By Ayo Onikoyi
It was indeed fusion of different generations of
sound, philosophies and rhythms when last
Saturday Glo brought together iconic Juju
musician Commander Ebenezer Obey, in a thrilling concert with M.I Abaga and Yemi Sax at the Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island, Lagos.

First to mount the stage was the Grand
Commander, Chief Ebenezer Obey. He started the evening with a song that paid tribute to God titled Iba lo ye kase and gave the audience the rare privilege of requesting for any of his favourite songs which
he promptly rendered to their delight.

Without betraying the slightest sign of old age,
Obey took total control of the stage right from the first
string of the guitar cord. Moved by the classic
rendition, significant members of the audience could not
hold the urge to dance.

Dread-locked Yemi Sax, garbed in a white
Kaftan was the next to thrill the audience with his
dexterity on the saxophone.He reeled out tunes of the “old
school” with the backing tracks by the D.J. to the delight of the audience.

MI was at his vintage best that night as he dished
out hits of contemporary flavor. The concert audience, an admixture of different generations, brought together by their love for music, danced and sang along with Mr Incredible who mesmerised all with his stagecraft.

But highpoint of the event was the collaboration by
Chief Obey and the two younger artistes, M.I.
and Yemi Sax whom Obey described as his children.
They performed together to the immense admiration
of the crowd. Obey led the way with two of his
evergreen tracks Ore mi e se pelepele and Olomi
gbo temi with M.I.emblazoning his signature into the
two songs. Yemi Sax ? also jazzed up the tunes with his saxophone. Their performances drew spontaneous burst of applause.

The show was aptly anchored by two foremost,
resourceful comedians, Gbenga Adeyinka and
Okey Bakassi. They laced the show with rib cracking
jokes.

Ebenezer Obey later commended Chairman of
Globacom for conferring the epithet of Great
Commander on him. While fielding questions
from journalists at the event, he described Globacom “as
the greatest supporter of Nigerian entertainment industry. He noted that the Glo Evergreen Series will take African music to the greatest height.”

In the documentary screened at the event, the
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola
commended Chief Fabiyi for his giant strides in
the music industry. He said that he is a big fan of the
juju maestro, and remarked that he uses Obey’s
music and the philosophies espoused in his music to
brush up his proficiency in Yoruba language.

Similarly, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of
Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo went down
memory lane to recount how one of Obey’s songs
brought nostalgic feelings of home to him when
he was on tour of duty in Zaria. The Osile of Oke Ona, Oba Dr Adedapo Tejuosho thanked Chief Obey Fabiyi for popularising Teju Foams in the seventies and described him as a quintessential Cultural ambassador whose prolific repertoire of music has dignified a lot of Nigerians.

“I can’t imagine missing this show. This is one of the best concerts I have attended in ages. Kudos to Glo for bringing such a unique experience to us live,” a member of the audience, Mr Kolawole Adedeji, a Lagos-based public relations consultant commented after the show.

The show was attended by over 100 managing directors including the MDs of First Bank, Guinness, Nigerian Breweries, and Arik.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/obey-m-
yemi-sax-star-glo-evergreen-series-takes/