United States of America-based fuji musician, Dada Akanni Daddington, in this recent, live radio interview with Mogaji Kola Olootu on Lagelu 96.7fm revealed how he was cheated and frustrated by some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State during the boisterous era of former Governors Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja and Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala… Read the excerpts as transcribed by PMParrot’s Dare Raji and Olufemi Aremu here:
How did you meet your promoter who facilitated your move to America?
When it is time for fortune to smile on someone, nobody can stop it. I had once pursued it around 1992 and I sold my musical instruments in order to facilitate my travelling that time. Unfortunately, I did not know that some people had envisaged that I would be traveling. One day, I went to play and after I was done and I got to my car where I parked it, it had been broken into and all my travelling papers and document that I gathered had been taken away.
I am very sure that if they did not steal my travelling documents, I would have been granted the visa that time. Nevertheless, if I had travelled then and got caught up in the 9/11 twin bomb blast in 2021, what would have happened?
So, how were you able to travel out eventually?
One day, I was driving home and my car broke down around Orita police station in Ibadan and in the course of waiting, I received a call from someone who said some promoters had been trying to reach me from America. I quickly followed this link. The rest is history today. Anyway, not long afterwards, that was how I found myself in the United States of America.
Why did you decide to relocate to the United States of America?
I experienced a lot of things in Nigeria before I travelled. I suffered a lot for politicians, may Baba Lamidi Adedibu rest in peace, I passionately supported him, went through hell for him, but I never profited from him and the party, I was never given anything, not even a vehicle. I am currently on air and I am challenging anyone to come out and point to the car they gave me in my garage. The first Ibadan rally during the time of Gov. Lam Adesina, I performed there with (Abass) Obesere, his car even broke down on our way back but I handled everything to get the car moving again.
During the rally for (Senator Rasheed) Ladoja when we toured the 33 LGAs in Oyo State, I was the one who performed in all the political rallies, nobody supported me, the only one whom I can say did support me was Femo Lankasta and he only supported me with the production of the CDs we were playing in the car during the rallies in the time of Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, I did all the campaign outings with them, all! May Akala rest in peace, though he settled everybody but mine didn’t get to me and I wouldn’t want to disclose how that happened, it’s gone now.
If God has a purpose for one, He will surely fulfill it, and God compensated me with the fact that I was able to relocate to the United States of America after many failed attempts.
When was your saddest day in life as a Musician?
My saddest day as a musician was the day Oyo PDP came to stage their campaign at Molete, Ibadan and I wasn’t invited to join. I wasn’t even aware at all, and what made it worse was that some people hinted me about the rally and even asked if I had ditched the party for another party whereas I was still a party member. It was the people who didn’t know how we began from the scratch or suffered any heat that were asked to reap from my own sweat.
In all these, I thank God because He has compensated me and even my producer as well, Adeniyi Adebayo Ogoro. The music I made that I didn’t benefit from in Nigeria was the same music that God used in facilitating my relocation abroad. I didn’t go there for vacation; I went there for a musical performance.
I was so depressed and disappointed and I had a million thoughts about my life. I looked at myself and wept, the same Daddington that people used to come to his house for their daily bread is now living an opposite life because I joined politics.
There was this senator whose name I will not mention, a protégé of Baba Adedibu, when he wanted to campaign then, he was always running after me prostrating and begging me to come and sing at his rally, the day I got my American Visa and I went to him for help, he didn’t give me a dime.
Can you speak of your most embarrassing moment in life?
It was an unforgettable moment; it was the day I was attacked by Senator Rasheed Ladoja’s thugs around Lagos. It was during the political imbroglio between Rasheed Ladoja and Alao Akala, his deputy. It was during that period that the court gave a judgment that restored Ladoja as the governor. In fact, I escaped death because I was lucky. They destroyed all my musical equipment because I was accused of supporting Baba Adedibu’s camp. All the promises made to me by one powerful senator were not fulfilled till date.
What advice would you give intending travelers?
America is a land of opportunities. I will advise that they should remain law-abiding citizens and engage in legitimate business. I am into other legitimate businesses apart from music.
What lessons can Nigerian politicians learn from their European counterparts?
Nigeria politicians should learn from their USA and European counterparts. They are very organized and they follow due process. They aren’t like ours here who disregard civil law and oppress innocent citizens. If you are an elected senator and you claim you have one house and later acquire other properties while serving as a lawmaker, you will account for it. You cannot use another person’s name to acquire properties. Such individuals will be arrested.
When was your most memorable day in life?
It was the day I arrived in the United States of America. I came in through Atlanta Georgia. I was asked a series of questions before I was allowed to enter America. I even thought they would deport me because of the series of probing questions I was asked.
What lessons have you learnt in life?
I can never work for any politician in my life again.
