungs, which was successful. I also saw it as a very big achievement because many people had the same thing but they were unable to tell their stories themselves.
What’s the best way to attain success and sustain it because not everybody that starts it well is able to go far, what’s the secret?
Definitely, you get to understand every step that you take and judge it yourself. That will lead you to the next step you’re going to take. If you take a wrong step, definitely you know you have to correct it in your next move. If you have taken the right step, you know that you have to sustain it. So, it is called checks and balances. You don’t act like a hero or a super human being. There is no super human being anywhere. If you’re able to look at every step taken, everything you lay your hands on and you make a critical assessment of them and you identify where you’re to make necessary correction and you do it, you will be a super hero.
A lot of people believe K1 is very rich, can you tell us how rich you are?
I don’t know what people mean by being rich. If living comfortably and setting certain standards for yourself is what people refer to as being rich, then I am glad I am one. In terms of liquid cash, I have a job that could fetch me whatever amount I may need within the short moment. And on a long term, I have repertoire that can fetch me a lot of returns. And I am still very much in contention. Promoters of music still find my door step a place they could invest a huge amount. So, it continues like that. Not about the amount I have in my account. I have set a standard of living for myself and I am enjoying it.
How do you feel giving the hands of three of your daughters out in marriage almost at the same time?
I feel great. I am happy and fulfilled. I feel extremely joyful and great. I am so happy because it coincided with an unforgettable date, the date that probably comes once in one’s life time. 3-3-57 can’t come twice. I was born on March 3, 1957, which is 57 years ago. I gave out three of my daughters’ hands in marriage. That has been a very fantastic record so far. It’s a thing of joy. Idayat, who is a councilor at Lagos East Local Government was the first to wed on Tuesday, March 4, 2014 followed by Ameenat on Thursday, March 6. Then, Sekinat rounded it off on Sunday, March 9, 2014. They are all graduates. I trained them very well. I am very happy about that.
You planned it that way or it was just a coincidence?
Honestly, it wasn’t planned that way. We’re only planning one, then the second person said she was ready as well. Then, the third also said she was ready. I was expecting the third daughter to say no but she said she was also ready. May be, they all felt like so far this man has time now, why don’t we do everything at the same time, And the truth is that if we didn’t do everything now, my busy schedule would overtake them. I don’t know when next we could have done all the weddings. Election is coming up in Ekiti very soon, the same thing in Osun. It’s very obvious that I will be very much busy. By the time we’re out of that, we’re moving up to very many other states for the campaign for general elections. I am connected to so many things here and there. I will also travel out of the country on a musical tour. I may probably not have chance until maybe the end of 2015.
How many children do you have?
Whatever the number of children I may have, I have a lot of graduates among my children. Whatever it is, I am overjoyed about them because I have been able to do to my children what probably many people don’t expect a musician could have done for his children. I know many of Chief Ebenezer Obey’s children that are well read, I know many of King Sunny Ade’s children that attended good schools and so on. So, I am glad to be among those musicians that have tried for their children in terms of education. So, no matter the number of children I have, I thank God I have been able to send them to good schools. They attend some of the very best schools, home and abroad. But unfortunately, not that my parents didn’t want to send me to school but I lost my dad when that opportunity could have been there for me. And I can’t blame God for what happened. It wasn’t my father that was tired of life and killed himself. He never wanted to run away from his responsibilities. But I thank God, I have been able to do better things for myself. I have been able to speak to you people in a language that many people feel it’s only when you go to school that you can learn that. If I do not have a university certificate, the truth of it is that I am okay. And I am grateful to God for the little I have been able to put together for myself. Show me your friends, I tell you who you are.
You’re very close to your mother, what’s the greatest lesson she has taught you?
My mother has taught me a lot of lessons. If you see us laughing, holding each other that doesn’t stop her from scolding me if I do something wrong. If I do anything that’ not nice, she has to make an expression. That’s what I like about my mother. She may not raise a stick to hit me but she will talk to me in a way that I will feel proud that it’s my mother that’s correcting me. If I can’t listen to her, who else do I listen to? Very many people might be looking at my hand going into my pocket perhaps to give them something. When they want to say something derogatory, they may not say it again because they don’t want to see me remove my hand from my pocket. For my mother, if I have the money and I refuse to give her, it’s a curse on me. Whatever I do to her now is exactly what my children will do to me. That’s where the law of Karma comes in.
No comments:
Post a Comment