Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, challenged his talent at the MUSON Centre on Sunday October 5, 2025. On encountering acclaimed Yoruba traditional poet, Suleiman Ayilara Aremu, aka Ajobiewe, the governor was moved not only to imitate the artist, but also to challenge him probably into a rendition competition. And so, Sanwo-Olu burst into mild esa egungun — (the masquerader’s poetry Ajobiewe is famous for). The Lagos Number One man was, however, so smart at it that he did not do more than some two verses.
Yet, his effort won him applause. The fact is that the governor had demonstrated how deeply he had caught the overflowing creativity and fun that filled the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, where the Ariya Eko Independence Music Festival was being held. Besides, his ‘performance’ was his own way of celebrating and showing love to Ajobiewe whom, he said, had always thrilled him and lavishly sung his praise each time they met at events.
Sanwo-Olu’s presence was indeed a big plus for the festival organised by Evergreen Music Limited, a project that brought many veteran artistes to the venue, with each of them receiving awards for their contributions to the country’s cultural arts. Among them were Chief Ebenezer Obey, General Kollington Ayinla, Mrs Deborah Fasoyin, Evangelist J. A. Adelakun (aka Ayewa), Uncle Toye Ajagun, Evangelist Funmi Aragbaye, Alex O, success-touch music producer, Laolu Akins, and Waka Queen, Salawa Abeni. While each of them thrilled the audience with some of their evergreen songs, Ajobiewe could not resist shaking the hall with some verses. The programme was, however, so tight that he could not endlessly roll with imagery-laden words as he always does. Perhaps, tomorrow would be another day when he and his bosom Governor Sanwo-Olu would meet again and then have the competition proper.
Some people would describe the evening as that of evergreens based on how the awardees returned to their repertories and performed their landmark tracks. While Ebenezer Obey, for instance, tickled the hall with his commanding ‘Koriko dide wa juba’, Toye Ajagun sang ‘Ma gbe, ma gbe o’. Ayewa did not deny the audience a reunion with his ‘Amona tete bo’ classic, just as Toye Ajagun evoked his song that rocked the waves in the 70s and 80s: ‘Ma gbe ma gbe o/Ese re di taya ko see gbe’.
On her part, Salawa Abeni sang her stardom hit ‘Gentle lady ni mi mi kii se fighter’, just as veterans Fasoyin and Aragbaye performed Christmas anthem ‘Odun n lo sopin’ and ‘Emi orun so kale’ respectively. Indeed, Aragbaye manged her time so well that she touched on her other oldies like ‘A gbe o ga o oba tiwa’ and ‘Ijoba orun ku dede’.
It was also cute that, apart from the plaques they joyfully received, the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry (MFM), Dr D.K. Olukoya, a passionate lover of music, gave each of them N500,000, a donation that was generously applauded.
While Alex O also got awarded and symbolically performed at the festival, at the heart of the celebration was Evergreen Musical Company, whose unwavering dedication to preserving and promoting Nigerian music heritage made the event possible. Many could not but applaud the company’s chip-off-the-old-block CEO, Bimbo Esho, who is taking the music propagation to a level higher than where her legendary father, Chief Femi Esho, took it before he joined his ancestors. For over two decades, the company has archived and restored the works of great musicians, ensuring that the legacy of Nigerian sound continued to inspire generations.
