King Sunny Ade was born on September 22; I was born on September 21. Had my mother not gone into labour a day earlier, I would perhaps have shared the same birthday with the King and would have been very proud to be so honoured – sharing the same date of birth with an enigma who is highly respected by all and sundry.
For those who were not born or were still young when King Sunny Ade held sway and was at his prime, the Sunny on Sunday concert gave them a glimpse of his greatness and what their generation missed. In spite of the recession, people went out en masse last Sunday for KSA’s 70th birthday grand celebration at the Temple Balmoral Marquee, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Ahmadu Bello way, the road leading to the venue was literally blocked with vehicular and human traffic, making it a struggle for other
cars to move past.
KSA himself would have been surprised and pleased by the love extended to him by both the young and old on the day. The smile on his face all through the night was that of
fulfilment and excitement. Before the King came on stage, performances from the likes of Tiwa Savage, Darey, Awilo Longomba, Shina Peters, Omawumi and Onyeka Onwenu made the night sweet. Excitement was not lacking in any way.
While there were wonderful music performances to dance to, there were drinks in abundance. I sighted the stands of brands like Hennessy and Origin, among others, which all came at no cost. It was either you got yourself drunk or you exercised selfrestraint.
KSA’s humility was evident also, as he did not abandon his friends, Onwenu and Awilo, on stage alone. At different times, he joined them while performing. For some reasons, it seemed the oldies such as Sir Shina Peters, Awilo and Onyeka won the night. Apart from Tiwa Savage, who did a rendition of KSA’s music, the thumbs up for Iyanya, Omawumi, Niniola and Darey cannot be compared with what the oldies got after performing.
Much as Iyanya tried to cheer the crowd, it looked as if he had lost his magic touch or probably the set of people in the audience did not buy into his music. But he was able to
attract a bit of attention when he attempted to sing KSA’s song. The gesture saved his night.
Terry Apala, in my view, was just brought in to fill the list of performers. Of all the performances I saw, he scored lowest, as most of the people in the audience struggled to relate with his music. It was obvious the show was not meant for him.
KSA’s performance was left for the last, and he could not afford to fail. He had promised earlier that his performance at the grand concert would be one of his best ever.
As people waited patiently, including the likes of Femi Otedola, Aliko Dangote, Babatunde Fashola, Lai Mohammmed, Don Jazzy, Waje, DJ Jimmy Jatt, Toke Makinwa, Funke Akindele
and many other dignitaries, the juju superstar did his classics, which appealed to both the young and old.
And from the gesture of the audience, he did not disappoint. For the Temple Management Company, the organisers of the concert, they have started in a very big way. Apart for putting ‘Sunny on Sunday’ together and sealing a management deal with KSA, they now have Tiwa Savage, Iyanya, Don Jazzy and all other Marvin stars on their wagon.
Being a greenhorn in Nigeria, this is no doubt a good way of announcing their arrival. Most companies that had used more than a decade in Nigeria will struggle to deliver this. For a
debut concert, TMC did not make it look like one.
I heard from the crowd that what is helping TMC is the fact that they have money to throw, including the support of politicians and highly influential people in the society. But if you have money and you do not spend it wisely, it would be a waste. Innovation and impact would always stand you out.
Did I mention that a major highlight of KSA’s performance was when he paused to say a word to the audience? He said, “If I die today, you all have celebrated me already.” Truly, if
KSA dies today, he would have lived a happy and fulfilled life. If there is anything like retirement party in music or entertainment, the show fits the bill perfectly.
While we are all still waiting for the winner of the auctioned KSA’s vintage fender guitar, which was designed by Victor Ehikhamenor, let’s rejoice with KSA. The bid, which began with N9million, eventually closed with N52.1million.
