Veteran singer Salawa Abeni escapes a robbery attack in Lagos

Salawa Abeni, a Nigerian veteran singer reportedly escaped a robbery attack which occurred last night in Lagos.

Salawa Abeni who expressed her gratitude to God over the escape in an Instagram, also told her fans and loved ones that she is fine. Her Instagram post reads;

My people. Help me thank and praise God. I escaped a robbery last night. Allah Akbar kabir 🙏🏽. I’m fine my people. Glory be to almighty God.

This is coming few months after she recounted how her colleagues deserted her, after she became paralyzed for six years. Celebrating her recovery in an interview, Salawa Abeni disclosed that the paralysis was so bad that she could neither walk nor do anything.

Here are excerpts from the interview;

Why were you off the entertainment scene for some years?
I was ill for like five or six years. It started in 2008 and I didn’t recover until six years after. I was not performing on stage and other social events. Suddenly, I became terribly ill and couldn’t go out. I could not think of work because I could not walk—I was paralysed. All I thought of then was getting back on my feet. I kept praying to Allah to help me catch up with the lost years.

What was the nature of the illness?
I cannot really explain what happened but it was paralysis and was extremely bad. I could neither walk nor do anything. I thank Almighty Allah because not everyone could go through what I went through and still survive. Thank God for my siblings, my children, my band boys, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor Fashola and now Governor Ambode, who later took the responsibilities upon him after my recovery. To be out of work as an entertainer for six years is no joke. My band boys stood by me and they didn’t go! It’s not easy to hold down band boys for five/six years and think they would still work for you.

It must have been a tough time for you and your family?
Yes, it was. I started to sing as a teenager and I had hustled, suffered and when I was about feeding fat on the proceeds of my labour, the devil struck. I prayed and kept telling God that He should allow me eat the fruits of my labour. At a point, everything was exhausted including money. That was when I started calling people to give me money. Some responded, some didn’t and would ignore my call. They were like, ‘Salawa is ill, she needs money, that’s why she is calling.’ I cried but I kept trusting God.

Did you reach out to other musicians?
Some ran away, some didn’t even pick my calls. After my recovery, some told me that they didn’t know where I was and could not locate me. During my illness, I learnt this— learn to help one another. It’s foolhardy to wait for a fellow artiste to die before donating money for burial or to give to the family. Render help while someone is alive and don’t shed crocodile tears at burial. I don’t pray for anyone to be ill or die—it’s terrible. But then, I never took offence in anyone. I was just praying to God to restore me.