Page12 <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> MAY <strong>29</strong> - JUNE <strong>11</strong> <strong>2024</strong> Opinion Celebrating Ken Calebs Olumese, <strong>The</strong> Guv’nor, at 80 By Reuben Abati Yesterday, <strong>May</strong> 27, one of Nigeria’s iconic figures in the entertainment sector turned 80: Ken Calebs Olumese, an Esan man from the university town of Ekpoma as he likes to describe his home town of which he is proud, as if every other town these days does not have a university but in those days when a university was established in Ekpoma (1981), it was such a thing of pride and achievement that Olumese took upon himself as a personal badge. But the real story about him and his life is his immense contributions to the cultural space in Nigeria, the impact that he has made in turning music, art, song, food, drinks, space and dance into entrepreneurial tools for the promotion of social cohesion, inclusion, solidarity, creativity and pure fun. He was the Don Cornelius, without the controversy, of the night club scene and entertainment arena in Lagos in the 80s and 90s. He was colourful, charismatic, decent, debonair, affable, and quite astute in making friends, and building bridges and relationships. In the Opebi, Ikeja area where he ran a nightclub that was famously known as Niteshift Coliseum, he was a lord of the territory, father of the kids on the streets and friend of the gentrified class with an understanding of the register of social and communal survival beyond the pale of regular entrepreneurship. He moved with a swag. He strutted with poise. He was the Guv’nor: who never went on transfer, or had to seek seasonal elections, or go on break, he was his own constituted authority running an entertainment empire. <strong>The</strong> phrase Guv’nor was first used in the 1840s, a variant of the more popular noun - Governor, but over time, it would gain resonance as the title of a film in 1935, and as the nickname of a number of sports figures – Diego Costa, Bobby Abel, Paul Ince, Lenny McLean. When Ken Calebs Olumese established the Niteshift club in Opebi, Lagos in 1988, he took the title as label, brand and cognomen, and thus began a fresh chapter in the entertainment story of the city of Lagos. Ken Calebs Olumese did not invent nightlife in Lagos, but he helped for about two decades to shape and enrich Ken Calebs Olumese (Photo - Reuben Abati on Instagram) it. <strong>The</strong> people of Lagos, being Yorubas are naturally fun-loving, and having fun at night time has been part of their culture even before the Victorian times in the 19 th century, aspects of which have been examined at great length by Professor Michael J.C. Echeruo in a book titled “Victorian Lagos.” <strong>The</strong> city that became known as “<strong>The</strong> Liverpool of West Africa” in the 19 th Century, an emerging commercial, port city was also a community of persons and cultural developments, including the media, culture and nationalism. Lagosians love the good life. <strong>The</strong>y enjoy the thrill of evening fun be it at the beach, or at the clubs, or on the streets of Ebute Metta where there used to be a party every evening, or anywhere else where the people could dance to highlife. By his own account, Ken Calebs Olumese arrived in Lagos in the late 60s or early 70s just like many of these persons from the hinterland who continue to troop into Lagos on a daily basis. Thousands arrive daily from all parts of Nigeria, very few go back to where they came from, indeed over time, they become part of the Lagos ecosystem, get lucky and excel. In Olumese’s case, when he left Ekpoma, he lived in Benin. He got involved in the Socialist Movement, which was quite a rave in Nigeria’s 70s, the season of the cold war. He would eventually gain a scholarship to study Medicine in the Soviet Union. Many young Nigerians went to the Soviet Union at the time. <strong>The</strong> then young Ken Calebs Olumese returned with a degree in Microbiology. By 1977, he, with the help of his kinsman, Chief Anthony Enahoro, played some role in the arrangements for FESTAC 77, his first major direct involvement in cultural diplomacy. He was also closely associated with the likes of Dr Tunji Otegbeye, trade unionist, medical doctor and leader of the Socialist Workers and Farmers Party of Nigeria (SWAFP). <strong>The</strong> most notable part of that phase of his return is not necessarily FESTAC 77, however but the fact that he eventually ended up as a Sales Representative with the French Pharmaceutical Company - Roussel, where he rose through the ranks to become the Director of Administration and Finance. Olumese was like the rest of us: waking up in the morning, pursuing the nine to five hustle, struggling like everyone else to raise a family. He had a good career. It is one of those ironies of life that he would eventually become famous through his hobby, rather than his vocation. In 1988, he decided to set up a Night Club at 21 Opebi Street with a corporate office at 5, Ogundana Street, off Opebi Road, marking Olumese’s transition into the arena of entrepreneurship, from selling pharmaceutical products, to the retail of songs, food, drinks, and whatever brings joy. He had been a prolific nightlife denizen himself. He turned his interest into a passion and his passion into business. When Olumese arrived on the nightclub scene in Ikeja and Lagos in the 80s, there was already a thriving, habitual ecosystem in place. From Idi-oro in Mushin, to Jibowu, Ayilara and Ojuelegba, there was a buzzing axis of nightlife entertainment. In Ikeja, Ipodo, Awolowo Road, Allen and Opebi streets came alive similarly at sun down. <strong>The</strong>re was a gentleman called Omieba Dan Princewill, he ran two clubs – City Tavern and Daniel’s. <strong>The</strong>re was the colourful, stand-up comedian, John Chukwu who owned a club called Klass, with Eddie Jay Omodiagbe as Dee Jay. <strong>The</strong>re was Ozone owned by Jibola Shitta-Bey on Allen Avenue. <strong>The</strong>re was also at some point, De Roof, Singer’s Cruise, Bread Continued on Page 14
MAY <strong>29</strong> - JUNE <strong>11</strong> <strong>2024</strong> <strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong> Page13
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