Meeting Fuji Star Saheed Osupa at the Airport

I recently bumped into my favorite Fuji musician, Saheed Osupa, at Addis Ababa Airport. He was coming back to Nigeria from the United States.

I have loved his music since he played at my 2018 governorship declaration. Osupa is not just an entertainer; he is a talented composer. His grasp of Yoruba, its proverbs, imagery, humor, philosophy and subtle meanings, is impressive.

If he had picked poetry as a career, he would have done well. But who says he isn’t a poet already? Bob Dylan, the famous American singer-songwriter, won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetic style in music. The line between song and poetry is getting more blurred.

Outside music, Saheed Osupa has taken his studies seriously. He studied Political Science at the University of Ibadan and graduated well. He will soon go back to that same university for his master’s degree.

During our chat, we talked about many things, including a possible topic for his dissertation: “Language and Oratory in Yoruba Politics, 1955, 1965.”

This study could look into the clever language, humor, insults and political speeches of powerful politicians and campaigners from that time, people like Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Adegoke Adelabu, Busari Adelakun and others. Osupa’s strong command of Yoruba would help him analyze how language was used to persuade, entertain, mobilize and sometimes destroy political opponents.

Humble, thoughtful and fun to be with, Saheed Osupa shows that artistic talent and a desire for knowledge can exist in one person.

I can’t wait for the day we will call him Dr. Saheed Osupa, PhD in Political Science. That would be a well-deserved addition to his already impressive career.