Skip to content
Wednesday 9 July 2025
  • About JKNewMedia
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
JKNewsMedia
  • News
    • States News
    • National News
    • International News
    • General News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Climate Change
  • Health & Wellness
  • Sport
  • More
    • Faiths
    • Your Mentor
    • Noble Woman
    • Media Publicity
    • Column/Analysis
    • Community Journalism
    • Next-Gen Journalists’ Report
    • Veteran Journalist of the Week
  • English
  • News
    • States News
    • National News
    • International News
    • General News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Climate Change
  • Health & Wellness
  • Sport
  • More
    • Faiths
    • Your Mentor
    • Noble Woman
    • Media Publicity
    • Column/Analysis
    • Community Journalism
    • Next-Gen Journalists’ Report
    • Veteran Journalist of the Week
  • English
JKNewsMedia
Column/Analysis
Column/Analysis

Flowers for Agbaletu

 JKNM JKNMJune 20, 2025 855 Minutes read0
FacebookTwitterWhatsAppLinkedInEmailLink

By Olukorede Yishau 

I NEITHER knew Dele Adeyanju nor his programme Agbaletu before I left Nigeria. I stumbled upon him not long after America became home. It must have been a chance discovery on YouTube while I was searching for something to ease the weight of boredom as life abroad can, at times, feel achingly quiet. Since that moment, I have been a devoted fan.

Revelations tumble out on the show. Conjectures are corrected with facts. And opinions and facts are freely expressed, at times in manners that make grown men, seasoned, stoic men, shed tears.

Under Adeyanju’s questioning, almost anything is possible. He has a rare gift for drawing out even the most reluctant voices, guiding conversations with a quiet persistence that disarms. He asks his questions with fearless integrity, regardless of whose ox is gored. You may choose not to answer, but he ensures it is on record that you’ve exercised your right to deflect.

Adeyanju has carried the flame of musical memory, crafting a public archive for genres often underappreciated by younger audiences but foundational to Nigeria’s identity: Fuji, Juju, Apala, Highlife. Through his work on Agbaletu TV Uncensored and Agbaletu Radio, he has become a bridge between generations and preserver of legacies too easily forgotten.

His gift lies not only in his encyclopedic knowledge of Yoruba musical traditions but also in his extraordinary interviewing technique. His conversations with musicians, many of them ageing veterans, unsung pioneers, or complex legends, are not merely exchanges; they are acts of restoration. With gentle insistence and cultural fluency, he coaxes out stories that span decades and lifetimes, bringing nuance to personalities that might otherwise be flattened by time or tabloids. Where others press for gossip, he listens for truth.

In his hands, an interview becomes a sacred space: elders are given time to remember, not merely respond. His voice, calm, respectful, patient, creates the kind of trust that allows artists to open up about rivalries, regrets, triumphs, and transformations. Through these sessions, he has not only preserved history but made it resonate anew, offering younger generations an unvarnished lens into the complexities of Nigeria’s musical evolution.

From Evangelist Ebenezer Obey to Alhaji Kolington Ayinla to King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal and Sir Shina Peters, Adeyanju has grilled them all. Band boys of these veteran musicians have also had generous time with Adeyanju and what they have had to divulge show that the old generation of music stars got a lot of things wrong. The sessions have also shown that many of the band men, like Sule Adio Atawewe insisted they must be called, also wasted their resources on women, alcohol and sometimes hard drugs.

The programme has illuminated overlooked aspects of Nigerian music history. Notably, it has unearthed the true composers behind songs popularized by icons like Chief Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade. It revealed, for instance, that the late Ambrose Campbell, widely regarded as Nigeria’s first international music star, was the original performer and composer of several songs that were later rebranded as hits by others. Obey’s track ‘Eni ri nka he’ is one of such songs. KSA’s well-known jam ‘E kilo fomo Ode’, which was assumed to be an attack on Emperor Pick Peters, is another. They originated from Campbell’s earlier recordings with the West African Rhythm Brothers.

The programme also dispelled the myth that stars like Yinka Ayefele and King Sunny Ade create all their music singlehandedly. It showed instead that they, like their counterparts abroad, have long relied on the creative brilliance of composers behind the scenes. There is nothing wrong with having composers. Yet in our society, music stars often prefer to be seen as self-contained geniuses: singers, songwriters, producers, instrumentalists, and more. Consequently, when songs are written for them, the composers are expected to remain forever in the shadows, their contributions unacknowledged in the public narrative.

Another distinctive aspect of his programme is its inclusion of former band members of music superstars, many of whom now reside in the United States or the United Kingdom. A number of them remained abroad after “dropping” during international tours with star artists they describe as selfish. Thanks to technology, these musicians have been able to share their stories. And when they visit Nigeria on holiday, Adeyanju seizes the opportunity to conduct in-person interviews with them.

There are a number of similar programmes on You Tube, but Adeyanju beats them hands-down. When a guest muddles up facts, especially about discography, he straightens out things. He never allows a glaring slip pass uncorrected.

For his boldness in offering his platform to the aggrieved (allowing them to voice their grievances without censorship), he has often come under fire, particularly from devoted fans of late Fuji icon Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. Many of them struggle to accept that the legendary Fuji creator, like all humans, was not without flaws. Yet, Adeyanju remains undaunted, committed to telling the full story, not just the flattering one.

Adeyanju is more than a curator of memory; he is a cultural custodian in the truest sense. His work defies the ephemerality of modern media. While the music industry marches on in search of what’s next, Adeyanju looks back, not with nostalgia, but with responsibility. He recognises that every beat has a birthplace, that every star once stood in the shadows, and that without the wisdom of those who paved the way, the future is an echo with no source.

In an age where fast fame often silences deep legacy, Adeyanju stands firm, an archivist of soul, rhythm, and lived experience. His contributions remind me that music is not just to be heard, but remembered; not only performed, but understood.

And in preserving the voices of Fuji and Juju’s finest, he has carved his own name into the soundscape of Nigeria, not with instruments, but with intention.

He is leading an important conversation about the need for reform in the relationship between Fuji and Juju musicians and their band men.

May his tribe increase!

My final take: The Nigerian music industry, particularly in Juju, Fuji, and gospel circles, needs urgent reform. It is unjust for band members to languish in poverty while band leaders live in opulence. True progress requires equity and dignity for every contributor. At the same time, instrumentalists who squander their earnings on alcohol, drugs, and fleeting pleasures must also take responsibility and chart a better course.

The time for change is now.

Quote

The Nigerian music industry, particularly in Juju, Fuji, and gospel circles, needs urgent reform. It is unjust for band members to languish in poverty while band leaders live in opulence. True progress requires equity and dignity for every contributor. At the same time, instrumentalists who squander their earnings on alcohol, drugs, and fleeting pleasures must also take responsibility and chart a better course. The time for change is now

Tags
AgbaletuFlowersOlukorede Yishau
  • Related posts
  • More from author
Column/Analysis

The Masses Need Food, The Elites Want More Bureaucracies 

09:08July 7, 2025
Column/Analysis

Vox Populi: Akeredolu’s Cenotaph of Controversy

08:42July 7, 2025
Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

National News

US Slashes Nigerian Non‑Immigrant Visas To Single‑Entry Three‑Month Validity

19:34July 8, 2025
News

JAMB Approves Wide Range Of Courses For 2025 Candidates With Scores From 140 To 180

19:12July 8, 2025
States News

Lagos Assigns Commencement Dates To Seven New Laws Covering Safety, Governance, Public Welfare

18:14July 8, 2025
News

LASU Tops 2025 Admission Chart As Nigeria’s Most Preferred Institution

17:21July 8, 2025

Follow us

FacebookLike our page
InstagramFollow us
YoutubeSubscribe to our channel
WhatsappContact us

VIDEO

General News

JAMB Approves Wide Range Of Courses For 2025 Candidates With Scores From 140 To 180

July 8, 2025

FG Refutes Claims Of Water Release From Lagdo Dam`

July 8, 2025

World Bank Warns Of Rapid Rise In Extreme Poverty Across Nigeria

July 7, 2025

Tough Economic Reforms Begin To Yield Gains As Inflation And Poverty Persist in Nigeria

July 7, 2025

Electricity Subsidy Rises To ₦536.4billion Amid Frozen Tariff Regime

July 7, 2025
  • Politics
  • Business
  • States News
  • National News
  • Climate Change
  • Global Diplomacy
  • Health & Wellness
  • Media & Journalism
  • Veteran Journalist of the Week
jk_last_logo

Your Authentic News Platform

Your Authentic News Platform

  • Politics
  • Business
  • Climate Change
  • Global Diplomacy
  • Health & Wellness
  • States News
  • National News
  • Media & Journalism
  • Veteran Journalist of the Week
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Climate Change
  • Global Diplomacy
  • Health & Wellness
  • States News
  • National News
  • Media & Journalism
  • Veteran Journalist of the Week

© 2025 JKNewsMedia.  Powered By WinNet

  • About JKNewMedia
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2025 JKNewsMedia.  Powered By WinNet

  • About JKNewMedia
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Careers
  • Contact