Overview
Ebenezer Obey is a juju bandleader and songwriter known for proverb-based Yoruba lyrics and long dance arrangements, and later for gospel music. He is Yoruba, born at Idogo in what is now Ogun State.
Biography
Obey moved to Lagos as a young man and played in local bands before forming his own group, which he later called the Inter-Reformers. Working in juju, he expanded the percussion section and built songs around Yoruba proverb, praise and moral commentary, developing what he named the miliki sound.
Through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s he released a very large catalogue of records, many of them extended arrangements built for social occasions, and he was one of the two dominant juju bandleaders of that era. In the 1990s he turned to gospel music and evangelism, recording sacred material and performing at church events, while continuing to appear at anniversary and tribute concerts. His songs remain in regular use at Yoruba weddings, funerals and social gatherings.
Notable achievements
- Developed the juju style he called miliki with the Inter-Reformers band
- Released one of the largest recorded catalogues in Nigerian popular music
- Built a body of songs organised around Yoruba proverb and social commentary
- Moved into gospel music and evangelism from the 1990s
Legacy
Obey's records are part of the standard repertoire at Yoruba social ceremonies, and his use of proverb in lyric writing is widely imitated in juju and in later Nigerian popular styles.