WHY I DON’T WEAR SKIMPY DRESSES –SOLA ALLYSON-OBANIYI

Source: nigeriafilms.com
SOLA ALLYSON-OBANIYI
SOLA ALLYSON-OBANIYI

For many years, Sola Allyson-Obaniyi was a studio back-up singer to many artistes, many of them very popular like Stella Monye, Daddy Showkey, the late Gbenga Adeboye and Yinka Ayefele. She was, in fact, a member of Kayode Olajide's band.

One asset which you can't take away from the soft-spoken singer is her sonorous voice. After much prompting to feather her own nest, Sola decided to try her hands on the sound-track of one of Bimbo Oshin's films, Eji Owuro, together with some of her own compositions. She became an instant celebrity as the album sold out beyond expectation.

Sola is not one singer who depended only on her talent to build a musical career. She went ahead to acquire a Higher National Diploma in music at The Polytechnic, Ibadan. She started singing in church as a very young girl and she did everything to follow her mind, at variance with her father, who would have loved to see his daughter become a lawyer.

She said, “Because of the way I talked and analysed things, my father thought I would grow up to become a lawyer. But here I am today, a musician, to the glory of God.”

A great fan of Sola is her husband. She said, “After God, my number two supporter is my husband.” Such is the place of the father of her two children in her heart. A smile danced on Sola's face when she was asked to describe how she came about the man who is today her shining armour.

“We were both members of the Central Choir of the Celestial Church of Christ. We discovered that both of us always had the same attitude to things. We discovered that we shared the same interest and opinion, even when we were apart. We started as friends and on a platonic level, until we began to have deeper interest in each other. And today, by the special grace of God, he is my number one fan. He has given me all the support at his disposal to see me succeed in my career.”

Sola gave reasons why she would not wear anything skimpy or show any sensitive part of her body simply because she is an artiste.

“In fact, it had always been in me to keep men in suspense, to make them curious about what I have under that I cover. I am in love with African print and when I put it on like this, I am most beautiful. I must tell you that my dressing became part of what attracted me to my husband. When you expose your body, what else is left to make any man crazy about you? That is my opinion anyway.”

Sola, who recently released a follow-up to her first work called Gbeje F'ori, would not agree that it is only artistes that are wayward. She said if any artiste is seen as wayward, it is not that the art made her so, but that she is being human. “Afterall, I know of nuns that are wayward, I know of doctors, nurses and bankers that are wayward. It is only because artistes are more visible that people think we should behave like angels. No, we are also human beings.”

She told Appetiser that she regards her brand of music as inspirational and philosophical. She agreed though that there are elements of gospel in some of her songs.

Sola dismissed insinuations that artistes don't make good wives and husbands. As far as she is concerned, she is her huband's wife and will cook his food, as well as perform other roles expected of a wife.

“I am amused when people refer to you as star, and expect that you should not be your normal self anymore. I don't subscribe to such. It is only when I am on stage that you can call me a star or whatever. Once I am in my husband's house, I am his wife and mother of my children. I am a very simple person.”