🎵Monday John Olola Baba Femi Obey Obey commander Baba.
Monday Olufemi John was one of the most highly skilled guitarists of his time. He was born in 1945 in Kauri Abeokuta, Ogun state. Unfortunately, his father, a native of Benin, passed away before he was born, leaving his mother to singlehandedly care for him and his siblings. At the age of two, Monday was taken to Lagos, where he attended St Patrick School Alagomeji Lagos.
He was inspired by Victor Uwaifo, who used to perform at Kakadu, a place near where Monday lived with his sister and her husband. At 11, he saved enough money to purchase his first guitar from Kingsway supermarket. A friend with limited guitar training taught him how to play, and later on, he joined the band of Ekiti-born highlife musician Gabriel, where he received proper training on guitar. He learned quickly and became highly skilled at playing the guitar.
Words of his talent reached Bobby Benson, who was so impressed with him that he rented a house for him and hired him as one of his band boys. Unfortunately, a quarrel with Bobby's son, Tony Benson, led to an altercation where Monday hit Tony with a drumstick. He had to flee to escape Bobby's wrath and went on to join Tunde Nightingale's band, where he spent four and a half years before he eventually joined Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey's band for seventeen years.
Monday John played in the evergreen album Board Members, where he used the guitar to sing the Nigerian national anthem, an unprecedented feat in the music of Obey's contemporaries. While still with Obey, he released an album in 1979 called Eyin te rije, which was not commercially successful.
Later, Monday moved to America and became wealthy through dubious business ventures. However, he was eventually apprehended by the authorities and spent several years behind bars before being repatriated to Nigeria. He passed away in 2012 at the General Hospital Ikeja Lagos.
Despite his ups and downs, Monday Olufemi John left an indelible mark on the Nigerian music scene with his incredible guitar skills.
Jaiyeola Ajasa
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