Lawrence Olusegun Adelana is one of a kind. And except proven otherwise, he is the only Catholic priest, a Reverend Father that I know, who sings Fuji. Popularly known as Father Fuji, the 38-year-old Awailaporo, Ogun State indigene opened up to YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine’s AZUH ARINZE during a whistle-stop visit to Akute, a border town between Ogun and Lagos States, sometime in April 2014. Excerpts…
Maybe we should start by way of introduction. Can we meet you?
Yeah! My name is Rev. Fr. Lawrence Olusegun Adelana, aka Father Fuji. I hail from Awailaporo, Ijebu North local government area, Ogun State. I’m from a family of five; I’m the last child. Two boys, three girls. My mum and my dad are also from Ogun State; from Ijebu. By God’s grace, I’m a priest, I’m also an artiste, working in the entertainment industry and very happy. I’m a Christian, I love sports, I do swim, I love athletics, I like football too and I play instruments…
Which of the instruments do you play specifically?
I play piano, I play keyboard, I play the guitar, I play drums, I play lead guitar, base and rhythm guitar.
How old is Father Fuji and which schools did Father attend?
Yes, I was born 1975; 38 years ago. I attended St. Joseph’s Primary School, at Ijebu Igbo. I also attended Obanta Community Secondary School, in Ijebu, then I attended Minor Seminary, Oke-Are, Ibadan. Then, I proceeded to the Seminary of All Saints, Ekpoma; I happen to be among the first set. It was a new seminary created when Ibadan was trying to be decongested. I was ordained 2003 for the Catholic Diocese of Ijebu Ode.
How did you get entangled with music?
Okay! As a young boy in primary school… Ever before I started being very serious in the church, in the parish setting; I lived in the ghetto. I was playing the drums then. We played the conga and a lot of other things from childhood. But later on, we had the Dominican priests that came around. The Dominican priests tried to introduce us to playing the piano and guitars. Then, having encountered the street kind of music, by the time I was in the seminary, I was made the choir master twice. So, I was in the school band, school choir and St. Francis’ Choir. Along the way, we were playing instruments, we were entertaining students, we were also playing liturgical music in school. By the time I knew it, I had a group in the school. We were three in the group, we were entertaining students, we went out for different outings. So, this group, eventually, we were ordained from different dioceses. When we came out, I also wanted to have my own recordings. But I didn’t actually know that having to do your own recordings, you will be prompted to do it live; people want to see you do it live. So, I didn’t plan for doing it that way. But after the album came out, I had to start to push the album, I had to begin to go out to learn about what it means to register your name in the industry. That was how it all started. And I have three albums now…
Can you tell us their titles?
There’s one we called Alake at 70; we did it for the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, the paramount ruler of Egbaland; there’s one we called Ma Tiraka, meaning I will get there in English and there is another one called Ipin lo dun, meaning a call. But I’ve been working on different singles since then.
What separates Father Fuji from the other Fuji musicians?
No. 1, because I’m a Christian; No. 2, because I’m a priest and No. 3, because I’m learned. Somebody who read Philosophy, who read Theology, your sense and level of compositions will be different and then the way and manner you put down your music, the lyrics, of course, will go a long way to determine the kind of things you do. So, it’s totally different.
The music industry is rich in controversies, scandals and so on. How have you been able to maneuver them? Drinking, womanizing et al…
Yeah, it’s very true. The industry is full of the good and the bad. But by the grace of God, as a Christian and somebody who is well trained from a good home; I never grew up smoking, for instance. Even though the wine that we use in the Catholic Church has alcohol, I’m not a smoker, I’m not a drunkard. In fact, somebody once asked me: do I take something before I go on stage and I said I don’t do that. I only pray, I only drink water. The industry is full of a lot of things, but I think the industry needs to be evangelized. In as much as we want to bring something new into it, it also needs to be evangelized. About women; the women are always there. Even when you are a singer and singing from the mountain, and you are always living on the mountain, they will meet you there. So, you can’t run away from them. You can only maximize them. You can only maximize the good relationship that you can have with people. So, from my own experience as a priest, it has been wonderful. People respect you as a priest, females come closer, but when they hear that I’m a priest, they also get back a little. But the struggle is still on. We are not giving up and by the grace of God, God will make us stand, despite all.
But do you get tempted by some of these women sometimes?
Em… It’s normal. I’m a human being. I get tempted, but I always try to consider what’s my focus, why am I in the industry and I always remind myself, just like the Yoruba saying, remember the son of who you are. Ranti omo eni ti iwo se. So, that always makes me want to be different from the other Fuji musicians. I’m not married and since I’m not thinking of getting married to any of them, I concentrate on my work. Some of them are my fans, some of them admire what I do, they tell me one on one, they come close to tell me openly. For those who don’t tell me, for those who tell me, I appreciate all of them.
So, what is the best way to overcome temptation from members of the opposite sex?
In fact, women are part and parcel of those that carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. You remember Mary Magdalene? You remember Mary, the mother of Jesus? In any industry, whether commerce, whether entertainment, whether sports, women are very important. We can’t do without them. The best way to overcome their temptation; No. 1 is to pray; No. 2 is to also continue to stand out and above all, it’s the grace of God. Even if you know how to pray from now till tomorrow, it’s still the grace of God.
Your Fuji music, how do you combine it with your priestly work?
In fact, my brand of music is not just Fuji. Fuji just happens to be a brand name, because I got the name from the studio when they were putting my name on the dart, on the recording data, in the studio. That was how one of the studio men said let’s put Father Fuji there. That was how Father Fuji came up, and then we have been trying to use that as a brand name to register our presence in the industry. Combining it with the work is tedious, it’s very tasking, but for now, thank God I’m a priest in the diocese. I don’t have a parish that I’m directly overseeing. Because it would have been more difficult. But there are many priests who work in offices, who work in JDPC offices, hospitals, schools, some are principals, some are even directors who may not directly have to be in charge of a parish. I happen to be one of those people. So, combining it is a little tasking, but thank God for God’s grace.
Is the Bishop of Ijebu Diocese aware that you sing Fuji or you do this without his consent?
He’s very aware. In fact, I even played for him live when he celebrated his 25th anniversary in 2005 at Equity Resort Hotel, Gateway Hotel then, Ijebu Ode. He has been very supportive as a father. His name is Most Rev. (Dr.) Albert Ayinde Fashina.
Which are the other big events you have performed at?
Ah! I can’t remember all of them. I have performed at harvests in different churches; celebrations of the Knights of the church in Yaba; I have performed for Serra Club in different parishes in Lagos and outside Lagos. Serra Club is an organization that funds the training of priests and they talk about vocations. The pilgrimage of Oyo Diocese in 2010… They are many. Many, many, many like that; that I can’t remember. Even in Abuja.
Do you collect artiste fee or you do this just for charity?
Sure! Sure!! I collect. We collect. I have a manager, we have people that we work with. We try to make it corporate. We need finance, we need to stabilize. Rome was not built with Hail Mary. We need money to build up this thing. In fact, we are calling on people to come and help us. What I’m doing now, I spend my money. The money I could have used for food, clothes and shoes. The TV stations, magazines, radio. I go everywhere. I want people to come and assist us. People are getting aware; the awareness is getting better, but we have not reached where we are going. So, we want people to identify with what we are doing, so that we can actually evangelize, reach out to the ghetto people through the language they understand. Fuji is becoming a corporate music; not just a local music. So, we need people to come and assist us so that we can do more and get to where we are going.
To engage your services, what is the cost implication?
Well, we can talk about that behind camera. But I always tell people, maybe by the time I have instruments of my own, my charges will be more definite. But we charge based on the distance; whether it is in Lagos or outside Lagos. We play at birthdays, we play at burials, name it. Any social event. Parties, anniversaries, church harvests, different functions.
Other than the work of God and maybe singing, what are the other things you do for relaxation?
I swim, then I watch football. I used to like Chelsea; maybe because of the blue colour. The Marian colour, the colour of our Lady. But at a point, I began to realize that you could actually support a winning team. Any winning team.
What’s your dream for your music career?
By God’s grace, my dream is one – to register as an artiste on a very high level, within and outside Nigeria. I believe that, that is possible with the grace of God. My dream is also to reach out to people whose language of music is Fuji, within and outside Nigeria. Another is to make people realize something – that the fact that you are a professional in one area doesn’t mean that you can’t be relevant in another area. In fact, you could be a professional in one area, and you discover that your passion is somewhere else. So, there’s no sin in that.
If your music career becomes more successful, will you abandon the priesthood for that?
Aaaaaah! There’s never a time I’m going to leave the priesthood. People listen to me because I’m a priest. So, it doesn’t make sense for me to say I’m leaving the priesthood. People want to listen to what I’m doing because of who I am. And I think that’s also what gives credibility to what I’m doing, because some people say this is a Reverend Father, this one is unique. So, we should go for him.
NB: First published June 2014