Lagbaja, Durotoye, others pay tribute to Jaiye Aboderin

A musician, Lagbaja; the Chief Executive Officer, House of Tara, Fela Durotoye, and a host of other celebrities have paid tribute to the late Jaiye Aboderin.

This was during a night of tributes, music, dinner and dance held on Saturday, December 13, to mark the 10th anniversary of Aboderin’s death, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In his tribute at the well-attended event, tagged, ‘Memories are forever,’ Lagbaja described the late Aboderin as a very bright young man with a fantastic smile.

He said, “Of course, he was blessed, like all the Aboderins, with a fantastic smile; I think they got that from their dad. It’s a big privilege to be the first to be called upon to pay tribute to Jaiye. It’s unbelievable that it has been 10 years since he died. The first time I met him, he had just come back from abroad then and he joined my band. He would sing, he would rap; Jaiye did all kind of songs. Sometimes, he performed as the Disc Jockey. He could do everything. It was a pleasure working with him.

“Many years before he put his own band together, he learnt a lot about owning a band while he was working with us then. Something I’d like us to take away as we have fun (because we are here to celebrate) is, are we going to have fun remembering me when I ‘m gone? I keep thinking of that all the time, knowing that someday, everything would come to an end.”

In her tribute, Durotoye described the late Jaiye as classy but humble and down-to-earth.

“He also had a good business sense, and I loved his smile. He (through his band Synergy) opened the way for people like Sugar Band and others. You could ask Jaiye to play hits from the ’70s; and his band would do songs from the ‘70s, then ‘80s, and ‘90s; and it was always fun. It’s been 10 years now, but it just seems like yesterday. We all miss him.”

In her tribute, Wunmi Obe, said the singing talent competition, Jay’s Search, was established in his honour. She thanked everyone for coming and said the faces brought back “memories of the good old days” when her brother was around.

“After Jaiye passed on, we thought, ‘how do we immortalise him?’ We realised that while he was alive, he liked to bring up young, up and coming acts and artistes and help them to grow, in any way he could – morally and financially. He always lent his support. We decided to carry on what we felt Jaiye would have done had he been alive today. So, we came up with a project, called, Jay’s Search, a singing talent competition to discover singing talents and give them a boost in the industry.

“We started it in 2009. Big Ma emerged as the winner of the first competition. She released a single in 2010. So, we were quite encouraged. From Jay’s Search 2011 emerged a lot of wonderful, talented artistes, including Chuck Dee (winner, Jay’s Search 2011). It took us a while but today, we have been able to release his single, shoot his video and do everything that we promised we were going to do for him.”

In the same vein, Mr. Muyiwa Majekodunmi said the late Jaiye was a gem and that the event was a celebration of his life.

“I thank God for people like Jaiye. I met him in the ’90s when we were running Jazzville. One thing I loved about him was his passion, focus and dedication. No matter the time or place, anytime I called Jaiye and said, ‘I need you’, he would be there. We were like a family. God bless the Aboderin family,” he said.

Singer, Yinka Davies, performed a soulful rendition of one of Whitney Houston’s greatest hits, Saving all my Love for You, in a tribute to Jaiye. Davies, who described him as fun and jolly, followed up that performance with Never Far Away, a hit song by Lagbaja, who later stood up and joined her to sing to the delight of the audience.

Fashion designer, Temi Aboderin, who showcased some of her spring summer collections during the event, described her elder brother as caring and supportive.

“I remember how much love he had and how caring he was. He was very supportive towards me. We had funny moments together. Every now and then, I remember him and I hear a song that just captures his soul and it just makes me happy,” she said.

During an evening of memorable live performances, Tunde and Wunmi Obe, and their music band, T.W.O, performed some of their hit songs and one from their upcoming album. They were later joined on stage by reggae artistes, Blackky and Ras Kimono, who also performed some of their hit songs.

“It was terrible news when I heard Jaiye was gone. But we thank God that 10 years after, we still remember him,” said Kimono.

Winner of Jay’s Search 2011, Chuck Dee, thanked the organisers for giving him an opportunity to shine on the big stage.

“I just want to say thank you so much to Tunde and Wunmi Obe. I also want to specially thank the late Jaiye Aboderin, because he was the reason why we are here. His legacy lives on,” said an emotional Dee after performing his new single, Take Control, while the music video was also premiered at the event.

There were other live performances from up and coming acts, including a 10-year-old drummer, Rotana Anwanyu, BOJ and Mayne Event, who performed a special tribute song for the late Jaiye.

Jaiye Aboderin, 33, died on December 3, 2004. Friends and well-wishers also described him as a wonderful gentleman who loved music, life and enjoyed making people happy.

--Punch News