Fuji musician, Kollington Ayinla has reacted to the story spreading like wild harmattan fire that he has 15 wives…

“I am not married to 15 wives! It is a lie! Yes, I have wives and children. This is one of the problems I have with the Nigerian press. They don’t build, but destroy. Well, I won’t really say that it is destructive; after all, they didn’t report that I stole anything.”

“A white man may choose to have a wife or not and he may choose to have children or not. But nobody will make a fuse about it. Sometime ago, I was discussing with my children, in company with a white guy, at a restaurant in Chicago. When I mentioned that my problem is that none of my wives lives with me, the white guy wondered why that should be a problem for me.”

“Yes, you are right and I told him so. You see, in my heart, I truly wish I have a woman living with me. I want to live a responsible life. But if you are battling with a spiritual problem, it will be hard to live a responsible life. Also, once the foundation of one’s life is shaky, it will be really tough to actualize one’s dream in life. Once you make a mistake in your choice of woman or even in your affairs with women, it will take the grace of God to make any correction. So, I urge the younger artistes to be very wary of women.”

“I won’t lie to you that I have a particular woman living with me at the moment. Well, those of them who have children for me come maybe when their children are getting married and go back afterwards. All I will say is that I am married and blessed with children. But the tradition doesn’t permit me to disclose the number of my children.”

“In 1983, I opened a fish depot at Adua Bus Stop. Unfortunately, I lost it to spiritual attack. At that time, I was sick for 13 years.”

“It was a spiritual attack and they couldn’t diagnose anything. At that time, former Nigerian military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, directed that I be taken to the1004 Hospital, Lagos. They ran a series of tests on me, but nothing was found. They flushed out typhoid from my system and I thank God for saving my life at that time. When I travelled to America and was admitted to a hospital, they still couldn’t diagnose anything. But I knew something was wrong with my system.”

“Later, they suggested that I consult traditional medicine practitioners. We then began to patronise Alfas and traditional medicine practitioners before I got well fully. May Allah grant my friend, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, eternal rest. Whenever he visited me at Crown Hospital, he would massage my legs because I was on drip. In fact, on some occasions, I would leave the hospital to play and return there. I was in and out of different hospitals. But I spent more time at Crown Hospital. The truth, again, is that it was all due to my affairs with women.”

“It was because I was singing mostly about current affairs. I was introduced to the former president by Chief Alex Akinyele, who was then the Minister of Information. Even when my first house was gutted by fire, IBB sent a minister to console me. In his speech, the minister explained why the government’s delegation had visited me. He said it was because I had used my music to promote the government’s policies. He gave me a cheque; the late MKO Abiola, Gen. Sanni Abacha, Col. Raji Rasaki also gave me money. In fact, Col. Raji Rasaki gave me a house in Ogudu. I spent six months at the Gateway Hotel and I didn’t pay a dime. So, I beg these people to allow me enjoy my remaining years on earth. Come to think of it, am I not the owner of the house? Can’t I do what I like with it? Don’t kill me as you killed my friend, Barrister.”

“Didn’t they kill him? Are you saying it wasn’t a spiritual attack? Imagine someone who was bedridden for that long. At the outset, they carried all sorts of rumour about him until he eventually died. So, people should allow me enjoy the fruit of my labour. I can do whatever I like with my property.”

“It is all business gimmicks! We were not enemies as such. This is a friendship that developed in 1963 when we didn’t know we would be famous at all.”

“I miss him a lot. Whenever he visited me, we would joke, play and recount old memories. Sometimes, he would just deliberately say, “Let me poke Kola” and I would say, “Go ahead and see the result.” He once came here and while we were eating, he said, “Do you know that as we sit here, some people are out there fighting one another over us?” and I said, “Yes”.”

“One day, he came here with his son, Barry Showkey, who had just produced an album. He told me he had blessed it, but he wanted me, as Barry Showkey’s second father, to do the same. That day, he also said, “Kola, let’s put an end to this rivalry” and I said, “Who is fighting you? Are you not the one who always insults me with proverbs?” And we all laughed over it.”

– Culled from The Nation