- More than 40 years after his death, Alhaji Ayinla Omowura Anigilaje’s death at the prime of his career in the music industry, his legacy continues to live on
- The Apala musician who passed on in 1980 was said to have predicted his death as well as specifying who would kill him
- Amid the different accounts about the day he died, one of his wives, Ramothalai Adunni Ade, shared details of their last moment leading to Alhaji Ayinla Omowura’s death
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Waheed Ayinla Gbogbolowo, better known as Ayinla Omowura, who went by many names, including Anigilaje, was one of the popular Nigerian musicians who made waves during the post-colonial era.
Like Fela Kuti Anikulapo, who pioneered Afrobeats, Ayinla Omowura also played a significant role in developing Apala beats.
Ayinla Omowura passed away in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Credit: africanmusiclibrarySource: Instagram
However, while Afrobeats has become a foundation for the modern generation of Nigerian musicians, Apala music, compared to other genres like Fuji, seems to be fading, with Terry Apala still keeping the flag flying.
Also, in the same vein as Fela, Ayinla released socially conscious music about leadership in the country.
However, his death in 1980 in the Ago Ika area of Abeokuta shook not just his family but also his fans and supporters.
Years after Ayinla Omowura’s death, there have been different accounts of his last moments by those who were close to him.
Nollywood filmmaker Tunde Kelani released Ayinla in 2021, a musical eponymous film based on the life and death of the late Apala singer. Lateef Adedimeji starred as Ayinla Omowura.
In this article, TheTalk.NG shared one of Ayinla Omowura’s wife’s accounts of his last moment before his death.
Ayinla Omowura’s wife recalls his last moment
Ramothalai Adunni Ade, one of Ayinla Omowura’s wife, while speaking with Kasnatv, narrated what happened the day he died.
The late singer’s wife, who spoke Yoruba, recalled how she and Ayinla had spent the night together in a house he had rented for her in the Mokola area of Abeokuta.
According to Ayinla’s widow, the Apala singer had finished eating breakfast when some crew members arrived while telling him about a place they needed to be.
Ramothalai revealed she had offered her husband’s crew food, but they were more focused on their destination and turned down her offer.
She recalled how Ayinla asked her to join him in the car so he could drop her off at the shop before moving out with his crew.
Ramothalia disclosed that they were almost involved in an accident with a tipper before they got to her shop. She added that when they got there, she wanted to chase after him to stay back but decided against it because of what people would say.
According to Ramothalai, close to thirty minutes later, reports reached her that Ayinla had been involved in an accident. She, alongside some people, rushed to where he was, after which he was transferred to a general hospital, where he eventually died.
According to the reports, Ayinla Omowura had been involved in a bar fight with his manager Bayewumi, also spelt as Baiyewumi, who struck his head with a beer mug, causing a cerebral haemorrhage, leading to his death. Bayewu was later sentenced to death.
Like Jesus, Ayinla had premonition about his death
Ramothalai recalled how she, Ayinla, and his crew had gone to a concert in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun state, where he had the opportunity to watch a movie about Jesus Christ for the first time.
The Apala singer told his wife and crew about the movie, stressing that Judas, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, betrayed him.
Ayinla also made it known publicly that it was one of his closest associates who would kill him, a statement which stunned everyone present.
While Ayinla didn’t mention a name, each of his crew members, like the disciples, took time to ask him if they would be the one to kill him, which he stated no, until it got to Bayewumi’s turn, as the Apala singer said it to his face that he was the one.
Bayewunmi, who was Ayinla’s band manager, was displeased with the Apala singer’s response and, according to Ramothalai, held it against him.
While Alhaji Ayinla Omowura is gone, his music and legacy still live on, with his songs still being grooved to by his fans in Egbaland and Abeokuta areas of Ogun state.
Lateef Adedimeji teases new biopic
TheTalk.NG recalls reporting that Nollywood actor Lateef Adedimeji teased fans with his production on Netflix.
According to Lateef, the biopic titled Lisabi was centred on a hero in ancient Abeokuta.
Lisabi was released after his success with his first biopic ‘Ayinla.’
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at TheTalk.NG.
Source: TheTalk.NG
