Samshudeen Omowura, the son of the legendary Apala music crooner, Ayinla Omowura, shares with GRACE EDEMA his thoughts about growing up without his father, the circumstances surrounding the singer’s tragic death, the struggle to preserve his legacy, among other issues
How old are you?
I am in my 40s.
That means you were a kid when your dad died.
Yes, I was about three years old when he died on May 6, 1980.
Are you the lastborn?
Yes, in my father’s eyes, I was his lastborn. But there was another child, Babatunde Kabiru, who was born after my father’s death. He is my younger brother.
How old is he?
His mother was pregnant with him when my father died. After his death, she gave birth to Babatunde. There are also Sadiat and Kabirat among the children.
How many wives did he have?
He had eight wives. Six of the women had one child each for him, while two of the wives had more than one child.
What do you do?
I am a granite supplier based in Saje, Abeokuta.
What do you know or hear about your father before he died?
I was too young to have personal experiences with him, but I heard a lot about him from my mother and other people. They said he was kind and generous, a cheerful giver. Even till today, many people still speak well about him — family members, friends, and people in the community. Hearing those things makes me proud.
How would you describe his music career?
His music was unique. Even if I were not his child, I would still have loved him naturally because I learnt a lot from his songs. One thing I noticed is that his music has never died. Everywhere I go in Nigeria, people still love and appreciate his songs. The fame and relevance of his music have not faded.
What made your father songs continue to resonate till now?
I noticed that even young people still use my father’s songs to learn wisdom and even advise or correct their wives. His songs are filled with proverbs and deep teachings.
What do you know about his early life?
From what we heard from my siblings and our elderly family members, Ayinla was born in Itoko, Ile Lupa. His father was a blacksmith. He did not attend school, so they usually gave him goods to hawk. But whenever he saw his friends, he would drop the goods and start singing with them. His father was Yusuf, while his mother was Wura.
How has the name helped you?
My father’s name has really helped me in many ways. Sometimes people from places like Canada, the UK, and America come to our house and start crying, saying, ‘Ah, why did Ayinla die?’ One man who surprised me the most came recently from Canada. He was crying seriously and kept saying, ‘Ayinla, why did you die?’ The man said this almost 40 times. That showed me how deeply people still love him, even many years after his death.
Anywhere we go in Abeokuta, once people find out that I am Ayinla’s child, they greet me warmly, show me respect, and treat me well. Many people still honour his memory because of the kind of person he was and the impact he made through his music and generosity.
What did you learn about how your father died?
From what I learnt, his manager, (Fatai) Bayewu, killed him at a beer parlour by hitting him on the head with an object; I heard it was a mug. From the stories we heard, Bayewu came from a wealthy family. It seemed he was financially supporting Ayinla at some point, and because of that, they became very close friends.
My father trusted him a lot. But one day, there was a misunderstanding between them. My father had given Bayewu his Honda motorcycle and later started looking for him because he wanted to retrieve it.
Someone eventually came to our house and informed my father that they had seen Bayewu at a beer parlour. My father then went there to confirm and collect his motorcycle back from him.
When Bayewu saw Ayinla coming, maybe he thought my father wanted to attack him. That is how I see it from the stories I heard. So, Bayewu picked up a mug and struck Ayinla on the head. We were not there physically, but I believe there must have been a serious disagreement between them before that tragic incident happened.
When they took my father to the hospital, three doctors attended to him and discovered that a piece of bottle was lodged in the middle of his head. Before one of the doctors died recently, I personally spoke with him.
Immediately they confirmed Ayinla was dead, the doctors had to leave the hospital quickly because they feared that angry fans and sympathisers could attack them or destroy the hospital out of grief and anger.
What happened to Bayewu after the incident?
Bayewu also ran away immediately after the incident, but he was later arrested, prosecuted in Ibadan, and sentenced to death by hanging.
Have you ever come across any member of Bayewu’s family?
Yes. Personally, I believe in love and peace. I do not believe in carrying hatred. Where I work in Saje, I heard there was one of Bayewu’s children living around there. I personally went to visit him and showed him love and friendship.
I told him that whatever happened between our parents, there was nothing to gain from becoming enemies because his father killed my father. Only God truly knows everything that happened that day. I believe the devil might have orchestrated everything that led to the tragedy. So, instead of hatred, I chose peace and understanding.
How old is Ayinla Omowura’s eldest child now?
The first child, a woman, is now over 70 years old. The first son died when he was in his 40s.
Ayinla was said to be prone to anger. How true is this?
In life, every human being has weaknesses. When issues come up, it is normal for people to get angry sometimes. Also, my father was surrounded by many people, and some of them might have intentionally provoked him or wanted him to react angrily. Whenever he got angry, he usually reacted strongly too.
Are any of the children trying to immortalise your father’s legacy and ensure the music does not die?
Yes, some of my siblings are into music and are continuing his legacy. About three of them are singers. The eldest is Haruna Omowura. He sings my father’s songs exactly in the traditional Apala style. The second is Halimotu Omowura, who sings modern Apala music. Then the third is Babatunde, the younger brother I mentioned earlier, and he sings Fuji music.
If my father were alive today, he would have been 99 years old. Yes, that is correct. People really love him. Even I love him deeply. Among all musicians, whenever any of Ayinla’s songs is played in my community, people dance from beginning to end. None of his tracks is dull or uninteresting. Every song carries energy, wisdom, and meaning.
What about the biopic acted by Lateef Adedimeji and produced by Tunde Kelani? Did they reach out to the family?
Yes, they did reach out to the family. The producer is a woman, and there was communication with us. Watching the film actually made me emotional because I felt the opportunity we had as a family was not properly handled. One of my elder sisters even appeared in the film about three times.
But later, I discovered that the agreement we initially signed as a family was altered. My signature was still there, but some other signatures, including my sister’s, were removed. I believe my sister should have challenged the removal of her signature.
At the end, we were told the family was given N1m, but only about N800,000 eventually got to us. Personally, I was not satisfied with the amount. Some people were even insulting us online, asking whether we could not properly manage our father’s legacy ourselves.
Honestly, I still feel Lateef Adedimeji owes me. In fact, it was a friend who informed me that something concerning my father was happening. I was surprised that the family was not properly invited initially. I only got to know by chance.
It seemed there were disagreements somewhere along the line. But if they decide to support the family further financially from the film proceeds, there would be no problem from my side.
Former governor Ibikunle Amosun assisted the family. Ibikunle Amosun really assisted us. About a week before leaving office, he renovated my father’s house.
What lessons have you learnt from your father’s life?
The lessons I learnt are many. One important lesson is that families should live in harmony and remain close to one another. Ayinla’s family can never forget him because he was very good to people. He helped many people, both young and old, and people are still talking about the positive impact he made in their lives. That is one thing I am trying to imitate — to be good to people just like my father was. He was generous and caring.
Another important lesson is that we should never neglect the education of our children. Education is one of the best legacies any parent can give. Although my father was not formally educated, he had deep traditional knowledge, local wisdom, life experience, and understanding of people.
But it pained him deeply that he did not go to school because he believed that if he had been educated, he would have managed his life better and made an even greater impact on society. Still, destiny cannot go unfulfilled. But despite this, we should educate our children.
I noticed you were not educated. I do not know the reason. What exactly did you benefit from your father’s legacy, especially as the only son of your mother?
As for my mother, she really tried her best. I stopped at secondary school level. Among all my mother’s children, I am the only one who did not graduate from higher school. Up till today, it still pains my mother that I am the only child who could not complete higher education.
Why?
As I stated earlier, destiny cannot be changed. If God had destined that I would go further in school, it would have happened. I attended one of the best schools in Abeokuta then — Salawu Abiola Secondary School. But wisdom and knowledge belong to God alone.
It pains me deeply too that I could not continue my education. That is why I always pray that my children and all the children in our family will go to school and succeed educationally. When someone is educated, the person becomes more exposed and enlightened in life.
Honestly, I believe that if my father had been alive, I would have gone further in school. When both father and mother are not together to care for and train a child, life becomes more difficult for that child, especially in terms of education and upbringing. But God alone knows everything that is hidden.
It was once said that whenever people sang his songs at parties without permission, strange things would happen — like people vomiting blood or the musical equipment suddenly going off. How true is that?
The people who claimed they saw such things happen are the ones who can truly confirm those stories. But one thing I know is that musicians of those days were very powerful in their own ways. My father, Haruna Ishola, and Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, were not ordinary men in the eyes of many people. They carried strong influence, deep traditional beliefs, and spiritual respect in their time.
After your father’s death, was there any form of assistance or royalties from his works?
Honestly, apart from my mother struggling for me, I did not really see much support from anybody after Ayinla died. Life was very tough for the family.
The only support we received was from the record label my father worked with. Back then, the company was EMI when foreigners were still controlling it in Nigeria. Later, after they left Nigeria, Nigerians renamed it Ivory Music.
Every year, they give us a small amount of money as royalties. They also keep telling us that people no longer buy CDs and that Ayinla’s songs are no longer selling the way they used to.
But personally, I believe people are still listening to his music online — on platforms like Audiomack and other streaming apps. Somebody somewhere must be making money from those songs. Unfortunately, I do not understand how to track music royalties or online streaming income.
So, at some point, I just gave up. Some people have advised us that if we had a good lawyer, the lawyer could help us trace the money and understand exactly what belongs to the family. Ivory Music keeps insisting that they are not making much money from Ayinla’s music anymore.
Considering the level and legacy of my father’s music, I believe we should be getting much more than what they currently give us. Another thing is that we have never even seen the agreement my father signed with the company. Nobody has ever shown us the contract or explained the exact arrangement between my father and the label.
Would you like to mention the amount?
The amount is very small. Individually, nobody receives up to N45,000 in a whole year. For people like us, whose mothers had only one child, we get around N43,000 yearly. Those wives who had many children receive even less individually, sometimes a little over N30,000 per year when divided among them.
That is ridiculous.
Yes, and if I do not speak about it publicly, nobody will know what is happening. Many people assume we are receiving huge amounts of money because of my father’s fame, but that is not the reality. It is really worrisome.
What are you all doing to address this?
Honestly, there is very little we can do without proper legal representation. A lawyer is the major solution to this problem.
How many of your father’s children are still alive?
About 10 of us are still alive.
How many are dead?
About five or six have died. My father had twins twice, but all four twins are now dead.
How old were they when they died?
Most of them died in their 40s and 50s.
What would you like to say to Ivory Music?
I noticed that most of the people who worked in the company back then are now very old. Some have already died, and even the current head of the company is old too.
My concern is this: if all these people pass away, who do we turn to for answers? This is exactly the time we need to ask questions about the agreement they had with our father.
At the same time, they have never really called us to sit down and explain things properly. Maybe they are also waiting for us to come to them. My siblings and I also need to unite and face this issue together.
Personally, I believe we are being given peanuts compared to the value and volume of the works my father left behind.
What is your appeal to Nigerians?
I want Nigerians to help us understand what exactly exists between Ivory Music and my father, or maybe we should even consider transferring his catalogue to another company that can properly manage and protect his legacy.
If I raise the issue formally, I know the whole family will support me. People should not think we are collecting huge money anywhere. That is far from the truth. In fact, that is one reason I hardly talk about it publicly, because many people believe we are benefiting greatly from his music when we are not.
Apart from the small royalty payments, we also believe Ivory should have supported the family more over the years.
Even during our father’s remembrance events, which I believe the company should naturally support, they did not assist us. The remembrance we organised last year was funded entirely by the family ourselves.
Are any of your father’s backup singers or band members still alive?
Most of them are dead now. The only one I know who is still alive is Kemuye Ramon.
What role did he play in the band?
He was one of the backup singers. He had a very high soprano voice. There were about two of them with that kind of voice in the group.
Are you saying Amosun knew and admired your father?
Yes, he truly liked my father very much. You should watch what he said about him in the biopic. He genuinely loved and respected my dad.
