OOU honours Ebenezer Obey

The serene town of Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, literarily exploded when the Olabisi Onabanjo University presented music icon, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey, as a Visiting Artiste in the English and Performing Arts Department of the institution last Monday.

The students of the institution were in a gay mood, it was obvious they were excited that such a great artiste was in their midst.
As early as 10am, Obey and his crew were already at the university. Theirs wasn’t a case where the host would wait a life time for the guests to arrive. The artiste, despite his age made sure he arrived on time, showing good example to the management, staff and students of the school.
Obey first paid a visit to the department that gave him the honour as a Visiting Artiste. The students welcomed him with a cultural performance. The Head of Department of English and Performing Arts, Bode Sowande, thanked Obey for accepting the honour bestowed on him. Obey appreciated the department and promised to do all within his powers to ensure the growth of the institution.
The main event was held at the OGD Hall of the university. The hall was filled to its capacity with guests and of course, the management, staff and students of OOU.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Saburi Adesanya, declared the event open as he welcomed the dignitaries that graced the occasion. It wasn’t a day of plenty speech as the students of the department came on the stage for another captivating performance.
Dressed in colourful cultural attire, the students brought the roof down when they performed one of Obey’s classics. The crowd cheered and cheered and at the end of their performance, they were given a standing ovation.
Obey, during his acceptance speech, thereafter, expressed his admiration of the performance while thanking the department for seeing him worthy to be bestowed such honour.
The singer reiterated his earlier promise of doing all in his power to uplift the department and the school in general.
“As one of the legendary custodians of music in Africa, I promise to bring to bear my age-long experience in the industry for the maximum benefits of the students.
“I am humbled by the plans of the university to establish a music artiste archive in my name to further my legacy in the field of music. The expectations of the university in terms of my contributions will be adequately attended to,” he said.
Obey presented multimillion Naira musical instruments to the department as part of his promise and commitment to the university.
Thereafter, it was music galore. Those who thought age was going to deter the music icon from performing were disappointed. As Obey climbed the stage, the hall erupted. Everybody, including the royal fathers and other dignitaries, were on their feet dancing to the smooth and classical lyrics of the Chief Commander, as Obey is also known.
The highpoint of his performance was when his friend and colleague, Orlando Julius, joined him on the stage. It was incredible. With his sax, Orlando brought out his best talents while Obey accompanied him with songs.
Almost two hours later, Obey was not tired, the guests were not tired. Obey made the students’ day when he asked them to choose any of his songs so that he would perform it. And they did that, choosing one song after the other as the legend kept on entertaining them.
Dignitaries that graced the event included Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, Alake of Egbaland, Tony Okoroji, Bola, wife of the former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo and ace music producer, Laolu Akins.

Culled from PUNCH