I woke up this morning at 3am and could not sleep again
My doctor says I must get 8 hours of sleep and this was just three hours
I didn’t give a fuck about my health but my worry was where I would get N80m for this project
The money didn’t scare me, it was the time available.
I used one year to raise the over N200m I spent on Awo and had planned my next London show meticulously
You remember, I fell into the wrong hands in London and lost a lot of money but had a wonderful show
This time, I’m working with the very brilliant Tayo Eleshin who has mapped out a strategy that not only cuts costs but has also dropped the budget by over 50%
Furthermore, the Naira is stable and has been projected to grow stronger in the coming days, and this would impact not only the fundraising but also critical elements like Flight and accommodation.
So we set out on a journey, and in a few weeks, to D-Day, we met a massive challenge.
We pushed at the challenge and it refused to budge. We threw everything at it and it still did not budge and then I sent a note
If by the end of this week, you didn’t budge, I’ll cancel and recalibrate
My team said – ohhh no you can’t. It will be only 6 weeks to the day, we will need to audition fresh, change information on visa applications, look for flight tickets and then contend with the theatre and then finally contend with those who had already bought tickets for the earlier announced show
The ticket buyers were the least of my problems cos 100% of them are my friends and associates.
The theatre was a major issue as we feared they may disagree considering the closeness of the time
Tayo did a beautiful job as she cut short her holidays and flew into London from Barcelona to secure their support
The first person to call me was Yemi Edun, a powerful London based Real estate mogul, who asked what was going on, and I briefed him, and he gave advice and offered support.
Next was the media team. New York-based Sidi had all media assets in place and had to recalibrate and redo everything.
She had to come up with new assets in less than six hours, hold down the London buses and begin to vision a new campaign
Last night she threw up a beautiful poster and I broadcast it and immediately messages of solidarity and hope started rushing in
At this point, I must apologise to the spirit of MKO Abiola
I met the spirit at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ibadan that year
I was a starry-eyed 3rd-year political science major and MKO Abiola was a person of interest to me
He had parlayed his immense wealth into Africa’s most robust Philanthropic platform
This was not what we were being told in political Science class at the time
They were busy yelling at us about ITT and the wahala in Chile but this man is here talking to our consciousness
That day, my soul was bought, and I met his spirit.
Everything that happened, we stood firm till the end.
Then I needed to tell his story the way I wanted to tell it
I got Prof Rasaki Ojo Bakare to ask the gods pertinent questions and he did
The play was mad exciting. The crowd loved it and Kola Abiola came to see it and spoke
Tundun also came with her boys and wept. It was soul-stirring and Nigerians saw the other side of the enigma.
Dele Momodu who was depicted missed it abd bit his tongue
Then I said, Im taking it to London cos the calls were crazy
Africans in the Diaspora wanted to see it and I said ok
Then the Devil distracted me, and I changed course. Went on a different road but fate and the Abiola spirit laughed at me
They were not perturbed as they watched me fool myself on the way to Ondo when I should have been in Abeokuta long ago sharing drinks with his Egba ancestors
Just as Esu was baffled in the play, leading him to ask Olodumare questions, I was also baffled when the gods decided that my stupidity was enough
They woke me up, Edgar, Kashimawo is going to London and shhhh don’t argue, we will smoothen the way
I said but… They said, Don’t doubt, Kashimawo is going to London
Two days ago, we gleefully announced its showing, three major Newspapers including The Guardian have lapped it, I have had a fruitful discussion with Kola and we are good to go
This is going to be a mad fundraiser. This will challenge my skills and I am ready and excited as I await the marketing brochure to jump into the field
Let me correct an impression. We don’t make money, can’t make money as the costs are almost three times gate takings
So anybody who is looking at cashing out from my efforts will be left with a basket filled with water.
When you generate less dn 20% of total cost of production as revenue, you can only thank the sponsors and those great individuals who make these things happen.
This is why I dont joke with my supporters and i always pray that God shld keep them well and strong for us.
This would be an experience and a very worthwhile one as I commence the most aggressive fundraiser in the history of Nigerian theatre
Kashimawo will play the Shaw Theatre Euston London on the 4th and 5th October 2025
Watch out for more details
God is on the throne
Feel like crying
Duke of Shomolu