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| CB |
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| Some of CB's power bikes |
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| Bike shrine |
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| CB's new sport car |
The secret is my tremendous focus, tenacity and consistency. Of late, people are surprised when I tell them how old I am. They think Charly Boy would still always be a boy. I’ve grown up, matured and now I am the Area FADA, but I don’t mind people calling me Charly boy, if it’s what sticks in their mind. I am more energetic than I used to be ten years ago, I don’t know why, but I think it’s my gene. I thank God for his blessing. People know me by different names, they called me ‘General of People’s Army’, ‘Royal Punkness’ among other names like that. I have different faces and personalities for different occasions and situations.
How did the brand name originate?
35 years ago, I figured out that we needed a brand that would outlive the brand designer; a youthful brand loved by all young people. I picked the name Charly Boy and based on this name, everything else was built. Charly Boy does not really exist; it is a way of life, a lifestyle. When people say how can a grandfather be looking this young and trendy? I say it’s because of the people I am surrounded by. My immediate constituency are the youths of this country. If I am going to mentor and serve as a role model, then I had better understand their language, attitude and swagger. I have learnt a lot from the young people; why their mindset is the way it is and I have been able to help many of them to change the negative perception of themselves and their environment. I say to them that, if me as Charly Boy can succeed out of this rot, then nobody should give any excuse for becoming a failure.
What is the truth behind circulated pictures of you and ‘Denrele Edun locking lips?
Denrele is somebody I like and I love. Whether we want to lock lips, lock hands or buttocks is our business. It is nobody’s business, so any how they want, let them take it. You know me, I just couldn’t be bothered about what people are thinking.
Some section of society may think you are advocating homosexuality.
They can interpret it anyway they want, it is in their pockets. It is not my business, I have done it. If I feel like kissing him, I’ve kissed him. People can interpret what they like, that is their business.
What aspect of your life do you think the Nigerian public has failed to understand?
My domestic life is my private life and it should remain like that. My public persona, as per the brand Charly Boy, everyboby knows what it represents and it should also remain like that. There’s nothing I would want people to know that they don’t already know. The rest I’d like to keep to myself. However, as Charly Boy, all the skeletons, lizards, snakes and coffins in my closet have gone to the market place and everybody can see it. I’d like to leave the domestic aspect to my loved ones and people who are privileged enough to encounter the essence of Charles Oputa and not Charly Boy.
At first when the brand started, I just wanted to be famous, I had to get as crazy, gaga and as weird as I could possibly get. It had its own drawbacks because no sooner had I became famous, I found out that I didn’t have money, neither did I have respect because people didn’t really understand what it was all about. Yes, the brand was loved by young people, who thought it was very trendy, who thought it was the usual. The larger society didn’t understand or respect it. They thought I was just somebody blowing hot air, somebody looking for trouble, somebody irresponsible. But I kept the brand in people’s faces and all my advocacy and social engineering was out there in the public for people to see.
As an ex-PMAN president, why do you think the music house is being torn apart?
It’s being torn apart because it is run by ragamuffins, semi-illiterates who don’t know anything about giving service and have no pedigree whatsoever. They think leadership is about drinking beer and ‘chopping’ ponmo (cooked cow skin). What do you expect from people like that? When coup plotters seize power by brute force because they can mobilise some OPC and area boys and install themselves as president. What do you expect from a president like that? It would be rubbish upon rubbish. I don’t have respect for what PMAN represents now; I’ve never had respect for the man who is purporting himself as a president. I heard they held elections this year and some people went there to seize power. I asked what power are they seizing? Someone who came in through the back door should also leave through the back door. Everyone knows this is something that could never be tried during Charly Boy’s time; it just wouldn’t happen.
Would you agree that yours and other leadership failed at leaving an enduring legacy for PMAN?
My legacies are there and that is why they can’t have the same kind of PMAN anymore. One, they don’t have the know-how; two, they don’t have the discipline; three, they didn’t come to serve and four they are riffraffs, semi-illiterates.
During my time, it was eventful as it was controversial and there were a lot of things; schemes for the artistes. During my time, the Nigerian artiste started to gain his proper recognition on the international level. During my time, Nigerian artistes started to up their game and to get more pay. During my time, MTVBase came to Nigeria. It was during my time we fought piracy to a state where the pirates could sit and make deals with the artistes saying ok ‘I will pay you rather than pirate’. It was during my time we had insurance scheme for the Nigerian artistes and it had beneficiaries. For those who registered, the least got N500,000. It was during my time that they had proper identification and PMAN was the pride of Nigerian musicians.
Don’t forget I met PMAN in a comatose stage when I took over; it was dead. Years after I left, Bolaji Rosiji and Tee Mac had their tenures and it went back to the same state I left it. Leadership is a continuous process. For all those good policies to remain, especially policies to do with the welfare of Nigerian artistes, whoever is leading must advocate for continuity. That is why the position is for servants and not for beer-drinking, OPC-touting, semi-illiterate persons.
COSON, as far as I am concerned, is really neither here nor there. As long as anything is headed by the present leadership, I know it will never succeed because I know their antecedents. We have come a long way and I know his history and history will never fail to repeat itself.
Tony Okoroji came in as a PMAN president and he succeeded because of the likes of Onyeka Onwenu, Chidi Ikemefuna, Iyabo Lawani, Eddy Lawani and a host of other people including my humble self. Onyeka was the first to leave PMAN and she alerted us about him. We didn’t believe her at the time but then that was before Onyeka was soiled anywhere.
After that, everyone of us left PMAN. Okoroji went for the second term, third term and fourth term and that failed too. Now you would expect that somebody who has gotten his fame and popularity through the music industry would put something back to the industry, no matter even if it’s helping young artistes build studios, have a music school or do something? What did he do? He went and started selling spare parts on Allen Avenue, a spare parts dealer! Can you figure out the mentality from music entertainment to spare part dealer!? He left the spare parts, he formed PMRS, what happened to PMRS? It failed. From PMRS, he now jumps to COSON. What’s going to happen to COSON? It will be a monumental failure.
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| One of CB's three Hummer jeep |
Then remember it was during my time as PMAN president, this same person organised a kangaroo election and said he was president. I said no problem, there can’t be two presidents on board, anyway. After six months, what happened? He failed and ran away. Do you remember that he took me to court and we were in court for six years? What happened to the case? He failed.
I just see somebody who is an opportunist, somebody who is not straightforward and who comes with a big question mark on his head. I see somebody who is not creative enough to go and find other things to do than taking advantage of innocent, young, creative Nigerians and the industry. But as long as there would be a Charly boy, Tony Okoroji will always fail. Remember, it is this same man who says Nigerian Music Award is my property and after he organised the last one in Owerri, he couldn’t organise it again, he failed. So whom are we talking about? This man that is known for failure. I don’t blame them because they were busy listening to a professional failure.
The young artistes now went to Oshogbo to go and take over; is that how you do election? You go there, you do election, you say we are coming to take over, is that the best you could do to advise those young kids? Once again, he went to that election and he failed to achieve his intentions. Of course, maybe somebody dropped the hint that there is a N200billion that the President is going to release. So everybody is scrambling and then he is making people believe that he is the one who can set it up, how can he set it up? So, I don’t have anything about COSON because the only thing I know is the Nigerian artistes shall watch where they pitch their tent and not with a society that is also going to wind up.
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| CB's new Spyder bike |
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| Side view of Punk Palace |
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| Portrait at entrance of Punk Palace |
Many Nigerians are confused about your religious beliefs. Is it true you sleep in a coffin, share your bed with snakes among other bizarre rites?
There is nothing wrong in wherever anybody wants to sleep; either you sleep in a coffin, bush, hanging yourself, sleeping with snakes. If that’s what I decide to do, that’s what I decide to do. It has nothing to do with my core belief which is love for humanity. People ask, do you go to church? And I say I don’t have to go to church; my life is already a prayer. I am living a prayer and my prayer is for humanity to be happy; for there to be love and even in the bible, the greatest commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself.
As long as you can make sacrifices for the other person, I think it puts you in a position to be a good Christian. From Buddhism to Hare-Krishna to Christianity to Pentecostalism, it’s all about sacrifices and love. If we are to love our neighbour as ourselves, there will be less problems in the world. Somebody asked me what animal I am afraid of and I said it’s just human beings I fear. Animals would not plan a coup, they will not attack you except you walk into their territory. But human beings are the only people who can sleep and wake up with a game plan on how to really mess you up.
Tell us about your amazing wealth?
I am not wealthy. I do not have money, so there is no point in talking about my amazing wealth.
What’s the story behind the Hummer jeep, Lincoln Navigator, helicopter and different models of expensive power bikes in your home?
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| CB's Bush Bar |
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| Charly Boy new Office in Abuja |
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