Votes won by all 73 presidential candidates in 2019 election

SAMSON TOROMADE

  

President Muhammadu Buhari has won a second term to remain in the Presidential Villa till 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari is the winner of the 2019 presidential election, according to the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In an election that had a total of 73 candidates, Buhari won 15,191,847 of the total votes cast while his closest opponent, Atiku Abubakar, gained 11,262,978 votes, an astonishing victory margin of 3,928,869 votes.

Felix Nicholas of the Peoples Coalition Party (PCP) came a distant third with a total of 110,196votes.

Despite the fact that some of the candidates had dropped out of the race before the election took place on Saturday, February 23, they still snagged a few thousand votes in the final tally.

A former minister, Oby Ezekwesili remained on the ballot despite withdrawing from the presidential election weeks ago. She scored a total of 7,223 votes

Here's how all the candidates in the 2019 presidential election performed:

1.  Isaac Ositelu (A) - 19,209

2.  AbdulRashid Baba (AA) - 14,380

3.  Omoyele Sowore (AAC) - 33,953

4.  Chike Ukaegbu (AAP) - 8,902

5.  Shipi Godia (ABP) - 4,523

6.  Nwokeafor Ikechukwu (ACD) - 11,325

7.  Obiageli Ezekwesili (ACPN) - 7,223

8.  Obadiah Mailafia (ADC) - 9,874

9.  Yusuf Yabaji (ADP) - 54,930

10. Nwachukwu Nwabuikwu (AGA) - 4,689

11. Umenwa Godwin (AGAP) - 3,071

12. Yusufu Obaje (ANDP) - 3,104

13. Fela Durotoye (ANN) - 16,779

14. Shittu Moshood (ANP) - 3,586

15. Tope Fasua (ANRP) - 4,340

16. Aliyu Ibrahim (APA) - 36,866

17. Muhammadu Buhari (APC) - 15,191,847

18. Shittu Mohammed (APDA) - 26,558

19. John Gbor (APGA) - 66,851

20. Mamman Yusuf (APM) - 26,039

21. Obinna Ikeagwuonu (APP) - 3,585

22. John Dara (ASD) - 2,146

23. Angela Johnson (AUN) - 1,092

24. David Ize-Iyamu (BNPP) - 1,649

25. Geff Ojinika Chizee (C4C) - 2,391

26. Lewis Abah (CAP) - 1,111

27. Emmanuel Etim (CNP) - 1,874

28. Frank Ukonga (DA) - 2,769

29. Awosola Olusola (DPC) - 5,242

30. Felix Osakwe (DPP) - 14,483

31. John Onwubuya (FJP) - 4,174

32. Chris Okotie (FRESH) - 4,554

33. Davidson Akhimien (GDPN) - 41,852

34. Samuel Eke (GPN) - 4,924

35. Albert Owuru (HDP) - 1,663

36. Nnamdi Madu (ID) - 1,845

37. Sunday Chukwu-Eguzolugo (JMPP) - 1,853

38. Adesina Fagbenro-Byron (KP) - 1,911

39. Kriz David (LM) - 1,438

40. Usman Muhammed (LP) - 5,074

41. Olufunmilayo Adesanya-Davies (MAJA) - 2,651

42. Isah Bashayi (MMN) - 14,540

43. Hamisu Santuraki (MPN) - 2,752

44. Rabia Hassan (NAC) - 2,279

45. Babatunde Ademola (NCMP) - 1,378

46. Yunusa Salisu (NCP) - 1,378

47. Johnson Edosomwan (NDCP) - 1,192

48. Robinson Akpua (NDLP) - 1,588

49. Paul Ishaka (NEPP) - 1,524

50. Asukwo Archibong (NFD) - 4,096

51. Eunice Atuejide (NIP) - 2,248

52. Ike Keke (NNPP) - 6,111

53. Maimuna Maina (NPC) - 10,081

54. Usman Ibrahim (NRM) - 6,229

55. Moses Ajibiowu (NUP) - 5,323

56. Felix Nicholas (PCP) - 110,196

57. Atiku Abubakar (PDP) - 11,262,978

58. Peter Ameh (PPA) - 21,822

59. Victor Okhai (PPC) - 8,979

60. Hamza Al-Mustapha (PPN) - 4,622

61. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim (PT) - 2,613

62. Israel Nonyerem Davidson (RAP) - 2,972

63. Chukwudi Osuala (RBNP) - 1,792

64. Nseobong Nsehe (RP) - 2,388

65. Donald Duke (SDP) - 34,746

66. Thomas Da-Silva (SNC) - 28,680

67. Ahmed Buhari (SNP) - 3,941

68. Isiaka Balogun (UDP) - 3,170

69. Mark Emmanuel (UP) - 1,561

70. Ahmed Inwa (UPN) - 1,631

71. Nwangwu Uchenna (WTPN) - 732 

72. Ali Soyode (YES) - 2,394

73. Kingsley Moghalu (YPP) - 21,886

Registered voters - 82,344,107

Accredited voters - 29,364,209

Votes cast - 28,614,190

Valid votes - 27,324,583

Rejected votes - 1,289,607

if you experience an erection lasting more than 4 hours.

Erectile dysfunction is a common problem, and for most patients, these drugs are safe. But, as the ads all say, “Seek immediate medical help ”

Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D., 

Talk about making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. The manufacturers to Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have taken an FDA-mandated warning and turned it into a marketing coup. After all, in addition to flowers and chocolates, what better present can you give your Valentine than a night of pleasure from your 4-plus hour erection?


 Unfortunately, should you experience this prolonged penile engorgement, a condition called priapism, it may be the last erection that you ever have.

Erections occur when the muscle cells that surround the small arterial blood vessels in the penis relax, allowing blood to flow into the penis, which then enlarges and closes off the veins that drain the blood from the penis that keeps it erect. Ejaculation results in less blood flowing to the penis, releasing the pressure on the veins and thereby allowing the blood to flow out. Viagra (sildenafil), Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (vardenafil) are members of a drug class called phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors. These drugs prolong the relaxation of the muscles around the penile blood vessels, keeping the blood in the penis.

Priapism is defined as a penis that remains erect for more than 4 hours despite the absence of physical or psychological stimulation. The term is derived from the Greek fertility god, Priapus, who was known for his large, permanent erection. Priapism is very rare with any of these PDE5 inhibitors, and, in most instances, is mild. The risk is increased in men using other medications for erectile dysfunction, such as penile injections of Caverject (alprostadil). Use of psychotropics, phentolamine, amphetamines and cocaine also can increase the risk. Individuals with sickle cell disease, multiple myeloma and leukemia are also at increased risk of priapism when using these drugs.

If priapism is not treated rapidly, permanent erectile dysfunction (i.e. impotence), penile disfigurement, or loss of part or the entire penis may result. Fortunately, most treatments are effective if the individual sees a physician rapidly and includes use of medications, aspiration and irrigation of the stagnated blood in the penis, and, for severe priapism, surgical shunting of the blood from one part of the penis to another.

The more common side effects of these drugs are headache, upset stomach, facial flushing, and a stuffy or runny nose. These are self-limited nuisances and not serious.

These comments are certainly not meant to scare anybody off from using these medications. Erectile dysfunction is a common problem, and for most patients, these drugs are safe and effective, and have restored a healthy sex life to millions of couples. But, as the ads all say, “Seek immediate medical help if you experience an erection lasting more than 4 hours.”

As Brazil Adopts Yoruba Language as one of its official Languages…

By Yemi Olakitan
Reports have revealed that the Brazilian government has given the
Yoruba language a special place in the country. Minister of Culture,
Dr Sérgio Sá leitão, recently announced that government has introduced
the compulsory study of African History and Yoruba language into the
primary and secondary schools curriculum.

He was speaking during a lecture organized by the Institute of African
Studies, University of Sao Paulo on the importance of Yoruba language
in the Brazilian culture and tradition.  According to him, the
inclusion of African History and Yoruba Language in the country’s
curriculum will help bring the closeness of the African Brazilian
people to their roots. He said it will also encourage the
understanding of the language among in Brazil alongside Portuguese,
which is the major official language in the country.

Historical reports say, the Brazilian people have their origin in
Yoruba land where they were forcefully taken and transported to Brazil
during the trans Atlantic slave trade. Originally, the Yoruba people
are an ethnic group of southwestern and north-central Nigeria, as well
as southern and central Benin at almost 40 million people in total.
During the slave Trade, the Yoruba people were transported to
countries like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Saint Lucia,
Jamaica, and Brazil.  They went with their music, dance, religion,
cuisine and Yoruba language. These have influenced the native people
of those places immensely.

The minster said, “Most of the cultures and traditions in evidence in
Brazil are all of the heritages brought along to the Latin American
country by the majority Yoruba families, victims of the BARCO
NEGREIROS, the NEGRO BOAT that forcefully brought the enslaved West
Africans to Brazil in the 13th century.
Yoruba traditional religion today comes after the Catholic practices
as the most evolving religious practices in the South America today.
Several houses of worships called “ILE ASE” are having the Yoruba
culture, tradition and language as official, whenever the cults are
declared open for the day. Babalawo, Iyalawo, Omo Awo, and Aborisa are
all common Yoruba usages in the practice of the Yoruba religion called
Candomblé in Brazil.
In a chat with Depo Ladipo, theater Artists and culture activist, ‘It
is time for Nigerians to take their languages seriously. What we have
today is that young people cannot speak our languages correctly. We
have become mentally and culturally colonized. If Brazil can take
Yoruba language so seriously, it speaks poorly on Nigerian leaders who
do not place equal significance on our languages.
Speaking further, Ladipo said, ‘‘our languages are our identity.
English Language is a foreign language, no matter how high we place it
above our own languages. Listen to our radio stations when they speak
Yoruba language, our broadcasters speak what I call, Yoruba mixed with
English. They can’t speak the language well anymore. Our languages are
dying and we need to wake up.
He commended the Lagos state Government under Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode who recently signed into law a bill enforcing compulsory Yoruba
language teaching in our primary and secondary schools. I hope other
state Governors will follow in his steps by recognizing Igbo and Hausa
languages in our various states,’ he said.

How I nearly lost My Life in the Creeks -Emmanuel Uduaghan

By Yemi Olakitan

Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan is a former Delta State Governor from 2007 to 2015 and one of the founding fathers of (PDP) in the Niger Delta. However, he recently decamped to the ruling party, stating increased dialogue and a better understanding of the Niger Delta crisis by the ruling party as his reason. A medical doctor by profession, he was Commissioner for Health and Delta State Secretary before he was elected Governor. He speaks with Yemi Olakitan on growing up in the Niger Delta, cleaning up the Niger Delta and reviving agriculture in the region. Excerpts:

·      With a background in Medicine and surgery, why did you go into Politics?

Actually, I was drafted into politics; every human being has a political aspect of him. In fact, man is a political animal. I was politically aware of what is happening around me especially in government. I used to read a lot and I was interested in what was happening around me at the time. I was a very strong critic of government too – very, very strong critic. I also had people look up to in government, the ogbemudias and co. way back to the days of Awolowo. It was through, Awolowo I was able to attend a Primary School. We had a Primary School in the Village at the time. He was then the Premier of Western Region and he made education free for all. This was how I was able to attend Primary School and got an education.

Later on in life when I started practicing as a medical doctor I was also very critical about government. It was when Ibori came, it was 1990 or thereabout, when Babaginda was still in power and there were elections into the state House of Assembly, Governorship and all. He wanted to contest for House of Representative. He came under NRC and he just drafted some of us. Although I was not a politician at the time, I knew that SDP was the party on ground in Delta state.. It was NRC versus SDP so I advised him that if he contests under NRC he might not win. He said he was sure he could win because he had some advisers who told him to contest and they will back him up. We had that election and he did not win.

During the Abacha era when the five fingers of Abacha were formed, the five political parties, he came with one of them to Delta that was the Grassroots Democratic Movement, (GDM) Again, he drafted some of us. That was when I joined politics actively.

He was interested in me because, according to him, the first time he ran for a political office; it was only two of us that told him the truth. Every other person told him, he would win and they were just collecting his money. He appreciated that a lot and then he wanted me to be around him. He brought me close. That was how I came into politics fully. That is my background.

·      Let’s us flashback a little into your childhood. What was it like growing up in the Niger – Delta?

I grew up in the village called Mostuga, real typical village, no pipe borne water, no electricity. The only sign of civilization there was a Primary School, and then a Baptist church. There was no access road to the place. You have to go by boat. It was such a rural area and ironically very exciting. I had a very fantastic childhood looking back then, everything was just okay. There was food in abundance; there was no polluted environment. We play around, all over the place. There was no criminality of any kind.  The only incident I remembered that was close to criminality was an incident involving one woman. She was partially blind and was living alone. One night, she went out to ease herself and then she found her way back to the house. As she was entering the house it occurred to her that there was somebody in her house. So, she started screaming, people rushed out and of course, they caught the thief. That was the only event I can remember that came close to criminality. Nobody fenced his or her house. I was living with my grandmother. There was no fence in any house; every adult in the community was the father of every child, or the mother of every child. It means that though you may have your biological children but because you and I are the fathers of all our children, all the children could eat in my house, they could eat in your house. In fact, they can sleep in your house or in mine. So, discipline was easier because if any of the adults discover the children misbehaving, they can discipline them and your biological parents will not quarrel with the person. It was such a free community; it was in that type of village that I grew up.

·      What would you say has changed in that community today?

Over the years with the advent of the oil companies, a lot of our land and our waters have become polluted. It started with the oil companies who were not regularly maintaining their facilities and all that. So, the pipelines burst and they pollute our water, land and air. Later, our own activities, people who are doing illegal bunkering, illegal refineries e.t.c. have polluted our land, water and air.   When I was growing up in the village, you could go to the river, put your hands into the river and bring out fish. You can also throw your net, catch some fishes and go home to cook your Banga Soup to eat your Starch. Our food was fresh. It was nutrituos because we had what we needed fresh from land and water. The river was very clear, you could drink it and if you put it in a pot, it becomes very cool, and you don’t need a refrigerator. We used to use the sand in the river to brush our teeth. That is why in those days, even the old people had good sets of teeth, looking fresh and strong. They used simple things like chewing sticks and sand to brush their teeth.

·      What can be done to reverse the situation?

Well, it is important to know that in developing in Nigeria, we must look at other areas beyond oil. Oil has been the mainstay of our economy. This is why we must develop other areas of the economy. When I was in office; I had this vision of Delta beyond oil which is not a small project for a few days of my tenure. We must continue to work on Delta beyond oil.   One of the areas we can look at is Agriculture. Yes we have a lot of land, water and all that. The first point to start is how we can clean up our own environment because we are living in an environment where there is so much pollution.  Cleaning up our environment is not cheap. It must require the cooperation of the state, the Federal Government and international bodies. In Delta state, the first thing we did was to do a study of the level of damage done to our environment. We partnered with one of the united Nation bodies to do the study.  Today, we have the federal Government trying to clean up the Niger – Delta starting with the Ogoni. The Ogoni area is much more polluted. But I do not see the sincerity in trying to do that clean up. It’s been so much politicized, so much ethinicized that even with all the promises and all the funfair that was involved with the project when it started, nothing much has been done. I believe we need to move beyond that. The Federal Government need to take urgent and very serious steps to do the cleaning up.

There also have to be very strong legislation on cleaning up our environment. We have to put up some solid laws that will ensure that the Federal Government takes the issue of cleaning up seriously. If oil companies don’t clean up, they should be ready to pay some heavy fine. These kinds of laws are important so that everybody will be serious about it. We need legislation to stop further pollution; this should include pollution by illegal refineries. The so-called illegal refineries should modernized and operators should be licensed and given crude oil legally. We need legislation that will also put an end to pipeline vandalism. Crude oil thefts as well contribute to environmental pollution because in the process of stealing Crude oil, they damage pipelines. Yes, there are some laws here and there but they are not strong enough. They are not implemented. This means those laws have to be reviewed and more effective legislature should be put in place.

·      Looking at your very humble background. How did you become so successful becoming a Medical Doctor, a Governor and achieving so much in life?

I will attribute it to God’s grace and mercy. All of us have our own destiny. Some were born with silver spoon. Some were born with wooden spoon. Whatever your destiny is you will definitely get there. Sometimes we truncate what God has planned for us with our own hands. I thank God I didn’t truncate mine.

·      There must have been some challenges. How did you overcome them? This is very important because young people can get some inspiration whenever this is published.

Let me say this, though I grew up in the village I had a grandmother who was very discipline, we had no clock but we follow the cocks that crow early in the morning. There are three cockcrows. The first cock crows you have to get up between that times you are getting up another one will crow. That tells you time is getting near, it’s almost time for you to live the house. The first cockcrow tells you to get up. The second one is a reminder. If you are the slow type you move faster. If you are the fast type, you probably would have gotten ready by then. The third one is for everybody to live the house. Most farmers live the house by the third cock crow.

As a young boy when I live the house, I am living with some adults farmers. The women are going to the farm, the men are also going to their rubber farm to tap rubber. I will follow them to the rubber farm and by the time you finish tapping, it will probably be day break. You don’t need your headlamp by that time.. The women would have roasted yam or plantain. The men will now go to the farm where the women are working and that is where we all eat our yam or plantain with red oil. This was usually my breakfast and every one elses’. When you are  through with food you then go back and start pouring your rubber into a certain bucket. If you want to put timing to it may be by 7:00am we would have finished all those things and that is when we can go home, take your bath and go to school. My grandmother was so discipline so that despite all these we were usually the first to get to school.

The school was very far from home and we had to treck. So, I had a grandmother, who was very discipline, she was always very firm with punctuality. I took that with me till today; there is nobody that grew up with my grandmother that won’t be punctual. She was very strict.

Although, she was not educated, she ensures that I took my schooling seriously. If the Headmaster reports you to her that you have done anything wrong she will discipline you on her own. So, you have double punishment. She had a very bid cane. I will say God also granted us grace. As young as we were in Primary School we were very competitive in class. I remembered that there were three of us then, one girl, a boy and I, we were the most competitive one in class. One of us will come first, the other second and the last is the third position in the class. We alternated it like that. So, if you came second or third this year, you are determined to come first next year. We always wanted to overthrow the first person. I think it is important that young people should imbibe a healthy competitive spirit. This is essential for achievements and success in life.  All these combined together to help me later in life. I didn’t understand until much later in life that all those things were important. My father who was in the police at the time was very interested in education, although I was living in the village. He would ride to the village every Sunday. He used to come to the village from Sapele. When he comes like that the first thing he wanted to check were my books and all that. There were somethings my grandmother will not understand but he understood them. If I didn’t do well he will report me to my grandmother who would flog me.   So, I had people around me who were very interested in education. The fact that they didn’t have to pay because of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Policy made education paramount in our lives. Later, when I moved to secondary school, my uncle in Lagos was also very interested in education. He took me to Lagos from the Village School and I entered Federal Government College. What we should take from this is that parents should show a lot of interest in their children education. It is not enough to just pay school fees. Both fathers and mothers should show active interest.

·      It’s safe to say that your grandmother played a major role in your education. Was she able to witness some of your Success?

Yes, she is late now but she witnessed the day I become a medical doctor. It was the happiest day in her life, when I became a doctor and I went to the village to see her she said she had been waiting for me. i said why mama? She said when she dies, she believes I will be the one they will call and that I should never put her in a freezer because she is not ice – fish. (laughter)

·      Did you keep that promise?

Of course, we didn’t put her in a freezer she was embalmed. We never took her to the mortuary she didn’t like it.

·      Let us talk about your achievements as Governor. What would you say is your most cherished achievement as Governor of Delta State?

I came to Government at a very turbulent period in the history of Delta state. There have been some disagreements between the various ethnic groups – the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Uroboh. The issue of location and relocation of local Government headquarters sparked off a crisis that culminated into the Niger – Delta Crisis that we are still trying to manage today. Starting from when I was Commissioner. For Health and Secretary to the state Government. I had played a very active role in mediation. As Governor, I even went into the creeks to negotiate with the boys. I had no security aid with me and yet they didn’t harm me. It was risky though but I did that. Although there was a time I almost lost my life. I had gone into the creeks to negotiate with the boys and I was coming out on a boat when I met some heavily harmed soldiers waiting by the shore. They were going to shoot. Although, it had been announced that I was going in there, the Army knew but obviously not all of them was aware and I almost lost my life. I just raised my hands up with the people that went with me. I had no security so It was all Gods mercy on me. I will say my most important achievement was conflicts resolution, management and peacekeeping and it is still ongoing.

·      So, why are you defecting to APC?

I decided to join the ruling party because of President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s effort in tackling the crisis in Niger Delta region. This administration is a departure from the past when the military used to harass our people with their might and power.  The Buhari administration has embarked on various engagements processes that have led to agreements and brought real hope to the people of the Niger Delta. This approach by the APC-led federal government has pointed us in a direction that is progressive and developmental. This is what we can build on.  It is a major achievement of the Buhari government that I want to follow up. This why I want to work with that party. Politics is about service to the people.

        

          

We will not allow his dream to die - Boisala (Baba Sala’s Son)

Yemi Olakitan 

Adejumo Emmanuel, popularly known as Boisala is one of Moses Olaiya, Baba Sala’s son who has taken after his father in the area of comedy, music and filmmaking. Boisala is determined to follow in his father’s steps.

A graduate of Theater Arts from the Lagos State University, he reveals many sides of his father, plans to build on his famous father’s legacy of arts and humour and burial arrangements. Excerpts:

·     . What will you miss about dad?

First of all, my name is Adejumo Emmanuel, popularly known as Boisala. Like my father, I am a comedian, musician, and theater director. I work with the Federal Government at the National Troupe of Nigeria.  I am one of Moses Olaiya Adejumo’s sons.  My father was an eclectic artiste, one we all will miss greatly.  I personally will miss his encouragement, most especially his prayers. My daddy prays for all of us all the time. If he calls you, he prays, when you call him, he prays. He loved God so much and encouraged all of us to serve and worship him. He picked out humour in everything. He takes life very simple. I will miss him a lot and we will all miss him.

·     . How do you plan to build on his legacy?

I am moving on with his legacy. He once told me he didn’t want this business to die with him. He wants us to continue where he stopped. This is why he employed some of us when he was at his peak in the business so that we can learn the way he was doing it.

He trained me and gave me advice all the time. I thank the Lord that I am following his footsteps. It is working for me. I will like to continue to improve on what he has done and develop more ideas with my siblings, his staff that he left behind.  This task is not for just me alone but for all of brothers, my sisters and you the media. We need you.

·     How do you think the Federal Government can immortalize him? 

I think the Federal Government should do something good to immortalize him, probably by naming one Arts Center in his name or any other monument that befits him because of his contribution to the development of arts In Nigeria and for putting smiles on the faces of Nigerians at home and abroad. The family is working hard to do our part though. We have launched his biography last year at Eko Hotel in Lagos. We are planning many other projects as well. We intend to produce some of his movie scripts again. There is going to be a Theater School in his name and Scholarship awards to students in some selected Universities to encourage Arts and Comedy in Nigeria. As you know our father was a musician, dramatist and filmmaker as well. So we intend to package more of all these things with time for the enjoyment of Nigerians.

·     What was it like growing up with such a legend and creative mind?

It is a privilege coming to life through him. If there is another life I will still come through him. His name has open doors for me. Where ever, I go when they discover that I am his son, they respect and give me assistance. Growing up in a humour house was something else! We love Daddy and daddy loved us. If you come to our house you will know that there is love in the air. We all eat from the same pot. You wont know who is mum. We all sleep in any room with our mothers. We had two nannies that cooked for us, which we called them Iya Adura number one and Iya Adura number two.

We play a lot and mimicked our father’s acts on stage. Daddy used to throw a party for us every December. Children from other streets usually come to join us. My daddy checked our academic progress all the time. If you fail in school you get punished. He played with us a lot. Sometimes, he features us in his plays. I see him as not just a father but also a mentor.  He respected and loved our mothers a lot and we all love him too. Whenever, daddy travelled to the UK, he usually come home with toys, gifts and all kinds of things for his children.

·     What plans are on ground for the burial arrangement?

We will start with a symposium at the National Arts Theatre on the 29^th of November. It is going to be the first Moses Olaiya Adejumo Public Lectures. Theatre Arts students and groups performances will be the main activities on that day. This will be followed by a mega concert also in his honour. This concert will take place at the Lagos television on the 30^th of November. On Monday 3^rd of December, we are going top do lying in state at the National Arts Theatre with tributes from government officials, Theater Arts gurus, film makers and the media. The body will arrive for lying in state at Oshogbo on Wednesday 5^th of December on same Wednesday.

There is going to be a service at the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church at Ilesha by 5p and on the 6^th of December, we are going for the Christian Wake keeping by 4pm while all the theatre Artistes gather for the Artiste night on that same night at Ilesha. On the 7^th of December, the service starts in his church by 9am and the interment follows immediately while all the guests move to the reception.

·     Can you mention some of your achievements in the arts so far?

 Well I have achieved a lot by the grace of God. I am popularly known as Boisala, the musician, dramatist, filmmaker, and comedian. The name Boisala was given to me by Arnold Udoka at the University of Calabar by God’s grace. My father’s name opens many doors for me. I have acquired a University education, performed in many big productions here in Nigeria and abroad, I have a comedy program. I called Boisala and Company. I have also released four music albums. My father featured in my first music album. He also launched the album for me. I have produced my own movie and I am planning another one before my father died. There are many achievements by God’s grace and I am still counting.

·     He must have encouraged you a lot?

Yes, Dad helped and encouraged me immensely because he wanted me to follow his foots steps. He had seen this in me from childhood. I always mimicked him so he was determined to mentor me so that I can keep up his legacy. He sent me to a dance company at Ibadan first to study Dance. Later, he sent me to learn Camera and film production. Then, Acting and Editing. He gave me many books on Theater Arts and encouraged me a lot when I set up my own company.

When I tell people I am Baba Sala’s son. They said, no wonder, they see it in me. Resources come to me easily when I mention his name. It’s like a password. To that I am very grateful to God.  I joined Ogun state Cultural Center by just mentioning his name. My Director Mrs. Yemisi Olarenwaju took me as her son and mentored me. I have other mentors like Mr. Yinka Kareem who will do anything to train me well just because I am Baba Sala’s son. When I joined the National Troupe, my father was so happy that he called the then Professor Ahmed Yerima to thank him. The professor immediately began another round of training just because I am Baba Sala’s son. He was the one that trained me for eight years. I passed through many good people through Dad, so being his son has helped me greatly.

·     What are the lessons you picked from him that you will like others to emulate.

I picked many things from Dad. He was patient and humble to the core. He said patience and humility is very important to success and achievements in life. My father struggled in life to achieved international stardom and despite many obstacles he became great. My father is a God fearing man, a perfectionist. He loves to put his best in whatever he was doing.

·     What do you plan to do with the body of work he left behind?

Yes, we will keep walking on his Alawada group. His boys are all there. He called them the Pillars. We will continue with them. We walk closely with them to carry on our father’s vision. We will not allow his dream to die. 

THE LIJADU SISTERS

Spot the difference. Juju stars Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey and Dele Abiodun; Afrobeat originator Fela Anikulapo Kuti and ozzidizm originator Sonny Okosuns; highlife rejuvenators Victor Uwaifo, Prince Nico and the Oriental Brothers; fuji stars Ayinla Kollington and Ayinde Barrister; apala veteran Haruna Ishola; waka child prodigy Salawa Abeni; and roots-modernists the Lijadu Sisters. With the exception of Abeni and the Lijadu Sisters, the biggest names on the 1970s Nigerian music scene were all men.

In Nigeria in the 1970s, only a tiny handful of female artists broke through the backing singer/dancer ceiling to become stars in their own right, particularly if they wrote all their own material – as did Abeni, with lyrics closely based on or taken straight out of Islamic scripture and folk wisdom, and the Lijadu Sisters, whose repertoire ranged from love songs and dance anthems through philosophy and political/social commentary.

“The music business was hard for women in Nigeria,” says Taiwo Lijadu. “Back then, they didn’t think women had brains.”

Twins Taiwo and Kehinde were born in Jos, in northern Nigeria, on October 22, 1948. They enjoyed singing from an early age, encouraged by their mother, who bought them records by a wide range local and overseas of artists. Kehinde and Taiwo remember with special fondness discs by Aretha Franklin, Miriam Makeba, Ray Charles and, later, Fela Kuti (who, like the Nobel Prize winning writer and political activist Wole Soyinka, was their second cousin).

The twins started songwriting early too – Kehinde when she was 10, Taiwo when she was 17 – and absorbed the humanitarian sensibilities of Franklin, Makeba, Charles and Kuti along with their soulful vocal styles. “All our records include songs with deep messages,” says Kehinde. “Artists should be the voice of the world. Not just of their own people, but of the wider world, for a problem which faces one, faces all.”

The Lijadu Sisters began working as session singers, but solid-gold talent and determination – and, no doubt, the twins’ extraordinary physical beauty – soon led to their first own-name release, “Iya Mi Jowo” (“mother please”), which came out on Nigerian Decca in 1968. The song was written by Taiwo in 1965 and the story behind it is included in the notes for the album Mother Africa, for which the sisters rerecorded it.

In 1971, the sisters met the British drummer Ginger Baker (Cream, Blind Faith, Airplane), who in the first half of the 1970s was a frequent visitor to Nigeria, where he recorded and performed with Kuti and his band, Africa 70. In 1972, the Lijadu Sisters performed with Baker’s band at the cultural festival accompanying the Munich Olympics in Germany. For a while, Taiwo and Baker were an item.

Another fortuitous male encounter was with the multi-instrumentalist Biddy Wright. Wright’s mother was a close friend of the sisters’ mother, through whom the three met. Sadly no longer with us, Wright co-arranged and played on all four of the classic 1970s Lijadu Sisters albums released on Decca’s Afrodisia imprint. Thirty-plus years later, after an introduction by Will Glasspiegel, Knitting Factory Records will re-release these long out-of-print albums – Danger (1976), Mother Africa (1977), Sunshine (1978) and Horizon Unlimited (1979).

Assisted only by traditional drummers and percussionists, Wright played most of the instruments on these discs – including electric and acoustic guitar, bass guitar, saxophone and keyboards. After the twins’ own ravishing voices, rich harmonies and thought provoking songs, Wright was key to their 1970s success: as at home with funk and rock as he was with traditional Yoruba music, and, like Taiwo and Kehinde, adept at bringing traditional and electric styles together.

By 1980, the Lijadu Sisters were acquiring an international profile. They were featured in British director Jeremy Marre’s fiIm Konkombe: The Nigerian Pop Music Scene in 1979, and in the Nigerian chapter of Marre’s TV series on “world music,” Beats Of The Heart. In 1984, the US label Shanachie released the compilation album Double Trouble, and the British label Earthworks rereleased Horizon Unlimited. In 1985, on British television, Kehinde and Taiwo were a big hit on the so-cool-it-hurts music show, The Tube. In 1988, they visited the US with Sunny Ade, and performed under their own name with Ade’s band, winning an enthusiastic review in The New York Times.

By the end of the decade, things were looking good for the Lijadu Sisters in the US, and after the Ade concerts they stayed in the country while their green card applications went through.

Then disaster struck. Kehinde suffered dreadful spinal injuries in a fall in the hallway of the twins’ Brooklyn apartment building (they lived on the first floor). “The first doctor who saw me gave me six months to live,” says Kehinde. “Then they said I would never walk again. But I said to myself, ‘I will be strong, I will not give up, I owe it to my family.’”

The accident threatened to finish the Lijadu Sisters’ career, and it kept them out of the public eye until 2011, when Knitting Factory’s reissue program began.

While Kehinde was recovering, the twins withdrew completely from the limelight. Inevitably, rumors about their wellbeing and whereabouts abounded. Some people thought they had died, others that they had married rich Americans and retired into lives of luxurious obscurity. There were several other tales. Everyone missed them terribly.

Kehinde eventually overcame her injuries, but it took many years, and she still suffers its effects. “I am walking, even dancing again now,” she says. “But I cannot sit down for more than two hours at a time, and I cannot fly any distance at all.”

During Kehinde’s recovery, the sisters’ were sustained by their embrace of the traditional Yoruba belief system Ifa (which has a divination strand of arcane complexity and infinite nuance), and their study of the use of herbs in healing.

“Our mother taught us that unless we had something to promote, it was best not to do interviews,” says Taiwo. “Save it for when you have something to talk about. And we have not spoken for a long time. But the Knitting Factory program means we have something to talk about once more. We are back, and we are going to perform again.”

“It is decades since we have performed publicly,” adds Kehinde, “but now we are ready – and the music will be of today! We thank our fans for remembering us, and we want them to know why we have been silent. We love them very much.”

In 2011, Kehinde and Taiwo, inseparable since birth, share an apartment in Harlem, NYC.

It is wonderful to have them back.

Culled from: http://www.knittingfactoryrecords.com/artists/the-lijadu-sisters/