We Started Singing Right From Our Teenage Days – Adeniyi Twins -By Sandra Ijeoma Okoye

If there was any church event wherein my journalistic instinct was instantly triggered, more than ever before, into action, it was unarguably the one that held at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Oyingbo, Ebute-Metta, in Lagos, as I graced the birthday reception of Very Rev. Fr. Michael Christian Okonkwo, the Parish Priest. 

Just as Henry Grunwald was credited to have said, “Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air”, the rare musical talent being displayed at the joyous event by Miss. Adeniyi Taiwo, and her twin sister, Adeniyi Kehinde inspired me to engage them in a media parley that gave me the opportunity to peep into their backgrounds, majorly on their joint musical career.

In fact, my emotion was pricked when the twin sisters who just attained 20 years of age penultimate Sunday, and hailed from Ibadan, in Oyo State disclosed that they are orphans, having lost their mother in 2009, and their father in 2010 within an interval of less than a year. Given their common fate, I probed into how they have been surviving to which they said they are been cared for by their grand-mother and their aunties, together with their younger brother whose name is Jonathan Idowu Adeniyi.

As to where they derived motivation from concerning their musical journey so far, they said they have been in music right from their teenage days as they were wont to mime trending songs which they were wont to background with contrived musical instruments which, more often than not drew the ire of their neighbors. Even at that, they disclosed that some of their neighbors were wont to urge them on to follow musical path.

Having being motivated by neighbors when they started trailing the musical alleyway which God blessed them with, they also at St. Paul’s Church found another motivator in Father Michael Christian Okonkwo, the Parish Priest,  who they said has consistently been extending helping hands to them as far as their  joint musical career is concerned.

Their somewhat testimony on how the Parish Priest has consistently been helping them, particularly as to the sharpening of their musical talent, prompted yours sincerely to seek the response of the cleric, and was asked,  “What attracted you to the twins that you are now their benefactor?” In his response, he said, “They are parishioners in my parish here! I just noticed that they are quite active in many church activities and well mannered.

On how he discovered their talents, he said, “I got to know that they are orphans and they are been raised by their grandmother. They were active with the music programs I had initiated in the parish. They went to the Archdiocesan Music Academy I started: Cecilian Academy of Sacred Music. They graduated from there and continued with the music program in the church. So I singled them out when I noticed their passions.

“Even as we speak they have approached me that they are working on an album which goes by the title, ‘I See Love’. I listened to the song. And I decided to use my birthday reception to raise money for their educational expenses as they are still in school.”

Asked about their future academic plans, they said they aspire to study and pass the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), and proceed to study Yoruba language as they are poised to get a well-rounded knowledge of the language and culture of the Yorubas as it will help them find their strengths, prepares them for a diverse life of learning, and gives them a foundation upon which they can continue to build.

Their choice cannot be pooh-poohed in this context as the Yoruba Language is unique even as its variants are spoken across West Africa, Cuba, Republic of Benin and Tobago. In fact, the importance of learn Yoruba as a language cannot be overemphasized.

In fact, they were of the unanimous view that Identity (Idanimọ), is denotes that language is not only what you speak, it also serves as a means of cultural identification. Personally, permit me to say that a child who knows how to speak his native language has been saved from battling with issues of identity when he grows, and that is why it is imperative for them to embark on learning Yoruba language from University level.