Last year at the Ojude Oba Festival he had the moment.
Let me explain. The moment is a magical occurrence that happens
It is not planned, not deliberate and nobody can orchestrate it. It just happens and most of the time it’s captured by the lens
Examples abound – the little boy who stands in front of Peter Obi’s convoy, the lone man coming back from grocery shopping and happens on the protest at China’s Tiananmen Square and rushes to the front of the armoured tank, the bread seller who walks into a photo shoot in Yaba and is captured in history.
Moments happen during musical concerts – Michael Jackson had a lot, Lady Diana also had a fair share, walking on a mine field, kissing babies with HIV etc
So Farooq had one of the most beautiful moments in history at last year’s festival where he was captured on his horse looking really dapper and captivating
That moment made him the star of the festival. Throwing momentary fame at him, getting him endorsement deals, pushing his encouraging personal story of struggle with cancer and making him globally recognisable as the face of the Ijebus
Not understanding the magic of the moment, I watched him with amusement as he tried so hard to replicate the moment this year and it didn’t work
It’s like replicating Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Tuface’s African Queen, or Shina Peters’ Afrojuju. It’s nearly impossible
He had a better team this year, brands rushed to have him model their stuff, he rode around Ijebu days before in preparation, he self-promoted himself with clips on social media, he owned the tag – Mr Steaze, the media promoted him all to no avail
The moment didn’t come, it hardly comes twice. Michael Jackson never replicated Thriller or the moonwalk at the Motown 25th anniversary, and as such, the Ijebu Mr Steaze had no prayer.
He was still magnificent, his brownish agbada laced with exquisite accessoriee and beautiful sun shades complemented with an elegant O.J. Simpson-type gloves, and his beautiful tattoos still cut a debonair figure.
He was alluring. Dangerously attractive and the cynosure of the event
But the moment didn’t come.. The magic had eluded him and he even struggled for attention with other debonair participants esp the young lady who rode her horse with such panache that would have made champion horsewoman Princess Anne of England green with envy
I knew the moment will not come but suspected that Mr Steaze and his handlers never knew with the way they prepared and worked so hard for this years events
Apart from the Airtel promos, what else did he do to sustain the magic and public attention?
He went back to his day job at the stock exchange. Not even his naming by Obi Asika’s NCAC brought him out into either the tourism and entertainment space which could have enabled him to at least contribute more to his festival if not the industry
A third attempt would be laughable and my advice would be for him to mentor other Festival participants in the fine art of bringing mysterious glam to the festival.
The moment is a phenomenon many great artists have tried to understand to no avail.
You just realise that you cant write another Things Fall Apart, nothing you do will beat Purple Rain, no other speech will beat I have a dream and you will just not be able to supapass the beauty of – ask what you will do for your country and not what your Country will do for you.
If I where Mr Steaze, I would have relaxed this year. I would have not even adorned a horse, I would have worn a beautiful agbada and strode into the venue very quietly so that people will still relive the very strong memory of last year instead of giving them a cheaper duplicate that takes away from the original
This is why great artists become recluse cos they do not want to erode the beauty of the masterpiece.
Mr Steaze did very well this year but the moment as expected eluded him
If only he knew, he wouldn’t have tried so hard.
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu