CELEBRATING ALHAJI AGBA ON GREAT PARENTING.
I choose to celebrate today one of the Africa’s great music Icons who I relished his Fuji genre as a growing child in the street of that great CITY- IBADAN. Born in February 9, 1948 as sikiru ayinde ololade adeyimika balogun in Adakeja , Ayeye Compound in Ibadan to the lates Alhaji Salawudeen Balogun and Alhaja Subuola Odee Balogun . He would have been 71 today were he alive.
So no other way to acknowledge his great works through the message of music he explored mightily than going down memory lane picking one of his Long Playing Albums he released in 1982, entitled FAMILY PLANNING, where he harped philosophically on one of the effective antidotes to GREAT PARENTING is to give birth to children according to your STRENGHT in financial, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual capacity.
I grew up in the centre of the City that played host to various social pursuits of life and other events namely; politics, religion exploits, school activities, NURTW elections, music, and football. All these competed for our highest attentions as children. Guess what? we all loved them. ……………….
Their noise pollution (anyway this wasn’t the meaning to us as a child) cut through the air as early as 4am- 11pm there about with sharp , persistent, and tenacious vibration like the screeching brakes of a halting ‘Molue’ bus. Where I lived was the headquarters of major music label owners and we were the first to experience the sparkling of the new releases of great musicians in those days ; Juju, Fuji, Sakara, Apala, Dundun, Afro beat, Highlife, name them. ….
But I was more a fan of Sakara, Fuji, Apala, Juju, and Dundun , all thanks to my Uncles and aunties ………………
So in 1982, Alhaji Agba (Supreme Fuji Commander then) released this particular LP and we all converged to listen to it as usual at the centre of our community named ‘ìdi radio’ (one of the designated Radio Centres at the early year of broadcasting service in the old western region ) ..but there was a particular verse I loved (still love) ..
BABA T’OBIMO TI O LEE TO KINI ANFANI E TONBELAYE?” ( WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF A FATHER WHO LACKS ALL IT TAKES TO RAISE A CHILD QUALITATIVELY?) ” OMO BEERE OSI BEERE BUKATA LONDA O,
OLAGBARA MEJI LATI TO, DAKUN YA
BIMEJI KODURO” (FAILURE TO GIVE BIRTH
TO KIDS YOU CAN AFFORD TO RAISE
WITH ALL YOUR TIME, ENERGY,
RESOURCES, AND VALUE ULTIMATELY
WILL LEAD TO GENERATIONAL POVERTY AND SUCH KIDS WILL GROW TO BECOME TROUBLED
ADULTS…..PLS GIVE BIRTH ACCORDING
TO YOUR CAPACITY…” he posited.
But for time I would have written out this song verbatim.. Of all the lines, I kept reminiscing on the above even as a child because of the palpable inconsistency of the value of the song to what I was witnessing in my entire clan and its surrounding. I later realised they only LISTEN but deliberately chose not to LEARN.
I cannot fathom why it was so difficult for some Fathers and Uncles back then on how they would display their scintillating hot steps laced with the mastery of the lyrics of the song and wouldn’t still grasp the wisdom behind the libretto.
Days after as I listened I committed the lines to my heart by SINGING them and WRITING THEM DOWN I was able to RESOLVE that I will not invite any child to this world beyond my capacity. But this was in contrast with what was the predominant societal norms in my environment as at the time. No one taught me this as early as a child But ALHAJI AGBA SIKIRU AYINDE AGBAJELOLA BALOGUN BARRISTER
Ever wondered why RonkePosh Adeniyi Le Poshe wont mince words on FAMILY PLANNING? .
Make no mistake it isn’t only about financial capacity. You need more than this to be a great parent.
Parenting is a dynamic behavior , and if you don’t take care of your own needs , the quality of your parenting will suffer thus creating more problems for the already tensed society as ours.
The singer reiterated the children you failed to train will fight and kill themselves over the properties you left behind. Regardless of the wealth. ” So what’s the economic importance of the Will you left behind for them, he querried”
I encourage parents to get this song and listen to it once again, perhaps it will help us in no small measure in changing the narrative of our lives for the best.
As I close I ask this pertinent question; What song do we listen to? What do you learn in the song? How do we guide our precious children in the type of songs they listen to?.
Let us dig into the archives and bring out those African songs. They preach our wealth and heritage as a tribe.
Out rich values are being entwined in the lyrics good for our daily lives.
Who is that musician that impacted your life as a child and in which area.
Thank you ALHAJI SIKIRU AYINDE BARRISTER for preparing me early in life for family life with your LP – FAMILY PLANNING
#parentingwithakinropo
#parenmarkschoolofparenting