An Evening With Ayinla Omowura’s Lead Drummer -By Festus Adedayo

I was in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Friday in pursuit of a research work I am undertaking preparatory to Ayinla Waidi, a.k.a. Omowura, the Eegunmogaji of Egbaland’s 40^th remembrance next year. I interviewed 90-something years old Baba Adewole Oniluola, lead drummer of that Yoruba Apala musical ensemble, led by late Omowura, in his Keesi area home. I saw Omowura’s Itoko house being renovated by the Ibikunle Amosun government. In front of that house is Omowura’s final resting place, his grave, decorated with white stones and barricaded with blue painted metals.

For over one hour, I went through, with Oniluola, the journey of the formation of the band; how, on their first outing to Ipokia, they were stranded, as the ceremony they were invited to had taken place the day before; how Solomon Adeola and other Egba sons resolved the rift between the duo in the late 1970s and the real translation of many of the drum-talking of Oniluola. I downloaded the real persona of Omowura in that encounter. For instance, the e wo man yi to so pe mo gbe’wure (look at this man who alleged I stole goats), Oniluola said was wrong, that what he actually drummed was e wo man yi, bo se n f’apa jana (look at this grumbling man).  I asked him what gave birth to Omowura, in the middle of a song, suddenly bursting into Alao Adewole, legal legal, ka se suru fun’ra eni, were were laye nfe (Adewole, please take it easy, you are drumming off key!).  I asked Baba many uncomfortable questions like, “Baba, se eyin na n mu’gbo bi Omowura?” (Baba, do/did you also smoke cannabis like Omowura?); “Weren’t you the one, during the tiff between you, that Omowura called at’ohunrinwa (accursed immigrant) that one saw in Challenge (Ibadan) and Mushin carrying bag like an itinerant drug seller?” Oniluola’s replies were interesting. At some point when he was describing the corpse of Omowura he saw immediately the Eegunmogaji was murdered by his friend and Manager, Fatai Baiyewu, blood on his remains, Oniluola wept like a baby.

Fans and lovers of Omowura, you will be shocked at the visible poverty of a man you enjoy his talking drum in Omowura’s songs and the kind of house he lives in. As I made to leave, Oniluola left me with a teaser, “Tell Nigerians that Iku o d’ojo (death doesn’t give a date of its strike). Nigerians love celebrating the dead more than the living. Let them come to my rescue now, not mourning me as a great drummer when I am gone.” Let us come to the assistance of Alao On’iyaom’ebi, please.