Two band members of the late highlife
maestro, Fatai Olagunju, a.k.a, Fatai Rolling Dollar, are at loggerheads
over who heads the group.
The band members–70-year-old Eji Oyewole
and Biodun Bakare had a heated argument over the leadership of the band
at a night of tribute organised by the Actors Guild of Nigeria to
honour Olagunju on July 28.
As the lead guitarist, Oyewole mounted
the stage and started singing, another member of the band, Bakare, who
was among the audience, stood up and accused the guitarist of poor
rendition of Rolling Dollar’s songs.
Bakare subsequently snatched the
microphone from Oyewole. “This man is an enemy of Fatai Rolling Dollar;
you see how he is trying to spoil the man’s songs? Both of them had a
quarrel in America when we went there for a performance and Fatai did
not speak to him before he died,” he alleged.
Armed with two microphones, Bakare went ahead and rendered some of the late highlife musician’s hit songs including ‘Won Kere Si Number Wa.’Buoyed by the cheering crowd, Bakare refused to stop, ignoring the MC who had signalled to him to stop.It took the intervention of another theatre veteran, Dejumo Lewis, to get him off the stage.When asked about his reaction, Oyewole said he bore no ill feelings towards his fellow band member. “I do not attach any seriousness to his
statement; you know when somebody is under the influence of alcohol, he
can say anything. I know that he would not say all those things with a
clear mind,” he said.Oyewole, who said he joined the Rolling Dollar band in the 60s, added that he had no disagreement with the late musician.He said “We had gone to the United
States to perform in some of the jazz festivals in New York and other
places. When I came back to the country in January, we had a performance
at the Stadium Hotel and Fatai Rolling Dollar was delighted to see me
for the first time on stage after the USA tour.
“The occasion was like a reunion for
both of us. He travelled to America again two days after our meeting,
unfortunately, it was on that trip that he fell sick and was brought
back.
“When I learnt he was in the hospital, I
called his phone and his wife picked it and handed it over to him. When
he heard my voice he told me that he was very happy when he saw me the
last time. I called him by his nickname, baba yato and inquired
after his health, he informed me that he fell ill in America. Strangely,
his voice was very sharp, and he spoke with a lot of energy, I never
suspected he would die the following day.”
Meanwhile, Rolling Dollar’s friends have
pledged to raise funds for the completion of his building project, a
rehabilitation centre and music training school he was constructing in
Ikorodu before his death.
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