By Bankole Shakirudeen Adeshina
IT was a long and rough ride down to The Rehoboth Place, a private property located at Awoyaya, a town situated between Ibeju-Lekki and Epe areas of Lagos State.
From 9:25am on that fateful Tuesday morning, the poorly maintained vehicle laboured to convey some Lagos-based entertainment journalists from Maryland to the Lekki, the venue slated for a press conference with one of Nigeria’s foremost and much celebrated legends, Chief Moses Olaiya Adejumo, popularly known as Baba Sala.
Baba Sala was unarguably the pioneer of Theater Comedy in Nigeria. During his prime, he used his whole being to create a comic atmosphere for people to deflate their tension and bask in the euphoria of relief and excitement. This he did so well, even during the 1967-1970 civil war when the country was on the brink of collapse.
Some 65 minutes into the journey, “after an agonizing trip,” as lamented by Sodiq Oyeleke, a Punch journalist who obviously couldn’t put up with the cramping and shabby treatment of his colleagues, the bus finally berthed.
The compound is modestly seated on a 30/60 square meters of land. The floor was reinforced with interlocked concrete. A beautiful bungalow, which housed about two bedrooms, a parlor, an office and one conference room, occupied a quarter of the space. The rest was judiciously used for car park and gateman’s house. At a glance, the exterior was visibly neat.
But the interior is not as impressive as the exterior. The conference room where the briefing was to hold was haphazardly arranged and poorly ventilated. There was one small standing fan, which couldn’t rotate around, making it difficult to service about 16 people seated already.
There were barely eight plastic chairs scattered around the table, six of which were already occupied by the fans of “our” host, Baba Sala. They were all cladded in uniform vest, with the picture and inscription of Baba Sala boldly written.
There were three artworks conspicuously hanged on the wall, one dangling as substantial breeze penetrates through the windows.
From all indications, the building was in clear contrast to the iconoclastic substance of the host.
BABA SALA NEEDS HELP
The man has been rumored dead on two different occasions. The first time, being two years ago when he was down with rheumatism and was rushed to the University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan from his Ilesa home in Osun State.
It took the public pronouncement of the Corporate Affairs Officer of the UCH to dispel the misinformation of the rumor millers.
Just like the culture of naysayers against the supposedly celebrated and socially adored and supported individuals of advanced age, who suffers deteriorating health condition, he was once again touted to have died around August this year.
This time around, the denouncement of such rumor by his first son couldn’t douse many because Baba Sala himself has not been seen in the public since then.
These circumstances brought about a kind of stimulated adrenalin in the invited journalists who attended the event and sought to lay to rest the controversy.
And, indeed, Baba Sala is alive. He was seen and even spoken with the newsmen. But he is in a bad shape. His health has deteriorated sharply. He is in pains and needs urgent medical intervention, a luxury his family admitted they couldn’t afford anymore.
At exactly 10:56am, the 80-year-old man was walked into the conference room. On both sides, he was supported by two heavy individuals.
Physical observation showed that he was too weak to use his legs by himself. As he was being seated on armed chair, the septuagenarian gnashed his teeth when his leg collided with the edge of the chair. He was obviously in pains.
As if that wasn’t enough, he couldn’t talk well. And his hearing ability has equally waned badly. One would have to speak directly inside his ears before he would be able to respond.
His hands were swollen and shaking. His breathing was heavy too. And, in his looks, was that expression soliciting attention and compassion of good Nigerians.
In a simple medical term, according to his family members, Baba Sala is down with stroke. And he doesn’t want to end his life in such a miserable condition.
He also confirmed this in slurred tones. “I’m sick and needs help,” he struggled to muter the words, fighting his tongue, esophagus and larynx in the process.
“I am alive. But I’m sick. I am too weak to talk and I can’t walk. I don’t want to be confined by paralysis. I don’t want to die like this. Nigerians should please help me.”
Throughout the briefing, he would gaze in blankness in front of him and occasionally panned his eyes left and right, following sounds and objects around.
The vulnerability of the one-time pride of the Nigerian entertainment industry reminds one of the mortality of man and the nothingness of life.
Dressed in a white native dress with a red cap to match, the foremost comedian was flanked by his eldest son, Reverend Deji Adejumo (on the left), one of his wives, Mrs. Funmilayo Adejumo (on the right) and his biographers, fans and the organisers of the briefing.
HIS RELATIVES ALSO PLEAD
His son, Evangelist Adedeji Adejumo corroborated his father’s pleas, saying the SOS message was for all good Samaritans, starting from President Muhammadu Buhari, the senators, governors and private individuals of inexhaustible compassion.
“We are in need of financial support to treat him and give him a decent life before his time ends,” he noted, requesting a rough figure of “about N50million.”
“But he is an old man now. Isn’t his sickness one of those synonymous with old age,” this reporter asked.
“Yes, he is old. But he just turned 80 years by May 17 this year, having been born in 1937. And his sickness is clearly not of old age. We have seen people live a healthy and better life up to 90and even more. They don’t die in pains. My father is in pains. He is dying. He needs help,” Rev. Adejumo added.
He said they have solicited help everywhere and anywhere with no response whatsoever.
“And we need you entertainment journalists or anyone that can help to help us link these young musicians to come to the aid of this man. A legend doesn’t deserve to die like this. People like Davido, Wizkid, 2Face Idibia, Kunle Afolayan among others can help and should help Baba Sala,” Mrs. Bidemi Ojoawo Oladoye, the Chief Executive Officer of Precision Edge Limited, the organizer of the briefing, added.
HIS INVESTMENTS
Asked about how wisely he invested his life savings and how come there was nothing left to take care of him in his old age, his son, Adedeji said his father’s life savings was wiped out by the work of pirates.
According to him, “he actually has investments but they have all been wrecked by mismanagement.”
His investments, according to Adedeji include, “a three-storey building in Mushin, Lagos which he had to sell to offset debt incurred when his work, Orun Mooru, was pirated. We still have some of his recorded works not in public yet, but machines that will be used to transform them to an acceptable format are not easily available. We do not have the kind of money they are charging us.
“We have been told that baba needs a lot of money for medical treatment abroad. He is suffering from a stroke and other ailments. There are many people of his age who are not like this. We are trying our best as family members. We take him to the teaching hospital weekly but he needs proper medical attention,” he added.
BABA SALA’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
In an attempt to preserve his works and document his life and times, three of his fans-turned-biographers, Mr. Collins Oyedokun, Mr. Akinola Babatunde and Kunle Ajani have completed a compendium on his sojourns so far.
The book, titled “Triumph of Destiny” is a historical documentary of his trials and triumphs in life. The forward was written by the Dean of Faulty of Art, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Professor Gbemisola Adeoti. It is billed for launching by December 4.
“The book chronicles the pride of place that Baba Sala acquired for himself in the Nigerian theatre industry as the first comedian and consummate entertainer. It captures the antecedents and essence of the creative energies of a comical trailblazer,” Oyedokun said.