By Bologi M. Maikudi.
Nigeria’s icon of comedy, Moses Adejumo Olaiya, popularly known as Baba Sala, has disclosed his long battle with various terminal illnesses and sought financial help from well-meaning Nigerians to be able to overcome the illness.
Baba Sala, 81, who is believed to be down with stroke, spoke at a briefing on Thursday held on his biography due for presentation on December 4.
Baba Sala, who spoke with difficulty, noted, “I need help. Nigerians should help me. I am not dead yet, they should not let me die suffering.”
The father of modern comedy in Nigeria looked frail and breathed with difficulty at the event. He could barely walk, as he was supported to the venue by two people. One of his wives, Funmi, said the octogenarian was not suffering from old age but lack of funds for medical treatment.
Baba Sala’s investments, according to his first son, Reverend Dele Adejumo, had all been wrecked by circumstances and poor management.
Among his investments listed by Adejumo are the Awada Spot in Ibadan; Alawada Standard Hotel, Ilesha; Alawada Records, Ibadan; and Ibukun Alawada Photo magazine.
“He has investments but they have all been wrecked by mismanagement. He also had a three-storey building in Mushin, Lagos which he had to sell to offset debt incurred when his work, Orun Mooru, was pirated. We still have some of his recorded works not in public yet but machines that will be used to transform them to an acceptable format are not easily available. We do not have the kind of money they are charging us.
“We have been told that baba needs a lot of money for medical treatment abroad. He is suffering from a stroke and other ailments. There are many people of his age who are not like this. We are trying our best as family members. We take him to the teaching hospital weekly but he needs proper medical attention,” he said.
The book, ‘The Triumph of Destiny,’ which was co-authored by Babatunde Akinola, Collins Oyedokun, and Kunle Ajani, will be presented in Lagos.
“The book chronicles the pride of place that Baba Sala acquired for himself in the Nigerian theatre industry as the first comedian and consummate entertainer. It captures the antecedents and essence of the creative energies of a comical trailblazer,” Collins said.
