80th Birthday of Chief Ebenezer Obey At Decross Gospel Mission, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE THANKSGIVING SERVICE MARKING THE 80TH BIRTHDAY OF CHIEF EBENEZER OBEY AT DECROSS GOSPEL MISSION, IYANA IPAJA, LAGOS, ON THE 3^RD OF APRIL 2022

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Ebenezer Obey – A Man For All Seasons.

I am honoured to join you all today to celebrate the 80th birthday of a true Nigerian musical living legend, the acclaimed Miliki Commander,   Evangelist and man of God, Chief Ebenezer Remilekun Aremu Olasupo Obey-Fabiyi,

I think it is fitting to begin this celebration of this gift of Chief Ebenezer Obey’s extraordinary life and prodigious artistic talent, with this service of thanksgiving here in this beautiful temple of Decross Gospel Mission that he built to start another career in full-time evangelism after retiring from music in the early 90s.

So, we have a double celebration today; first, we are celebrating Obey, the man who used his God-given musical talents to inspire, entertain and teach generations of men and women for decades. Second, we honour a man who has responded to the divine call to use those same talents as a fisher of men for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

As a legendary musician, Chief Commander Obey’s classics are innumerable. Who will forget “Olomi Gbo Temi” where he sings about the infinite possibilities of a good marriage bound by cooperation such as the one he had with our mother, his late wife, Lady Evangelist Juliana Obey-Fabiyi now of blessed memory? Or “Ketekete” (that is — The Horse, The Man & The Son), which is Chief Obey’s deeply philosophical allegory to us against yielding to distractions while embarking on life’s journey? How many people remember Board Members’ album?

But even after dominating the scene for so many decades, his influence continues to spread, generation after generation.

When you listen to a hip-hop remix of his evergreen song entitled “Aimasiko” by relatively much younger Simi, for instance, you cannot but marvel at Chief Commander’s impact even on contemporary Nigerian music has continued to grow.

In “Aimasiko”, we are admonished on the virtue of patience and forbearance, a reminder of the biblical exhortation that to everything there is time and season. Otherwise, we toil in futility. As Obey himself puts it rhetorically, “kini gbedo-gbedo fe f’igi ogede gbe” (meaning, in vain does a sculptor seek to carve a banana tree).

If Chief Ebenezer Obey’s music is timeless and profoundly relevant to all generations, it is partly because it speaks to something virtuous, something noble, something patriotic, something good and decent and though he sings mostly in Yoruba, his messages are undoubtedly universal.

Truly, how time flies. I recall the great excitement how ten years ago, he literally came out of musical retirement and released an album entitled, “Obey At 70”.  That three-track album of 2012  showed that the maestro had not lost any of his great genius and mass appeal.

With that commemorative album, evangelist Obey simply proved that it is quite possible to be a soldier for Christ and still retain the magic to make people dance and think. I am sure many fans like me would like to know if Chief Ebenezer Obey will be releasing “Obey at 80” very soon.

We want to know if, ten years later, “Miliki Is Still Rotating weeee were”, as Obey used to say in his unique lingo.

We are confident that if the Lord tarries and by His grace, we will see Obey at 90, Obey at 100 and Obey at 120!

As a sage reminds us, success without a worthy successor is a failure. We thank God that Chief Ebenezer Obey’s children are taking over him. Four of his children are pastors, while two of them are musicians.

Finally,  Chief Ebenezer  Obey’s songs clearly show that he has always been a philosopher and he had already thought through life and its seasons many years ago – the morning of life, afternoon and the night of life.

According to him, the good life we should aspire for is that in which the night is the most pleasurable. As he prayerfully puts it in another song, “Ki ale San Wa Ju Owuro Lo.” (That is, “May Our Night Be Better Than Our Morning”.)

Baba, emi na gbadura fun yin pe ale yin a sanju owuro yin lo, (I pray for you today that your latter shall be better than your former), anu oluwa a ba yin kale, awon omo, ati omo omo yin a di araba loju yin, (the mercy of God will be available for you and your chldren). E o Jere ijoba orun lo loruko Jesu, (You will inherit the Kingdom of God).

Gbogbo enyin ti en s’amin na, oluwa a gbadura yin, e o ni ri damu, oju o ni ti yin, gbogbo wa na la ma Jere ijoba orun (For all those saying amen, may God answer your prayer, you won’t have any troubles, you will not be put to shame and every single one of us will inherit the Kingdom of God).

God bless you all!

Happy birthday Sir!