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• I’m an intellectual who dabbled into music
By Henry Akubuiro
Charles Oputa, also known as Charly Boy or Area Fada, is a renaissance man. Not a few would regard him as a maverick, an avant garde artiste and entertainer. His talents cut across journalism, singing, music production, writing and social activism.
The author of 999, a book about his life, Charly Boy is taking the book around the world, at the same time promoting his new health initiative for Nigerian men aimed at assisting those suffering from prostate cancer, diabetes, as well as having mental health challenges.
You recently did a public presentation of your new memoir, 999. Did the presentation meet your expectations?
I cancelled my fears, because I thought people were going to be bounced. You know it’s a small hall, which wasn’t meant to seat more than 100 people. The guests were mostly from the guest list of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a few of my relatives. So when I saw a few empty seats, I was better relaxed, because I didn’t want anybody to be bounced for not belonging there. From here, we are going to London. From London, we are going to Germany. From Germany, we will end up in Kenya.
What are you taking the book launch outside the country?
It’s because I feel as many people as possible must read about this book. It is a documentation of my legacy, and I have had a very interesting life that people can learn something from, especially for parents to allow their children to be free and express themselves. These days, you can’t be telling your children what to do and how to behave or the career they should follow. No. That should be something that should come to them naturally.
What makes this book unique? We are in a society where musicians are not given to writing a book as you did. Why did you resort to writing books?
I am not a run-of-the-mill musician in the first place. I am an intellectual. I went to school. I read journalism. I am a communicator. Music was just an afterthought for me. I don’t even see myself as a musician, because I only took to music so I could talk about my frustration with my environment. It would be a disservice for the brand I have built over the years to just say “he is a musician”. I am a whole lot of things. I see myself as a social engineer, not even as an activist, because those who wear the toga of activists in Nigeria, you hardly know when they become one.
You are the son of the legendary Justice Chukwudifu Oputa of the Supreme Court fame. Let’s talk about your latest initiative – the Charly Boy Foundation. Why the focus on men’s health?
I am sure you must have heard my journey. I am a cancer survivor. I went through that for four years, and came out stronger. It is not fatal like that, but early detection is important. This is what we are advocating for men to be serious with their health. Check yourself up regularly, because to undergo a cancer operation will cost almost N25 million, but having a regular check-up, at least once in a year, doesn’t cost much. What we do as a foundation is to pay a maximum of 80 per cent of your bill just to encourage men to be tested.
Our foundation does more than that, however, We handle prostate cancer, mental health, and diabetes. But for now, since we started this journey, we have been concentrating only on prostate cancer.
How do you intend to fund this?
People and institutions have been generous. Banks, like Zenith and UBA, have been helping out. Even private organisations have been generous. That’s how we have been funding the project.
Sustaining this initiative for years would certainly demand a steady flow of funds. Do you have a specific target to generate to sustain this project?
That’s why we are launching my book, 999, a story about my journey; but we are also using it to generate funds for my health initiative.
Is it open for anybody to apply?
Yes, it is open. All you need to do is to visit our foundation website if you think you have a prostate challenge. Depending on your location, we will know where to send you to go and do the check-up, and doctors will read your result and we know what to advise you on what to do.
How common is prostate cancer in Nigeria?
It has become a pandemic. You know how reckless men are now. For a long time, men have borne their pains silently, because “men don’t cry”. Men erroneously believe that’s what shows that they are strong. But all of that is nonsense and rubbish. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I went on national TV and announced that my John Thomas had died (laughs). I am not the one to pretend that I am that strong. I know men are just afraid, because anything that affects their John Thomas, they are scared to say it out. But prostate cancer isn’t something that kills anybody instantly if you do the right thing by checking yourself up. It is said that prevention is better than cure. From as early as 35-40, you will start checking your prostate for early signs.
Why should men be worried?
You should be worried because if your prostate cancer passes stage three or four, you are likely going to die. Men are careless with their health and, because of our poor environment, men patronise cheap drugs across the counter while paying little emphasis to their health. This is why women should join me in convincing their partners to stay healthy. If you look at the trend of what’s happening today, 30 year-old men are already having not only prostate cancer but erectile dysfunction, because they are taking concoctions to impress their women in bed.
But can men perform in bed without taking these concoctions? Are there natural ways they exploit?
Of course, there are natural ways. If you are taking good care of your health, eating well, and exercising moderately, you don’t need any sex enhancer to impress a woman. As I said, men are careless with their health. It would surprise you that this is a black man’s disease – it affects more black men than white men. I don’t know why it’s like that.
What are the signs?
From my own experience, you may have difficulty urinating. It took more time for urine to come out than usual. For some people, they may be little stones coming out of their manhood, which makes it difficult and painful.
Let’s talk about mental health in men, how common is this in Nigeria?
It is very common in Nigeria. The mistake we make is that we often think naked people without clothes who wander about in the market are the ones mentally challenged. Somebody like me, if you don’t take time, my mental health is challenged. Many men are deep into frustration and depression. Depression is for real, especially with our economy and the environment. Lagos is like a dustbin. City of Excellence has changed to a dustbin. Ikoyi, VI and all choice locations are not spared because the places LAWMA dumps refuse have been bought by criminals who are in power. So they now deposit refuse anywhere. Maybe they want to build one highrise there, and you are wondering: is this the Nigerian that I was born into many years ago?
What has changed?
We have lost everything. When we were growing up, family meant a whole lot. There is no more family. The family is highly polarised. When I was growing up, I didn’t know who was a Hausa man or a Yoruba man. I could hardly tell. But now we know who is who. We can even say to the other people, “You don’t belong here; go back to where you came from.” How does that sound? When I was growing up, character and integrity meant a whole lot. My father would always say to me: “Know who you are”; “Know where you are from”. When I was growing up, we didn’t know who had money or not. We only knew people who came from good homes, and they were very well behaved. Now, criminals have taken over the whole space and it’s becoming difficult to flush these criminals out, because we have been complacent for a long time. We have not had any challenges about our future for a long time. The youths have been sleeping for a long time. Is it now that I am in my 70s that I will be moving from street to street protesting? I don’t have that kind of strength I used to have years ago.
But social protests seem to have died in Nigeria in recent times?
It is dying, no doubt. But I don’t know what happened recently in Osun State, where the ruling party lost to the opposition. It is a good pointer of change. I don’t know how involved the youths were in ensuring that their votes counted in Osun, because how can the worst of us rule the best of us? I was pleasantly surprised with what happened in the Osun governorship election, because that only signals to me there is hope. That also signals to me that the only way we can get out of this mess is for the people to defend their votes, even with their last blood, because, if we allow these criminals to come back, people will be dropping dead on the street.
Do you think there is a possibility of the type of change you desire in Nigeria?
I am hoping that the universe knows better, that the universe will come to our rescue. We didn’t know during Abacha’s regime how it was going to end. Sometimes things have funny ways of panning out. Changes seem not easy to come by in Nigeria easily, because pain and poverty have been normalised. They say Nigerians are resilient, but Nigerians are cowards, foolish and olodos. We don’t have an enlightened society. Even those who are parading themselves as professors have nothing to offer. Everybody is busy waiting for the next cup of rice or contract or where to go and thief. What kind of a nation is that? They say when the head is bad, forget the body of the fish. Our heads are horrible. We can accept mediocritical leadership. Back in the day, there was a reward for being good. Now, there is a reward for criminality.
Who do we blame?
The family has broken down. Now, some parents are depending on their children to steal to feed them. The justice system has broken down. Everything has broken down.
The Nigerian presidential election is coming up in January 2026. Who is our best bet?
Everybody knows what my answer is: it is the man who is giving us hope that there can be a better Nigeria. I believe that there can be a better Nigeria. I believe, with the kind of youths I have seen – the youths that I have learnt from, who are going to be my grandchildren – the salvation of Nigeria lies in these exceptional youths, people who are futuristic and focused. We are not all criminals. We cannot all be bad people. Abroad, Nigerians are the best in everything they do, but, back home, these brilliant minds are pushed to the gutters, because nobody wants to give them a chance, because the government is bent on collecting criminals. Personally, I will die in Nigeria, because I don’t have any other place I want to go and live that is not Nigeria. I am warning that everybody should be ready for the 2027 elections. There should be no fear. Rig and die a rigger. When is enough enough?
You’ve been a strong believer of Peter Obi. Do you still have him as your favourite? What if he goes in and disappoints?
My position hasn’t changed. There is no candidate like Obi right now. If he wins and derails and starts behaving like other leaders, we will kill him. Quote me: I will personally kill him.
We always complain of bad leadership. Yet the youths, who are the leaders of tomorrow, are not rising up to the occasion.
We don’t have a strong society. Look at what they are doing to our education system. We used to have many bright minds. They have reduced the quality of our education system such that, in the next few years, our graduates are unemployable. They will just be answering graduates, even when we know they buy their grades. It is an unfortunate situation, just the environment which has turned to a dustbin. Every arm of government has decayed because of the people in power.
You share a close affinity with former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo. How did it all begin?
It started the day I allowed him to know Charles Oputa. That happened the day he came to visit my parents in Abuja and found me in the house, which wasn’t my dad’s but mine. He was overwhelmed with emotions on how I was interacting with my parents.
He was surprised, I guess, because of the Charly Boy persona?
Yes. I keep telling people that the brand, Charly Boy, was created to shock stupid and myopic Nigerians out of their way of thinking. That is why I see myself as a social engineer before an activist.
Do you have many like you in Nigeria desirous of a new Nigeria?
Of course, I have already said in this interview that I have met great Nigerians. They are the ones giving me hope that things can change, and I have said that the salvation of this contraption called Nigeria lies in the hands of very exceptional Nigerians who are the youths, so I believe in them. I have learnt so many things from young Nigerians, which is why I remain youthful and will never get old.
Let’s go back to your relationship with your dad. What would you consider the most unforgettable experience shared with him while he was alive?
My dad told me when I used to live in Lagos, “Son, I may not have said this often or ever, but I am proud of you.” I was lying on the bed when I heard those words and nearly fainted. If you look back at what happened between both of us, you would understand how encouraged I was. Do you know what it means to go against the kingdom of Justice Oputa? It was akin to World War III, and I thank God, I won that war, because I was consistent with my dream. I had focus and tenacity. I had audacity and I was sagacious, though he didn’t understand initially what I was doing. He told me, people wouldn’t understand me because we were in a conservative society. I told him, at the right time, Nigerians would understand me. I asked him, “Dad have you forgotten I am a communicator? I am a journalist, and I know how to put things together. I know how to make black white and white black. I also know how to make things larger than life. Creating the Charly Boy brand is the best thing I have ever done in my life as Mr Oputa.
How did you achieve that?
I disowned my parents, because they wouldn’t have allowed me to rest, considering my background. I was suffocating under the looming image of my father. I didn’t want to be addressed as “this person’s son”. I wanted to have my own identity.” So if I had to be crazy or go naked, I would do that if that helped me to get to my destination and have my own identity.
What you did was quite unusual, because, if you look at elite Nigerian families, most of their children have been finding it hard to reach their parents’ level or surpass them. But you achieved that.
I am supposed to pass my father’s reputation, and I can say frankly I am more popular than my father ever was. I have more money than my father ever had. My father is mostly known by lawyers and in certain circles, but everybody knows me, from agberos to corporate bodies – the young and old. One thing I like most about the Charly Boy brand is the grace to move from board meetings to meeting area boys the next day with ease. By the time I go to the board meetings, they will see my intellect. If I get down to the street, my street credibility comes to play.
Not too long ago there was an attempt to change the popular Charly Boy Bus Stop at Gbagada, Lagos. Did you feel betrayed by the community that you gave a lot?
Those bigots were silly. That didn’t change anything. It didn’t change the prices of food or transportation from Oshodi to Gbagada. Guess what, up till today, it’s called Charly Boy’s Bus Stop. So nothing has really changed. It tells us how narrow-minded we are as a people. Lagos should be proud it brought up Charly Boy, because I have done quite a lot for the Gbagada community. Go and ask the people. Most of the okadas they have were dashed by me. I have given out thousands of okadas, because, those days, anybody who needed to do any job I would ask for at least 200 okadas as a precondition. They amounted to thousands. So you see why it was insane to change my legacy at Gbagada.
What’s in the offing as we enter the last quarter of the year?
Before the year ends, we are going to do a world tour. Maybe a movie next year. But you can trust me to come up with all kinds of things as a creative, because Charly Boy knows how to re-invent, and he keeps re-inventing things. That is why Charly Boy can never go out of fashion. That’s why they said on the street: ”Charly Boy no dey finish.”
How indebted are you to the river goddess of Oguta, the Ogbuide, creative-wise? Did you drive your muse from there?
I am an oracle myself. What concerns me with Ogbuide? I am the highest oracle. I don’t see Ogbuide. Again. I only see Odudubariba.
Wow! What’s the difference?
Ogbuide is localised in that river while Odudubariba is like an intercontinental ballistic missile. Do you know that I almost spent 12 months in my mother’s womb? When I now came out I was the first son of my mother. She later had three other sons, but I “killed all of them”. None lasted more than three months after birth, because my spirit was not to be shared with anybody. That was how I became the only son of my mother.
At a point in history, your town man, Dr Alban, became an international artist, further popularising Oguta and Nigerian music.
He’s more or less, my junior. He’s actually my first cousin. After his big hit, “Hello Africa”, I started gravitating towards him, because we shared something in common musically. He has been a good cousin. I appreciate him. I owe a lot to him for helping in the journey of life. We have a good relationship.
What’s your favourite song?
It has to be my first song, “Nwata Miss”. If I was to have stayed with music, that was the kind of music that I would have stuck to. What Flavour is doing now – I don:t know where he got it from – is what I would be doing now, because I am an original Highlife person.
Now, Afrobeats has taken the world by storm. Do you envisage that so soon?
I knew it was going to become big. Years ago when I was saying corporate Nigeria was only treating foreign musicians well, that was what I was driving at. I fought Nigerian Brewery to a standstill for the sake of our music industry. It was during my tenure that radio stations changed from playing 10 per cent local content to having something dominant. I was the first commoner to take a bill to the National Assembly reminding them about copyright. I took Multichoice to court for stealing from our artists. I also took NTA to court, and all of them paid.
How would you describe Charly Boy?
Charly Boy is the forerunner of all Nigerian musicians outside Fela. I am the one who gave Nigerian musicians, except Fela, the impetus to be their authentic self, and that says a whole lot about me. Sometimes I am jealous about my creations. Sometimes I am in awe about things I have created. I have the feminist side, which is why people question my sexuality. There is the spiritual side – the Odudubariba – and my father figure side – the Area Fada. There is also Charly Boy, who can do and undo.
How do you unwind?
I enjoy sleeping these days. I don’t like to be disturbed. I used to enjoy riding my scooter, but not any more with many risks involved in facing mad Lagos drivers on the road.
What’s your favourite drink?
Water.
Water? I was expecting you to say an expensive French, Italian or Spanish wine?
No. I have never taken alcohol. I don’t drink but I smoke.
