Jimoh Aliu speaking with TheSun; First let tell you that God brought us together in a very miraculous way. Whatever one desires to embark upon in life, the person should put God first. If one is not close to God, there is nothing that the devil cannot do. When we first met, prophets, alfas and even traditionalists bombarded us with lots of prophetic warnings not to fight or separate. We got such messages regularly. We tried to heed the warnings. But when the devil struck, the agent that satan used to accomplish the mission was the man she eloped with. I won’t mention his names. Funny enough, this man came to seek my intervention when, as he claimed, that omo-oniles had taken his land at Egbeda, Lagos. He was the Judas used to snatch her from me.
The omo-oniles chased him out of the land with cutlasses and cudgels. He came crying to me! He probably must have heard of my closeness to all Aworis, especially in the whole of Alimosho. They love and adore me so much in Egbe, Egbeda, Isheri, Ikotun and so on. I am very close to all their Obas. And that love and affection was the reason they gave me a piece of land to build my house in Egbeda house. And all these Obas had gotten acquainted with me for long. Majority of them had not mounted the throne then. I came to Lagos in 1946 and had been engaged in this profession since 1969.
Now going back to Orisabunmi, when I met her and the relationship began, she was so naïve and innocent. In fact, she had never been to Lagos. I brought her to Lagos for the first time! When we met, I noticed she was a child of light, destined for greatness. I did not fail to tell her so, and I promised to make her a star. And the Lord was on our side.
I was able to groom her and brought out the best of her talents. I took her around the world. We travelled far and wide within the country and to other African countries including Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic. We also visited England, Italy, Belgium and Germany. We even went to America.
Back to the man: I went with him to the land and as soon as the boys saw me, they began hailing me, saying, Baba Aworo! Baba Aworo! Upon seeing him with me, they protested saying, ‘This is the man that wants to take our land.’ I countered by educating them that I have several wives and that I bought the land for Orisabunmi and only asked the young man to represent me there so the land would not be taken from her.
They capitulated immediately! I asked him if he could raise some amount so that work could commence right there on the site in my presence. He did so and work began there that same day. Blocks and other materials were brought. In fact I ordered the boys to act as the custodians of the plot, and so it was till the house was completed.
All the while, as the construction was going on, he had been clandestinely scheming his plot. You know I had presented Orisabunmi to them as the one I bought the plot for, so her usual presence there couldn’t be queried or suspected. By the time the building was completed I was in London. He moved into the house with her. Yes! The house built on the land I fought tooth and nail to ensure he did not lose. They began living there together as husband and wife!
What should I have done in such a situation? You can see that was a big trial from God – a great tribulation. All manner of people came to me in protest that I should fight back. But I adamantly refused to do so. I kept telling them I would not be a party to destroying the house I built. Orisabunmi is the house I built.
There was even a time a certain man was attacked and smeared her on the pages of newspapers. I frowned at it and protested because Orisabunmi is an institution. She should not be disparaged or maligned. In the end, she and the man broke up.
As it stands today, we greet one another wherever we meet. And whenever she was interviewed, she never failed to give me credit as the one who discovered, groomed and brought her to prominence. In her time, no one knew I had other wives.
All said, what is good needs prayer and what is not good also needs prayer. I pity Folake. I truly sympathize with her. Only God can judge the man that squeezed the bitter juice into our sweet relationship and turned it sour. It’s only Him that can judge the man that took her from me.
The Lord says ‘He always will stand by the just and upright’. You see, that man had drawn the grasscutter’s tail, eehn…! The Lord also is drawing his too. And he who shoots an arrow onto the sky taking refuge under the mortar, if the earthly king does not see him, the heavenly one does. He was not there when we were building that name! Ask me where he is today? The Creator never sleeps.
In all, I pray God Almighty to continue to protect and shield her. It had been destined that there will not be children between us, and I know it is the same devil at work. As for me, she is still in my heart and I do not leave her out of my prayers. My glory and pride is that she left my home with an enviable and glorious name and she had been carrying that with her wherever she goes. She is progressing and I am progressing.
I still call onto the Lord who in His mercies provided a child for Hannah. No matter how long, He will provide for her. But she should move closer to the Lord. She should be mindful of the fact that she is like the peacock in the world of birds. That is a proverb and the word of elders.
What about the rumor linking her with King Sunny Ade? Don’t you know how long my relationship with KSA has lasted? Was Folake born when Sunny and I met? KSA calls me wherever he has a concert and wants me to attend. Even when he is celebrating, he never hesitates to invite me.
When his mother (Mama Pupa) died in Ondo, all of us were there. That should tell you how close we are. Look at the portrait over there (pointing). That’s a picture of both of us.
As for the rumoured affair with him, there is no iota of truth in that. It’s being spread to cause disaffection and confusion. Orisabunmi and myself met with him (KSA) severally. That was another of the devil’s ploy that I talked about earlier. There is nothing to stretch on that. It’s no issue, so let’s forget it!