Drumming Gave Me More in Life Than My University Certificate: 59-Year-Old Man Counts His Blessings
- A drummer, Ayanwummi Ayanwale Olayanju, has spoken about how the art turned his life around than he imagined
- The 59-year-old revealed that drumming has placed him among important people and given him many things
- With the help of his drumming skill, he got into the civil service more than three decades ago and he is now a cultural director
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A 59-year-old drummer, Ayanwunmi Ayanwale Olayanju, has revealed that drumming turned his life around more than his university certificate. The popular drummer spoke to Legit.ng's Adeoye Adewunmi via a chat.
Ayanwunmi who abandoned drumming due to name-calling from classmates in secondary school said the skill earned him NYSC national honours awards in 1989 which automatically gave him employment into the federal civil service in 1991.
Source: Original
Drumming my people's occupation
The drummer disclosed that drumming is the traditional occupation in Akinmorin, Afijo local government area of Oyo state where he hailed from. He said he received the federal republic medal first class in 2008 and was posted to Brazil as liaison officer for Nigerian Cultural Centre from 2009 to 2012.
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The deputy director of culture, federal ministry of information, arts and culture, explained that his mother was a poetess, while his dad was a drummer.
His blessings as a drummer
He added that drumming placed him amongst presidents like the late President Yar’adua, former president Obasanjo, and the president of Brazil. He was also part of Obasanjo’s entourage to Ethiopia, Brazil and France.
He stated:
“Drumming has turned my life around in fact more than my certificate. During my NYSC, I was lucky that this drumming that I abandoned in the past earned NYSC National Honours Awards in 1989 and it gave me automatic employment into Federal Civil Service in 1991. In 1998, I documented King Sunny Ade’s biography in Yoruba titled Oba Ooni.
“In 2008, I received Federal Republic Medal First Class. From 2009 to 2012, I was posted to Brazil as Liaison Officer, Nigerian Cultural Centre."
Ayanwunmi spoke more about how the art helped him:
“Because of this drumming, I have met many presidents- Late President Yar’adua, President Obasanjo, President of Brazil. I was part of President Obasanjo’s entourage to Ethiopia, Brazil and France. I was UNESCO’s programme officer for culture between 2012-2020.
“Drumming is our traditional occupation in Akinmorin in Ile Agbelu compound, Afijo local government area of Oyo state."
He said his university certificate was not useless as it thus gave him the opportunity to come into the limelight.
I became a popular drummer in the US
Meanwhile, Anthony Adewumi who is also known as TonyAde, shared how he became popular with talking drums in America.
Anthony was once employed by Janet Jackson. When she loved what he and his crew did, he asked if they could perform for her on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
Drumming against social segregation
In other news, a man, Babatunde Olatunji, was a professional drummer who stood firmly against racial segregation in the United States of America.
It was gathered that he was one of the many Africans whose roles were really important in the fight for justice for blacks.
Among Olatunji's successes in his musical career were his Broadway and Hollywood compositions and his Grammy nomination.
Source: YEN.com.gh
