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 šš½. Iām fine my people. Glory be to almighty God.
This is coming few months after she recounted how her colleaguesĀ deserted her, after she became paralyzed for six years. Celebrating her recovery in an interview,Ā Salawa Abeni disclosed that theĀ 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 didnāt recover until six years after. I was not performing on stage and other social events. Suddenly, I became terribly ill and couldnāt go out. I could not think of work because I could not walkāI 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 didnāt go! Itās 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 didnāt and would ignore my call. They were like, āSalawa is ill, she needs money, thatās why she is calling.ā I cried but I kept trusting God.
Did you reach out to other musicians?
Some ran away, some didnāt even pick my calls. After my recovery, some told me that they didnāt know where I was and could not locate me. During my illness, I learnt thisā learn to help one another. Itās 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 donāt shed crocodile tears at burial. I donāt pray for anyone to be ill or dieāitās terrible. But then, I never took offence in anyone. I was just praying to God to restore me.
