- Ajewole Baba Ijesa, veteran broadcaster and Duro Ladipo’s protégé who was humbled by predicaments
Prince David Adeniyi Ademokoya JP, popularly known as “Ajewole Baba Ijesa,” is dead. When a big elephant falls, two things are likely to happen—it either dies or stands up taller and more beautiful again. In all dimensions, Ajewole Baba Ijesa was a big elephant. He rose to stardom in his younger years. He witnessed the rising and setting of his own sun. As a big elephant, he fell and did not rise again. He had injuries that did not heal. The seasoned broadcaster, Aladamo maestro, and Duro Ladipo protégé who introduced Ijesa intonation and language to the national radio scene is no longer with us.
The sting of death has no melody. It is sharp, dangerous, and instant. There are two types of pain that do not go away easily. When you lose a loved one to the cold clutches of death, or when you fall and are unable to get up after numerous attempts. Prince David Adeniyi Ademokoya lost everything before he died. Donations, free medical care, and checkups could not rescue him from depression and frustration. He has gone home for eternal rest. If the Grim Reaper had waited for six more months, the veteran broadcaster would have clocked 78.
I was privileged to interview the deceased on July 10, 2023, after an Ilesa-born journalist, Isaac Haastrup, posted his picture on his Facebook handle and requested donations from his fans. I watched the short video, and I was perplexed. He was a legend in the music, theater, and broadcasting world. He was a man of many moments and reigned over two generations. Prince David Adeniyi Ademokoya had a drinking problem. Sadly, he did not drink beer like others. He prioritized alcoholic gins. Whenever they rescued him from the gutter and took him to the hospital for care, he would always find ways to resume the drinking habit.
Isaac Hastrup tried his best. But his efforts were not greater than Pa Ajewole Baba Ijesa’s encounters with life. He took him to the hospital for care. He bought food, drugs, and clothes from the funds he gathered for him. He facilitated people who painted his room and bought TV and cable networks to keep him busy and updated. He reconnected Prince Adeniyi Ademokoya to his roots, broadcasting at the Federal Radio Station in Ilesa.
I listened to Baba Ajewole on the radio, and he still had his voice. His distinctive voice, Ijesa intonation, and grit remained intact. But he eventually got lost because these interventions came too late. In physics, there is something known as the ‘breaking point’ of elasticity. Baba Ajewole Ijesa had reached a tipping point of melancholy and frustration. He turned to local gins to take his mind off his losses. Truly, life dealt with him.
These horrific experiences humbled him, from economic failures to kidnapping, massive farming losses, and marriage issues. He was overwhelmed and felt abandoned by friends and family who were supposed to support him.
During a conversation with him in 2023, Baba Ajewole said that his troubles were so severe that friends and family abandoned him. What happened? I queried during one of our talks, and he said that life happened. Indeed, the globe has numerous corners. May God not send us to one of the corners of the planet.
When I met Pa Ajewole Baba Ijesha at his father’s house, he was in desperate need of food, drugs, and comfortable living quarters. Although he had local gin in excess, he did not allow his lack of basic needs to override his desire. What was his desire? To build a house and dwell in it before he dies. Unfortunately, he died at his father’s house and was unable to develop the little land he had inherited.
Prince David Adeniyi Ademokoya, often known as “Baba Ijesa,” was born in December 1947. The 77-year-old veteran broadcaster and Ijesa-born studied acting and filmmaking under the guidance of the late Duro Ladipo. He has a remarkable ability for singing Adamo, a traditional music style primarily linked with the Ijesa people. He served as the previous Ilesa Rotary Club president and the Ijesa Social Elite Club’s former head of social and publicity. He was a former coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC). He worked as a freelance broadcaster for Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), and the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC). He featured in a number of well-known films, such as Oba Koso, Moremi, and Bi eyi o se, among others.
In an interview with WITHIN NIGERIA, the late Prince David Adeniyi Ademokoya disclosed that he married two wives, and they gave birth to ten (10) children—the first wife had eight, while the second wife had two.
According to the late Ademokoya, his life witnessed a sad turnaround after he had an accident on the Ilesa-Ibadan route.
“My car somersaulted more than three times, but I survived, and we continued to live happily. I was the coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Ilesa branch, and my team recorded a lot of successes, such as the arrest of armed robbers, among others.”
“Months after the accident, I was kidnapped and taken into a thick forest. I was beaten to a pulp and had a forceful spiritual bath in the forest. They made my life miserable until I luckily escaped from their midst. I was held captive for months. I had lost clients, contacts, and contracts before I got back home. That was the beginning of my downfall in life.”
He further disclosed that he started farming after he lost his media empire and contacts.
“As a substitute, I started farming. Years later, I began a rice business and purchased a pickup truck. It ended in ruins. I lost everything. I simply chose to keep a low profile, which caused depression and sudden love for local gins,” a rather sad Prince Adeniyi Ademokoya disclosed.
For every beginning, there’s always an inevitable end. Ajewole Baba Ijesa would forever be remembered as a young Ijesa man who rose to stardom and put his name on the national map of recognition. Late Ademokoya’s contributions to broadcasting, filmmaking, and community policing would forever be remembered.
Discussion about this post