•On Her Grass To Grace Story
•Reveals How She Started Life As An Actress
Few weeks ago, popular Nigerian gospel music icon, Tope Alabi shook Lagos with 2 solid events all in 3-days. The first one was the burial of her father, Pa Joseph Akinyele Obayomi who died at the age of 89 on December 16, 2019, while the second one was her annual concert “Praise the Almighty 2020”.
How Tope Alabi held the 2 big events in the same week still remains a big surprise, and mystery to many people till date, as each event was recorded as one of its kind. The mammoth crowd that gathered at LTV Blue Roof on Sunday 16, February, 2020 for her annual concert was overwhelming. So also did her father’s burial witness the presence of the high and mighty of the society.
The final burial ceremony of Pa Joseph Akinyele Obayomi started on Wednesday 12, 2020. The wake-keep and Praise Night Service took place at his residence, 11, Baba Ode Street, Afijalo Bus Stop, Mafoluku in Oshodi, Lagos, while the final burial was held on Thursday, 13, 2020 at St John the Evangelist Catholic Church Mafoluku, Oshodi Lagos. And the reception followed immediately at an event Centre in Obanikoro, Lagos.
At the burial, Tope Alabi heaped praises on her late father for praying for her despite their differences while she was growing up. She noted that she was a thorn on her father’s flesh because of her interest in Theater Art but her father kept praying for her to succeed. “I remember how receptively slow people thought I was; how overbearing I was. I remember how stubborn I was too. Despite my receptive attitude, I didn’t project the character of decency when I was growing up. I would jump at any available ‘bolekaja’ and off I would go. I remember becoming a thorn in your flesh Daddy, when I chose to join a theatre group. Your expectation was that I would start working after college but I joined the Nigerian Theatre Practitioners as an itinerant actor, going from one film location to another with or without invitation. I remember how it was almost impossible to believe that I would be a source of blessings to my parents…But I can’t forget that despite your chastisement and frustrations, you still prayed for me anytime you wanted to pray, telling God what you wanted me to become…”
Also speaking at her concert “Praise the Almighty 2020” Tope Alabi recounted her life and talked briefly on many things she has passed through while growing up “I know some people are here who cannot point to any meaningful thing they have achieved in life. I know some people are here, even the worst slippers on their leg right now was borrowed. I know some people are here, they borrowed the cloth, the shoe, everything they wore to this place from friends. I know some people are here who cannot remove the cap or scarf because of the condition of their hair, full of scalp and dandruff. That was exactly my story years back. I went through hell in Oshodi. Even before I can buy second hand cloth under Oshodi Bridge, I will have saved for months. In our house, whenever we make corn mill (Ogi), we will have to dry the waste from the corn mill (Eeri), we would dry it and blend it again to make Amala. I hawked raw eggs. I must hawk rice and stew before going to school in Ewutu. It was in Ibadan that I sold boiled eggs. There were so many temptations while I was growing up as well, but I thank God for my mother who kept me on the right path. I would like to advise parents as well to instill discipline into their children so that they would be able to flee from temptation. My mother did a wonderful job on me because the fear of what my mother would do to me if I was caught doing the wrong thing was always there to deter me from doing anything silly. If at all you tried anything stupid and you got caught, just consider yourself dead. We need parents to take care of these children because temptations come in different forms. There was a time my mother sent me on an errand around 7.30pm and I was almost ambushed by some boys who wanted to rape me. Immediately I sighted them, I began to shout because I remembered my mother’s advice about situations like that. I thank God because as I began to scream, those boys ran away and that was what saved me. If it were another girl, they would have had their way with her. Despite the fact that we were struggling, my mother made sure she reserved some money for our upkeep like making our hair or buying necessary things. She did not want a situation whereby a man would tempt us with money”. But today, the story has changed. I pray for everyone here tonight, facing one challenge or the other that, by this time next year the Lord will give them testimonies in Jesus name.
Recall that, with the initial dream of becoming a star actress, Tope joined a theatre group in secondary school. She joined the Jesters International Group in 1983 and was acting with Papilolo and Aderupoko. She also worked with Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ibadan between 1990 & 1991. Later, she worked with Centre-spread Advertising Limited, Lagos in 1991 – 1992. She got back into acting and joined Alade Aromire Theatre group in 1994. In Alade Aromire Theatre Group, Tope discovered her talent in singing and making soundtracks for movie productions.Tope came to limelight in 2000 after releasing the debut album Ooreti O Common. This album brought her fame and also earned her the moniker Ooreti O Common and Agbo Jesu. Prior to that, she had released two albums – Ikoko Dudu and Baba Iwo La K’epe. However, she did Ooreti O Common (uncommon favour) first as a cover of a makossa hit before changing it to a gospel song in 2000. She also did some soundtracks such as Adakedajo, Angeli Mi and many more. Tope has released eleven albums. The latest album, The Spirit Of Light, 2019 was done in conjunction with the popular songwriter and photographer TY Bello. According to Tope, the album was not planned, the duo just wanted to worship God, but things turned around and it became an album. For instance, one of the tracks, Logan Tio De broke the internet within few hours of release.
The 11 albums include; Oore Ti O Common, 2000, Certificate, Agbara Olorun & Agbara re Ni, 2005, KokoroIgbala, Angeli Mi, 2007, Mori’Yanu, Agbelebu, 2012, Alagbara, 2012, Oruko Tuntun, 2014, Yes & Amen, 2018, The Spirit of Light with TY Bello, 2019.
Tope is married to Soji Alabi who is also her Manager and Producer. They are blessed with children. Her hobbies also include; watching movies, watching table tennis, going on vacation e.t.c
Today, she is referred to as the pacesetter of soundtracks in Yoruba home video industry.
–SUNDAY ADIGUN
