D’Banj’s Heart Of Gold

 

 

By Alex Akinyele

On the stage, he cuts the picture of a man without a care in the world. Off it, Oyedapo Daniel Oyebanjo, aka D’ Banj cares–a lot, too. The softer side of the music superstar was evident on 10 June at the swishy Planet One Events Centre in Lagos, where he celebrated his 29th birthday. As part of the celebrations, D’ Banj visited Hearts of Gold Hospice, Surulere, Lagos, where he spent a good part of the day with children suffering from debilitating ailments like Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and hydrocephalus.

 

Accompanied by Don Jazzy, his producer and CEO of Mo’ Hits Records, and the stable’s other artistes like Ikechukwu, Wande Coal and Naeto C, D’Banj cuddled the children and sang for them. He also donated N1 million as well as food items to the hospice. Was this planned? “It is a spontaneous decision. I just woke up this morning and decided to celebrate my birthday with the underprivileged children. It’s my own way of giving back to a society that has given me so much. Though, I have done a lot in the past for the underprivileged through my Koko Foundation, this is the first time I would be visiting the hospice,” he told TheNEWS. Irene Ikediashi, an official of the hospice who stood in for Mrs. Laja Adedoyin, the founder, thanked D’Banj for the kind gesture which she said would go a long way in providing for the children. From the hospice, D’Banj moved to Dowen College, a co-educational secondary school in the upscale Lekki area. There, students were surprised when D’Banj arrived because they had no prior information of his visit.

 D’Banj’s entry into the Olumide Phillips Hall of the school provoked a mini-hysteria, as the students screamed. For the students, it was Christmas in June. D’Banj explained that the visit was a way of repaying the students, who for long, had craved to see him perform live. He added that he also wanted to correct a negative perception of him, which arose from the activity of a desperate radio presenter. In 2007, the presenter, posing as D’Banj’s manager, conned the school into shelling out N5 million on a promise that he was bringing D’Banj to the school. TheNEWS gathered that each student paid N10,000 for the purported performance. But the controversy was forgotten as the students finally had the chance to see their favourite music star perform live. Along with Wande Coal, Ikechukwu and Naeto C, D’ Banj performed songs like You Don Make Me Fall In Love, Igwe and Tongolo among others.At the end of the performance, D’Banj offered scholarships to the three best graduating students of the school in the 2008/09 academic session. The students are Oritsemisan Ikpobe, Ramon Shitta and Saheedat Onifade. Each of them is entitled to $20,000. The singer was an epitome of humility all through. “I sincerely do not believe I am successful yet. It is true that I struck a deal with Globacom, but it’s strictly business. I took an idea to them and they liked it and they decided to invest in it. That is what happened,” he said. Not successful yet? That is a stretch, given his multi-million naira endorsement deals, performance fee that ranges between N3 and N5 million, fast growing business conglomerate that includes Koko Lounge, a night club-cum restaurant; Koko Water, and Koko Mobile, a range of mobile phones.

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