Joseph Aloba, father of late Afrobeat singer, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, better known as MohBad, has claimed that he taught the deceased musician how to sing.
MohBad died on September 12, 2023, at the age of 27, in mysterious circumstances, which has not been completely unravelled.
There was serious media coverage regarding his demise. Before his death, Mohbad had raised the alarm that he was being victimised, following his departure from Marlian Records. He accused his manager, singer Naira Marley, of assault and stated that his former boss ordered people to beat him up after he announced his intention to employ a different manager to handle his music and business affairs.
After MohBad’s death, it was reported that he had filed a police report in June 2023, alleging that Samson Erinfolami Balogun, a music promoter nicknamed “Sam Larry” and a known associate of Marley’s, had assaulted him and destroyed some of his property. In the report, MohBad said that Larry had interrupted a video shoot, leading a group of 15 men armed with firearms and cutlasses who claimed to work for monarch Oba Elegushi.
Police later said MohBad had not attended a subsequent meeting to address the allegations, and that Balogun and others accused of the assault had then filed a defamation complaint. Oba Elegushi released a statement distancing himself from Balogun and expressing condolences on MohBad’s death.
There has been fireballs of event since MohBad’s death, including an autopsy to determine the cause of his death and the controversy surrounding the legitimacy of his only child which his wife, Omawunmi, had for him months before his demise.
Joseph Aloba appeared on Arise News primetime programme, ‘The Morning Show’, monitored by TMY News, on Friday, to clear up certain issues about him that many Nigerian have severely criticised. He is said to have picked up a career in singing after his son’s death, as well as wearing his clothes.
He argued that he is a pastor, carpenter and also a musician.
“The singing aspect, I’m a musician but many do not know. I thought him how to sing because I’m a carpenter and musician. I usually sing when doing our carpentry work. So, by singing after his death, that is the only way I can convey my feelings”, he said.
When asked why he did not collaborate with his son before his death, he replied:
“We had something like that but in his own way, he said ‘daddy, let me remove your voice’. There was a song he rendered ‘I will exalt you Lord’. That was it”.
On wearing his late son’s clothes, Aloba argued that Mohbad always buys him clothes when he was alive, debunking rumours that he had been wearing his clothes.
“I have not even been to his house since he died,” he added.
