The level of literacy currently displayed by Waka queen, Salawa Abeni, may be taking a lot of people by surprise, considering the fact that she is widely regarded as an illiterate, despite her iconic exhibitions in the Nigerian music industry.
The ever beautiful artiste, who has been prominent in the industry for over four decades, has linked her improved literacy level to her children’s encouragement, saying they could not afford to leave their mum to public mockery for not being able to speak English fluently.
She said this as she also disclosed that she had been away from the stage because of an illness she battled for six years.
She said, “Though I don’t possess more than the senior school certificate education, I appreciate God that my children who are graduates decided to take me up. I might not have been perfect like some, but with the help of my children, who were my lecturers, things are now better. “When they decided on teaching me then, though it looked like punishment, I had to humble myself and listen to them in order to catch up. In most cases, when I wanted to send a text message on my phone, I would have to show them to avoid error. But I am still learning to know more.” On why she took a break from the stage, the Waka queen said she was challenged by an ailment, which God later helped her to overcome.
“I was sick for some six years, but I thank God for bringing me back. Now, I am ready to bounce back greatly,” she said.
Queen Salawa, who is the mother of hip hop artiste, Big Sheff, also said other works were in the pipeline, for her fans to enjoy.