Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Charly Boy.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently revealed reason he admires singer Charly Boy.
The retired Nigerian Army General in a recent episode of the ‘Before Tomorrow Comes’ podcast, recounted how his close relationship with late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Charly Boy’s father, shaped his perception of the singer over the years.
He said he greatly admired the late Supreme Court judge for his decency, discipline and appearance, adding that he was initially shocked by Charly Boy’s contrasting style.
Obasanjo said he had deliberately kept his distance from Charly Boy because he expected the son of a Supreme Court judge to mirror his father’s personality and mannerisms.
Said Obasanjo: “I was close to Charly Boy’s father, Justice Oputa. I don’t have many friends or many people I would say I admire, but the late Justice Oputa was one Nigerian I called a friend and admired. Then I started seeing Charly Boy, and they said he was Justice Oputa’s son.
“Justice Oputa was a decent man, well-groomed and well-dressed, with an immaculate turnout, and then I saw this man called Charly Boy, dressed in an uncoordinated way. I said, ‘Look, how come an adult dresses like that?’ and I didn’t think much of him.
“I could not raise it with his father, who was my friend and whom I admired. I would go to Justice Oputa and never talk about Charly Boy. When I met him, I scorned him deliberately because I expected the son of a Supreme Court judge of the calibre of Justice Oputa to be like his father, well-groomed, immaculate in turnout and well-presented”.
The former president, however, said his opinion changed after witnessing the singer’s devotion and care towards his parents.
He also praised the entertainer’s extraordinary commitment to caring for his mother after his father’s death, revealing that the experience brought them closer.
Added he: “Going into Charly Boy’s house, you would still see uncoordinated things, motorcycles and the type of clothes he wore. What struck me was Charly Boy’s way of taking care of his father. Even if Charly Boy had dressed ten times more immaculately, he could not have taken better care of his father than what I saw.
“It was all part of his comedy and amusement, so I got drawn to him. Of course, because of that and the regard I had for his father, when the old man died, I was there in their home in Oguta. Then it was his mother’s turn, and having been close to the father, I automatically became close to the mother, a humorous woman.
“I realised that Charly Boy’s care for his mother could not even be compared with the way he cared for his father because it was extraordinary so I became close to Charly Boy, and his uncoordinated dressing no longer mattered to me. I saw it as part of making life good, and then he approached me”.
Obasanjo said he eventually learned valuable lessons from Charly Boy’s life, especially his determination to follow his own path despite not fitting into conventional expectations.
Disclosed he: “I realised there were many lessons to learn from Charly Boy’s life, particularly from his parents, especially his father. How did his father tolerate him when he was not going the way his father wanted? If he would not become a lawyer, then certainly being a singer or comedian was not what the father would have wanted.
“But he decided to choose a path for his own life. He remained committed to it, and he got his father to learn to live with it. As I said, to the extent that in the latter part of the father’s life, Charly Boy became his father’s favourite”.
