- Controversy rages over true identity of pretty woman found in Ibadan
Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Ever listened to an evergreen 1972 hit album ‘Board Members’ released by one of Nigeria’s foremost juju musicians, Ebenezer Fabiyi Obey? In the album he sang about one paragon of beauty, Sade, the wife of Ajala.
Investigation revealed that back then, it was a big deal if Ebenezer Obey or King Sunny Ade (Chief Sunday Adegeye) mentioned you in a record. It meant that the person was important and if not, the person would become important and popular.
The album was released 46 years ago at a time musicians have not started audio-visual recording of their songs, but only audio. This made it probably impossible for the general populace to match the name with her face, except those that were active players in the music industry then.
In search of Sade
Where is the beautiful Sade today? Where does she live? What does she do for a living? How did she manage her fame and beauty? What about her family? These are some of the questions those that have heard about the beauty of Sade have not been able to find answers to for many years.
However, few days ago, a post went viral on the social media on the pretty Sade that Obey eulogised her beauty in the album. The post was accompanied with her blurred picture at the gate of the Nigerian Red Cross building, Onireke, Ibadan.
The post read: “Do you remember Sade in the evergreen Ebenezer Obey’s record? ‘…Ore mi ka ma paro, ka mu tegan kuro, Sade dara lobinrin…Ajala travelled all over the world….’ That pretty Sade is now a destitute being catered for by the Red Cross in Ibadan. …”
In the album, she’s simply referred to as Sade: ‘Ore mi kama paro, ka mu t’egan kuro, Sade dara l’obinrin’ (My friends, to say the truth, without flattering, Sade is a very beautiful lady).
Obey sang about one Sade Ajala in the same track he also sang about one of the foremost Nigerian icons, Olabisi Ajala, a globe-trotter, who supposedly travelled to 87 countries. The title of the track is ‘Ajala-Alhaja.’
The lyric goes thus: ‘Alajala mi Omo Olola, Alajala mi Oko Alhaja Sade; Alajala mi Omo Olola, Alajala mi Oko Alhaja Sade; Ore mi kama paro, ka mu t’egan kuro, Sade dara l’obinrin; Ajala travel all over the world, Ajala travel all over the world, Ajala travels, Ajala travels, Ajala travel all over the world.’
As gathered, Sade was one of the wives of Ajala, which made Ebenezer Obey to mention her in the track, he sang for Ajala 46 years ago. But Ajala reportedly died on February 2, 1999.
Some reports published after his demise stated that only two of his children were by his bedside at the time he breathed his last, adding that for more than a year to his death, Ajala suffered from stroke, which left him paralyzed on his left limb, and that his first wife, who resided in Ikotun in Lagos could not find time to see him before he died in his rented apartment. He was said to have been buried in Central Lagos and his grave is not any different from the others.
Till date, the name Sade, still rings bell in the ears of lovers of Obey’s music, and it is synonymous with beauty, the same way Ajala’s name has become a metaphor for people that travel often. But it is imperative to investigate the recent post about the Sade currently in Ibadan, whether she is the same person that Obey sang about.
Encounter with Sade
Saturday Sun, however, went to Onireke in Ibadan with a view to meeting the woman. On getting there, an old woman was seen sitting down quietly at the gate of Nigerian Red Cross Society building, besides the headquarters of Ibadan North West Local Government Area, Onireke, Ibadan.
The woman already has wrinkled face and like the proverbial man at the beautiful gate in the Holy Bible, she looked up to those going into the Red Cross premises and other passersby to render one form of monetary assistance or the other to her.
Efforts made to get information from the Red Cross officials on when and how the woman got to the building and how the organisation has been catering for her in terms of feeding and accommodation did not yield positive results as the officials met on ground said they were not authorised to speak for the body.
For two consecutive days, official information could not be obtained on the woman. But Saturday Sun spoke to the woman herself. But the answers she gave to some of the questions were incoherent.
During the encounter, the following conversation ensued:
Mama, please what is your name?
Folasade Josephine Ansa. But people know me as ‘mummystic’ in this place.
How did you get here?
I am the owner of this compound. I was just going on the road and I got hit by a car. You can see my leg. I can’t even remember what happened. It was like 10 years ago. It happened in Ekotedo, here in Ibadan. I can’t remember how it happened. I went to UCH (University College Hospital, Ibadan), that was where I was treated.
How about your feeding?
Do you want to give me money? Do you want to be feeding me?
What work were you doing before?
I used to work at ASKA Paints, Ibadan as Senior Marketing Executive. I did salesmanship. It was a government company. I spent five years there. After that, I didn’t work anywhere else.
Did you work with a musician before?
No. I did not.
Do you know Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey?
I don’t know him, but I used to see him.
Do you remember when Obey sang about you?
No, it is not my own Sade. The Sade that Obey sang about, we used to live at Oke-Seeni in Ibadan together. She didn’t work before she went to Lagos. I don’t hear from her again. She used to live at Ile-Ogun side at Oke-Seeni. She wasn’t my friend, but I used to greet her anytime she passed.
When did you get married?
Marriage? I didn’t get married but I have a son (name withheld by us). He stays here in Ibadan as well.
How did you spend your youthful years?
I attended Anglican Girls School at Oritamefa here in Ibadan. I was a prefect in my class. After I left school, I worked at ASKA Paints. After that, I can’t remember what I did again.
Does your child come here?
Yes. He does.
What does he do?
He is a Justice. He studied law.
Since when have you been here?
It’s been long. I can’t remember.
How did you get here?
I walked. People walk right? I used Volkswagen, I used Renault too. I don’t know where those cars are. I had an accident in one, I can’t even remember which one, I think along Ilorin road. I used to tour, sometime I would go to Minna because of my salesmanship. So, I used to work towards that Ilorin road. ASKA paint was around Eleyele.
Where did you live before you came to this place?
I lived at Oke-Seeni. I lived at Oke-Padre. We had houses there. The houses are still there. My grandmother owned them and gave my mother and she gave me too.
Why did you leave Oke-Seeni for this place?
Isn’t this place good as well? There’s no reason.
Which musicians did you like when you were young?
I can’t remember now. But I liked Obey and Sunny Ade.
You are a beautiful woman now and we heard you were a very beautiful lady in the 1970s too and that many men wanted to marry you and they were running after you. Is it true?
Well, yes. Same with any other lady that is beautiful.
Did any musician ever praise you?
Yes. But I can’t remember.
Was it a popular musician?
Yes. Obey praised me, but not that Sade. Sunny Ade also, whenever I was dancing.
You used to dance?
I loved dancing.
These books in front of you, Masters in Personnel Psychology, are you reading them and by the way are you going to school?
No, I am not. University of Ibadan students gave me. They came here for a meeting and I do read it.
Do you have any picture of when you were young?
No, I don’t have them here. They are with my son.
But we heard you were the one Obey praised
No, it’s not my own Sade. That Sade used to live around that Ile-Ogun at Oke-Seeni.
So you didn’t live in Lagos?
I was born in Lagos. I lived there.
Have you danced for a musician before?
Yes. Only when there was an occasion.
How old are you?
I’m up to 60 years.
Is your son the only child you have?
Yes. He also has children.
When was the last time he came here to visit you?
He travelled. But he came back recently.
Do they give you food in this place?
No. They don’t give me food. We don’t cook here.
So, how do you eat?
My son gives me money to eat. I can’t cook here. But there’s no food I can’t cook because I went to Anglican Girls School and we did cooking and all. Even before I got to Anglican, I already knew how to cook.
Where do you hail from?
Zanzibar. I don’t know where it is. I’ve never been there. But I grew up in Ibadan. I was born in Lagos. Our compound is Ajiroba compound in Lagos.
What assistance or help do you need?
Where is money? Once I get money, I will do things.
What do you want to use the money for?
Anything. One can use money for anything. You can use it to eat, and you can use it to buy clothes.
Can you be specific on what you need the money for, maybe you want to build a house and leave this place, or you want to employ someone to be cooking for you.
No, I can cook myself. She won’t be able to cook like me because I did cooking in school.
What’s your favorite food?
There’s no food I don’t like, once I cook it and it’s delicious.
After money, what do you need?
What don’t we need in this life? If you have anything and you give me, I will use it.
Are you a Christian or a Muslim?
I am a Christian and I used to attend St James Cathedral, Oke-Bola, Ibadan.
The church could have assisted you if the leadership knows about your predicament
No. I don’t want the church to know. They will mock me. I used to drive cars to the church and wear good shoes. Now, I cannot walk any longer because of the accident I had, which condemned my right leg. So, I can’t go to the church. Please, don’t let them know I am here.
What about your friends, why are they not helping you?
They do not know my whereabouts, and I don’t want them to know. I don’t want them to mock me.
Unraveling the mystery
After the encounter with Madam Sade, inside sources at the Nigerian Red Cross Society told Saturday Sun that the woman had problem with accommodation and the organisation assisted by giving her a place to reside in the Red Cross building at Onireke.
According to the source: “The woman used to go to Ogunpa, where her son is a trader to collect money for feeding. After a few years, she had an accident and she was taken to UCH for treatment.
“After she was discharged from UCH, her son came to drop her at the gate of Red Cross building, saying he would not want anything to do with her while she is alive, and the organisation should only contact him, after the death of the woman. Since then, she has been living in Red Cross building.
“In the morning, she would go out and stay by the gate and in the evening, she would come inside. She used to be very rich, and she is the Sade Chief Ebenezer Obey mentioned in his album. But she would not agree to that fact because she does not want people to know about her condition.
“Mummystic speaks Yoruba and English language fluently. But she has lost her memory partially. She would tell you she owns the Red Cross building and the University of Ibadan. I learnt she sold her property, but why she sold them, I don’t know.”
Curiosity also led Saturday Sun to some active players in the music industry at the time Obey sang about Sade, with a view to matching the present picture with a face and establishing the fact that she is the same Sade mentioned in the evergreen 1972 hit album ‘Board Members’ by Obey.
One of the active players who pleaded anonymity responded: “ I know her very well. But the last time I saw her was 2004. Actually, the face has changed, but she is the same Sade Obey mentioned in the album. She is Sade Ajala
“I knew her well to be heavy consumer of weeds and drugs, she lives in Ikotun, Lagos before she sold her house and disappeared sometime 2004. She has a joint then popularly known as Rosanna Cool Spot, Abaranje Road, Ikotun, Lagos. But she sold the place to another person.
Another respondent currently living in Ikotun, Lagos said: “We are all pencils in the hand of Almighty God. Sometimes ago when the Alimosho Local Government was still at Ikotun, she normally came and socialised with some people. She would smoke heavily then. All we should be praying unto God to do for us is to give us safe landing in our adventure in life. At times, this world looks like a mystery to me. May God continue to guide us.”
Another meeting with Sade and her son
Saturday Sun went back to meet the woman the following day to ask her about the Rosanna Cool Spot, but she looked bewildered when she heard the name, shaking her head that she had never owned such spot. She also denied knowing Olabisi Ajala.
Saturday Sun also went a step further to locate Madam Sade’s only son at Ogunpa. He is a fair-complexioned handsome man with good height. It was not too difficult to locate him because he is a very popular person in Ogunpa Market.
He pleaded that his name should not be mentioned at all in this report while he explained the reason he refused to let his mother live with him or visit him, saying arrogance led to the pitiable state of her mother.
The man, who should be in his 40s, also explained that he did not abandon his mother, as he usually sends money to her through a third party. But he had stopped meeting with her because his mother was the architect of his downfall in business because she “always cursed me. For a very long time that I have been doing business in Ogunpa, nobody knew my real name, they only knew my nickname.
“But my mother came here one day, shouted on me and cursed me. It was then she mentioned my name and people that gathered around this place got to know my real name. Shortly thereafter, my business went down. If I go to where she is now, she will shout and curse me and I don’t want such things now. But I am sending money to her regularly.”
When asked if his mother is the same Sade that Obey sang about in 1972, he initially responded by saying in Yoruba language “Iyen ti pe” (That was a long time ago), and later said his mother is not the same Sade that Obey mentioned in the album released some 46 years ago.
He was also asked on the way forward for his mother, he said groups and individuals that may want to assist her should take whatever they have for assistance to the Nigerian Red Cross Society that has been helping her for years.
“I don’t want to have anything to do with her. She is very troublesome. She talks anyhow. She’s very arrogant. There is nobody she cannot abuse. She would even abuse women that have delayed childbirth. If she is in a sorry state now, she brought it on herself because of her arrogance and reckless talks,” Madam Sade’s only son stated.