Veteran musician, Michael Adedayo, popularly known as Micho Ade Sunny Ibadan has revealed he remained neutral in those day of serious rivalry between top juju musicians, King Sunny Ade and Chief Commander, Ebenezer Obey.
He said, “I used to maintain a neutral stance in those days when King Sunny Ade and Chief Commander, Ebenezer Obey, used to quarrel. I was not partisan because that was when I started my music career, and I never took sides to be in the camp of either of the two respected musicians”.
He further stated the joy of being a professional musician and the advantages of choosing a career as a musician in the entertainment industry outweighs the disadvantages, revealing that his children are also taking after him in the music industry.
He said, “I am very happy that God made me a musician. My children can sing but they have not gone professional, they have their chosen professions where they make their livelihoods”.
The musician further revealed that his predicament and challenging situations in the 1990’s inspired him to release the hit song ‘Oju Ogun laye’ that later became a household anthem in the country.
“My challenging predicaments between January to December 1990 inspired me to release the album, I passed through a difficult time during those periods and it encouraged me to release the hit. I looked around the varying circumstances that men, women, and the society were passing through and it motivated me to release the hit song ‘Mi omo pe oju ogun laye”.
The ace musician further revealed that King Sunny Ade is his most admired musician and role model in the music industry and that his music is always an inspiration to him.
He further stated that he would have loved to be in the Law profession if he was not a musician “While I was in the primary school precisely primary five, my teacher gave me a name, Barrister at Law because I used to ask reasonable and critical questions in the class”.
When asked to speak on the roles of musicians are supposed to play in the fight against the bad policies of government, “Nigerian musicians have been speaking against societal ills; personally, I have released many albums where I spoke against bad policies too. Love, justice, peace and collective fight against corruption is the solution to the present predicament that Nigeria and Nigerians are facing”.
Speaking further, he stated that he released an album in the year 1987 to sensitize the government on the predicament of Nigerian musicians but the government has not been proactive and sensitive to their plights.
The Septuagenarian musician gave these submissions while featuring on a weekly radio show, ‘Ayekooto on Radio’ anchored by Olayinka Agboola and broadcast live on Lagelu 96.7 FM, Felele Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State’s on Tuesday evening.
Speaking on how he is able to cope with pressure from female fans, “All my female fans are my wives because they are my supporters and admirers”.
He also took time off to reveal that his happiest moment was when he travelled outside Nigeria to Europe. He explained that the day remains evergreen in his memory, as he was the only black man among numerous foreigners at that time.
He, however, revealed that he got his stage name ‘Micho Ade’ as an inspiration from God while assuring his supporters of his determination to release a new album before December 2021 stating that the new album is full of mysteries relating to the society.
Packaged by Dare Raji and Olawale Awe
