2 weeks ago
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By Christy Anyanwu
Aralola Olamuyiwa, better known as Ara, her stage name, is Africa’s most famous female talking drummer, singer, entertainer and cultural ambassador.
She has performed all over the world and is renowned for her enchanting and electrifying stagecraft.
She started playing drums at the age of five and, thanks to parental support, she went from performing at family events and corporate functions to entertaining royalty and heads of state, including Queen Elisabeth II, United States President Bill Clinton, President Olusegun Obasanjo and many others.
She came into the limelight in 2000 with her first video entitled ‘Which one you dey?” Since then she has never looked back.
In this interview, she talked about her 50th birthday celebration, the reception held in her honour by former President Obasanjo, her life and career, why she is not retiring soon and lots more.
You just marked your 50th birthday and 25 years on stage. What does that celebration mean to you?
Actually the 25 years on stage celebration is still coming on later in the year, but the 50th birthday was January 23, and on the 26th Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, celebrated me. For me, that I’m alive to celebrate my 50th birthday is everything to me. Earlier, in 2024, I had a major health issue that got me really emotionally, mentally, psychologically displaced because I felt like, would I see 50? Then I thought about my child, I’m his mother and his father and he needs me. So, it was a very, very emotional period for me. That got me re-evaluating a lot of things; that got me thinking about a lot about life itself. Of course, I’ve always been the prayerful type, but I became even more prayerful and I started begging Him, passionately begging Him, to preserve me, not just for my 50th birthday, but also for many more years, especially because of my son. So, celebrating that day means a lot to me. I am most grateful to God. I am very happy. I feel blessed, to crown it all, having a distinguished Nigerian like a former President recognizing my achievements in the area of culture, cultural heritage preservation in music, the foremost female talking drummer, acknowledging it, celebrating it. That, for me, made a whole lot of difference. I was so happy, excited and, from the bottom of my heart, from the depth of my soul, I appreciate him. When we got to the stage, I started feeling like people were shying away from our culture. Our culture is the totality of who we are and then you see people, one way or the other, not appreciating it as it should be appreciated. In 2025, former President Obasanjo, GCFR, celebrated me and recognized the fact that I have done something in my generation, for my generation, for my tribe, for my people, and it is sustainable because we have well over 500 girls who play the talking drum now and not just the talking drum, but other traditional instruments. Two of them performed that day. It’s a blessing. If after so many years of doing this, none of them took interest, it would have been a waste of my entire life. So, I’m grateful to God, I’m grateful to everyone, that God has used me, and I’m grateful and thankful to Baba Obasanjo.
Now that you have clocked 50 years, are you retiring or refiring as Ara?
Oh, wow! Clocking 50, I am refiring. I am not retiring at all, I’m refiring. I have two people that I look up to who are much older than me in the industry. One of them is Angelique Kidjo. Do you see Angelique Kidjo on stage? She’s in her 60s and she’s still doing her thing, taking the world by storm. Diana Ross just performed in Lagos. She’s in her 80s. I am not even 70 or 60. I’m a young golden baby. I have just started. I’m not retiring in any way.
Tell us about your most memorable times as a young girl, how was life growing up? Share with us your fears and hopes as a young girl…?
The most memorable times as a young girl are too numerous to be mentioned. I’ll just say I’m grateful to God for the privilege of life, for giving me the kind of parents He gave me. My late dad and my late mum, for everything, every move, every word, every decision they took concerning me, shaped me, even the ones they didn’t do. My father gave me a platform to rise, and my mother instilled discipline in me. Playing the drums while I was in Nana Primary School, Warri. Playing the drums in Fiwasha’i Girls Grammar School, Akure, and performing at different levels, growing up, dancing, singing, it’s a lot. There’s so much, there’s so much that I have to remember and be thankful for. Life has its ups and downs at times, but the beautiful memories will always live and linger in my heart, especially those of my late parents, Alhaji Lamidi Olamuyiwa and Alhaja Victoria Olamuyiwa. I have beautiful memories of my brothers, cousins, uncles and friends; some of them are late now. Growing up in Warri was a beautiful thing. There’s so much to talk about, your pages will be too full. So, let’s leave it at that for now. I thank God. I’ll just add a little bit to it. I lived a privileged life. My father was a senior manager with United Bank for Africa (UBA). So I was what they call ‘Omobutter’. He was transferred from state to state. My father was with UBA for over 20 years. So, we never lacked. I was the only girl he had that he raised: he had other daughters by other women, but I was the only one he raised. There was a very strong bond between my father and I, a very strong bond. And he believed so much in me. I let him down a couple of times, but he would always talk to me, he understood me. We had our moments, but he always corrected me in love. My mum did too. But when we were being scolded, my mum was that mother that would hold the shoe, standing by the corner of the room as you’re coming out. She would not aim for your leg, she would aim for your hand, or your back. I was a handful, trust me, I was a handful, but I turned out well, because it was my gift that was pushing me. I sure wanted to be on stage. I wanted to sing, I wanted to dance, I wanted to drum, against all odds. It was my passion, it wasn’t about money, no, I just loved it. It was my entirety. It was everything that I lived for, making people happy, dancing, because when I dance, I see the joy on people’s face. I’m not even talking about the Ara brand. I’m talking about when I was much younger, just dancing, singing. God bless their souls. There are so many beautiful memories, ones that would bring tears to my eyes, ones that would make me laugh, and ones that would make me laugh and cry at the same time, you know. So, above all, I have beautiful memories of growing up, and I really don’t want to talk about the other parts.
What were your fears and hopes as a teenager?
Fears and hopes as a young girl? Hmm, I had my fears: one was that I never wanted to have a failed marriage. Another was the fear of rape. And both happened to me. Those were my two fears. The third one was the fear of failure. I can count the number of times I have failed, but I didn’t give up. So, I guess failure is part of success, if you ask me. Because for you to move to the next level, sometimes, not all the time, sometimes, I think it’s a catalyst, actually, especially when you have a vision. And the seasons of life happen to all of us. So, the two worst fears of my life happened to me. How I went through, how I survived, I still don’t know. It’s just the grace of God.
Suppose there’s reincarnation, would you still want to be Ara?
Definitely, there is reincarnation, but I don’t want to come back as Ara, because I know that in this lifetime Ara will fulfill her destiny and everything she has been destined to fulfill. If I do come back, I want to come back on another assignment, I don’t want to repeat this, because if I come back as Ara again, it would mean that I failed and I need to come and make some corrections. No. I won’t come back as Ara, I’ll come back as another person on another assignment, because I will fulfill this destiny. I will fulfill all that I have been sent to fulfill in this lifetime. There are no carryovers. There’s a lot to be done in the world. So, I don’t want to come back and repeat again, there’s a lot to be done.
What lessons have life taught you?
Life has taught me to live passionately, to live in the moment, to appreciate everything that happens, both good and bad, to do good always, because whatever you do will come back to you. And I would rather have good come back to me because that would be a most beautiful experience. Whatever we do in life, we must remember that we will repeat, even if you don’t believe in the hereafter, right here on earth, whatever you do, you will repeat, your children will repeat, even your loved ones, those who didn’t come through you biologically, could repeat. So always do good and, remember, above all, life is short, no matter how long we live.
English (US) ·