Most people don’t know him by his
real name. But mention ‘Mega 99’
and all the eyes are on Abel Olufemi
Dosunmu .
However, what makes the gospel
juju singer thick? In this chat, he
opens up on his road to stardom,
lifestyle and drug peddling rumour
among other issues. Enjoy it.
You are Abel Olufemi Dosunmu but
popularly known as Mega 99. How
did you come about the stage
name?
My dad is well known in the
Celestial Church of Christ. He owns
a church and he is popularly known
as ‘Baba 99’. So, when I formed my
band, I combined the two names:
Mega, which means great, and 99 to
form Mega 99.
Did you start as a gospel artiste?
My dad founded Celestial Church of
Christ, Oshodi Parish 1 where I
grew up side by side with being a
member of the church choir. So, my
music is gospel juju.
You were reportedly sent out of the
Celestial Church some years back.
What happened, did you go against
the church’s doctrine?
I was not sent out of the Celestial
Church, we left when the church
became factionalised. Some
worshippers went with Pa Oshoffa’s
son while others did not, and when
the matter was getting messier, we
went to court and the court
vindicated us. Now, we are back to
the church.
You were hardly known until you
released Money, the album that shot
you into the limelight. What was the
magic?
It’s the Lord’s doing. I never knew
that Money would go that far. I give
God all the glory and I thank veteran
broadcaster, Taiwo Akinsola aka
Omo Baba Woli ni Ilasa , who believed
so much in me and gave the album
continuous airplay, to the extent
that those who listened to it couldn’t
believe I did it. I give God all the
glory.
How has it been since the release of
Money ?
I thank God for His mercy, because
if not for Him, I couldn’t be where I
am today. I know that before you
count three popular juju artistes in
Nigeria, my name must be
mentioned.
Who is your role model in the music
industry?
King Sunny Ade is my role model.
But when I started, I started playing
like Sir Shina Peters and that’s the
style I have been playing since.
What were you doing before coming
into music?
I started music at a very tender age
because I grew up in the church.
However, before going professional,
I attended Oshodi Primary School.
From there, I went to Oshodi
Comprehensive High School and
then Ogun State University, Ago
Iwoye now Olabisi Onabanjo
University where I studied
Accounting.
There’s a rumour that all you have
today could be attributed to the
proceeds of drugs and not music,
most especially, your expensive
musical instruments. How true is
this?
I’m not surprised that people could
be peddling such rumour. That’s
how they peddled rumour against
those before me. But the fact of the
instruments is that I bought and
paid for them on installment basis.
What led to this was the
disappointment I had from the
person who used to rent
instruments to us. There was a day
I had a show in Oshogbo and we
could not get equipment on time.
We got to the show late and the
celebrant threatened to sue us, we
had to beg him despite the fact that
my band members were
manhandled. That was the most
embarrassing moment of my life.
What about the mansion you built
recently?
I’m a very busy artiste, I play
virtually every weekend and I make
money from shows. So, if I don’t
smoke, drink or womanise, I should
be able to save enough money to
build a house for myself. By the
way, I have been on the house
project for a very long time, before
it was made public on my birthday.
You have a unique baritone voice,
how did you come about this?
I know you will ask that question.
As for my voice, it’s natural. People
often ask if I smoke weed; I don’t
use anything to enhance my voice. I
don’t take any strong drink or
smoke cigarette not to talk of Indian
hemp. With the voice, I can sing like
the late Orlando Owoh and at the
same time play my unique type of
music.
What makes you stand out among
your peers?
I hardly sleep because whenever
any artiste releases an album, I will
buy and listen to it to know its
strong and weak points and how to
work on my own. For example, I
make use of a recording studio that
Pasuma and (Saheed) Osupa also
use, and I’m always busy. Because
fuji artistes are always releasing
albums much more than juju
artistes, people think juju music is
dead. No, juju music is alive!
Are juju artistes lazy?
It is a two-way thing; some are lazy
while others are not. Some juju
artistes are contented with two or
three shows in a month and they
don’t do enough research that will
enrich their albums, and the more
albums you do the more relevant
you are.
Is it true that some juju artistes
can’t play musical instruments?
Yes, that’s why we don’t have music
stars any longer. Everybody now
wants to lead a band.
How many musical instruments can
you play?
I can play all instruments except the
trumpet. Mind you, I grew up in the
church.
Now that you are rich and famous,how do you cope with women?
I love women because they are our
best fans but I don’t flirt with them.
I’m married with children. I have
cars, musical instruments, live in
my own house, won awards and I
have trained my children up to
university level among other things,
so I give God all the glory.
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