Legendary juju musician, Chief Ebenezer Obey, has stated that he and the deceased Iyalode of Yorubaland, Alaba Lawson, became close before she died.
Lawson had a son, Ore, for the musician.
Narrating their experience, he notes in an interview with ‘Saturday Punch’: “After the passage of my wife, l remained a widower for many years. And afterward, Mama Oreoluwa, (the late) Iyalode Alaba Lawson, was taking care of me. Even though she was a woman of many activities and we didn’t live together. Oreoluwa is a very nice son. He’s fond of me like all my children. Iyalode had been a wonderful woman by my side. She was an educationist and an entrepreneur and was the first female president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture. She gave scholarships in her school. She was a very hardworking person, a no-nonsense and highly disciplined woman who combined a lot of things. She disciplined her children who were all boys – six of them.
“I am missing her. It’s not a good experience. In Iyalode’s case, I’m a famous person and she was a famous woman as well. We didn’t live together as she was an independent person and ran a lot of things. I used to tell her to take it easy but in reply, she would always say, ‘Papa Ore, I’m doing what God has called me to do on earth’. And I would tell her to take a bit of rest. In my position, l am a counsellor as l counsel a lot of people on matters affecting their lives and God has always helped me a lot in this aspect.”
