I can Employ Professors Even Though I Didn't Go To School (SSP Interview)

In Lagos, everybody is supposed to know Sir Shina Peters’ residence. “You don’t know Shina Peters’ house?” One man asked me in a semi-shocked tone.  “Go to Iju, even a child will take you to Shina’s house,” he said.

Shina Peters’ name is a compass that leads to his house, which turned out to be a low rise architectural masterpiece with two white horses mounted on the roof. “The horses stand for ‘keep working’,” Peters explained.

Shina Peters of the Shinamania fame is the living legend, credited with the invention of a unique music genre known as afro juju. “I cannot claim credit for afro juju,” he quickly demurs. “God is the one who created afro juju. Shina was just an instrument in the hands of God to change the sound of the juju music and make it more appealing to music lovers,” he says.

When he was just eight, Peters told his parents that education was not for him. “I had two siblings and we lived in one room. The prospect of schooling was not that bright, so I opted to start my music career immediately.  At that age, I was already the choir leader in our church and I played the organ and keyboard very well.

“At a point, I left my parents and became a houseboy to Chief Ebenezer Obey.   I played his guitar whenever he was not at home.  When Prince Adekunle had an accident in 1980, they were looking for a guitarist to replace him. They called for an audition and out of 36 people, they picked me,” he recounts.

The suggestion that he might have regretted his decision not to go to school sounds very ridiculous to Shina.   He gives a reply in his trademark pidgin English.  “No, wetin I wan take am do?  if I wan employ professors and PhD holders today, I can afford to employ them.  When people started laughing at Shina and saying he was making grammatical errors, Fela told them to keep quiet. He told them that as a doctor of music, he (Fela), sang in Pidgin English.”

Most people don’t know that Peters is a real knight, hence the ‘Sir’ before his name.  “I went to London in 1970 and at an event   organised by the United Nigerian Cultural Organisation in collaboration with the British Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I was made a knight. They were amazed at how well I could play the guitar at that tender age,” he says.

Just three years short of his 60th birthday, the robust -looking musician has a lot to be thankful for.  “I can tell you that I am a very controversial person.  After Fela, it is Shina Peters.  People like brewing scandals with my name. From drug pushing to impregnating countless women, name them, I have been branded with them.  Despite all the controversies, thank God that today, I am still relevant. I have eight grandchildren. My first child was born when I was 14,” he reveals.

 The information about his grandchildren and his first child would have been a rich addition to the interview. One would want to know what happened, how many women were involved and what escapades led to his being a teenage father.  But Peters closes up after dropping that brief hint and no amount of persuasion made him open up. “I don’t talk about my family,” he says, dismissing the topic. But not before briefly lauding his famous son and music producer, Clarence Peters.  “Clarence is from heaven. He is a genius and I am really happy for him.  Unfortunately, I don’t discuss my family,” he reiterates.

Asked what may be responsible for his youthful looks at the age of 57, Peters says, “Nothing special really. Food is not responsible for my looks because I don’t eat.  But I swim like a fish. I can swim for 10 hours.  One thing I miss as I grow older is my childhood. When my mates were playing with toys, I was on stage or at rehearsals. That is why I love children a lot. I praise children and women in most of my songs,” he says.

Before you think leisure and relaxation, the juju maestro tells you that time is a luxury for him. “I don’t have time for leisure,” he states.  “There was a day I burst into tears. I had concert bookings from Nigeria to London, New York to Canada and Canada to China. I felt I was on a suicide mission. At the last moment, when I was about to board a flight to my destination, the flight was cancelled. I cried like a baby. I was sued N10m for breach of contract,” he recounts.

It is not the first time he would be sued for breach of contract. According to him, since the age of 10, he has been a regular client at the law courts for cases relating to his performance contract.  He smiles as he tells the story.  “I had a lot of cases of breach of contract. At the age of 10, I signed a 10-year contract with one recording company. When I grew older, I became wiser and realised that it was slavery.  I was billed to appear in three court cases simultaneously. It got to a point that one judge would tell his colleague in another court to forgive me, that he was the one delaying me in his court. I would be eating amala and the phone would ring, the caller would tell me that I was wanted in court. It was when I joined a record label run by the late Chief Olubunmi Aboderin that most of my problems reduced.  I also had people like M.K.O. Abiola and Olusola Saraki who were solidly behind me.”

The music veteran, has an advice for young generation musicians, that he calls his ‘hip hop sons’  “I would advise them to learn how to play one or two instruments. They should stop killing live music with all the digital things they are promoting.   Live band is expensive to maintain but that is the only way to make people feel the music.  Computer cannot be regulated, when you play with computer, you cannot order the tempo to go up or come down,”  he states.

On style, he says humorously:  “My belief is that first appearance counts.  I hate to disappoint my fans.   Dressing is something that comes naturally to me. If I were to be the president of this country,  I will ask that people should melt raw gold and diamond and use it to design a jacket for me.”