Charly Boy, OBJ to storm London, Germany, Kenya to launch book “999”, Charly Boy Foundation

By Ayo Onikoyi

The last couple of months have been pretty hectic for the one known as Charles Oputa aka Charly Boy or Area Fada as some others affectionately call him. The Enigmatic singer, entertainer and social engineer has been busy working his butts off to ensure his new book, 999, got an unforgettable launch. And it did. With former head of state, General Olusegun Obasanjo (GCFR) leading the assemblage of distinguished Nigerians present at the event, you couldn’t have asked for a more compelling gathering.

As expected, OBJ stole the show with the astonishing display of his jumping skills and hilarious wit. Many left with a totally new and better-informed impression of the Charly Boy brand, something different from the perception they held before the launch. The feedback from those who have read the book has been nothing short of remarkable and one would think that the Area Fada by now will be taking a well-deserved rest after the successful launch. But not the energetic, ever-evolving and restless Odudubariba1of Africa.

The big news presently is that, in the coming months, Charly Boy will be taking on a new project. He plans to take to another level his two biggest pet projects right now which is the Charly Boy Foundation and his new book 999. This is new in this part of the world and those who have been privy to the new project have been full of praise for the man who has taken it upon himself to combat prostate cancer with everything he’s got. A few days ago, he spoke to a group of selected journalists in Lagos and revealed how he plans to do a tour of London, Germany and Kenya, with OBJ leading the team. Below are excerpts of the interview.

Q: Let us begin by congratulating you on the successful book launch of 999. It was a much-anticipated book launch, and from all feelers reaching us, it turned out pretty successful. How did that make you feel, seeing all of the efforts you put into a book launch of that magnitude culminate in the success it achieved?

A: First and foremost, I’m the biggest critic of Charly Boy as Mr. Oputa. So there’s hardly anything Charly Boy would do that can impress me like that. But I must say that it turned out to be like a seamless program, the series of events that played out in the venue, on the stage. It seemed so seamless. It was exciting. It was typical Charly Boy. And I noticed, as Mr. Oputa, that a lot of people were elevated, so to speak, just being there, witnessing the show, watching the show, and all that played out on stage. So even though as a critic of my creation, Charly Boy, I’ll just give that show a 50% in my book because, yeah, I’m that way. It could have been better.

But I am happy also about the team that got together to do that job. They were, of course, the best that you could get around, especially the ambience creator, the Newton and David team. I mean, it can’t get any better than them. And then, of course, the collaboration with Samsung, you can’t get any better than that. And the selected dignitaries that came, you know, it was a potpourri of all the right kind of mix, both the team that worked very hard to put the show together, all the days and nights of rehearsals and so on and so forth. So overall, yeah, in my book, I’ll say good.

Q: And what has the feedback been like? What essentially would you say guests took away from that book launch, having held the book 999 in their hands and listened to the book review and other speeches at the successful launch?

A; Okay, I know OBJ almost stole the show as he did his Atilogwu stunt by jumping off the stage and all the questions that have been playing in people’s head that I asked him and he had to answer live and direct, you know, like the rumor that says he’s really not a Yoruba man, that he may be an Igbo man. Okay, he fought the civil war, what were the things he regretted doing? And what were the good things he thought he did during the war, and so on and so forth. I like the part Dr. Alban cancelled his gig in Russia just to be in Nigeria to do that small thing he did. You know, the book reviewer took it to another intellectual dimension. And then of course, we had poetry by Dike Chukwumerije. You know how that one is, I’m a big fan of his. And then we had the Symphony band, the Ace band who entertained us. It went all the way from the old jazz thing to contemporary music, which was very, very good.

So, generally on the whole, we all know that book launching can be kind of boring since it’s an intellectual thing, more or less an intellectual exercise. But this was very Charly Boyish in nature. So it held attention. And the feedback has been very positive. But the big story is that we’re taking it to another level because next month in September, we’re going to go launch in London. After London, we’re doing Germany and after Germany, we’re going to do Kenya where I know Baba Obasanjo has a lot of things going on for him. He’s so, so loved in Kenya. So, we’re taking this on a global level.

Q: This is new. This is novel in this part of the world, where you have people take foundations with very sensitive causes like this, beyond our shores. What is the bigger picture you’re looking at? How strong is your passion to help men with prostate issues?

A: Yeah, we’re launching the book, 999, The Memoir of Charly Boy. We’re launching a book, all right, in all of these locations I mentioned. But the underplay and the most important thing in this launch is about the Charly Boy Foundation. Since I was once a victim of Prostate cancer, I just felt it behoves on me to do a very thorough campaign for men so men could be able to take more care of themselves. Men are usually the big culprits in terms of wellness, okay? Because it’s either they are not paying attention as they should, or they’ve learned to hide their problems. They can’t speak it out because of the brainwashing since time, they say men don’t cry. That’s if you’re a real man, anything that is worrying you, you chest it. And as an advocate of prostate challenge, I’ve been saying it loud and clear that we should emulate more of our women folk. They talk a lot. Anything that worries them, they’re always talking about their problems. So we should speak out because, first and foremost, since in most families, the man is the head, and if the head is not well and there’s a problem with the head, then that means every other thing will derail because the head is not well.

And this is where I also advise women, ensure that your husband or your partner gets the kind of medical attention he should be getting. I know that because of the economic situation, person go chop first before you dey go medicine, yeah? So, aside the carelessness, aside the fear that men do have, okay, is this the end of me? Because a man that is struggling to survive and is also fighting with his penis, which is his precious, his most valuable possession and it seems like the network is not steady down there, then that is big trouble for the man. That is why all of this accumulates to men who just drop and die. So if the head is not well, the other department cannot function and that’s why I say it is time for men to start to learn to be a bit selfish. If you fall into a sickness that you know there is no way out, you will soon die, sebi when you do, will you add yourself to the Will? You can’t add yourself to the Will now, so if you can’t be a little bit selfish about your health to think about yourself, you know, some of us have gone through with all our life, we’ve worked for our partner, our wives, our children, our everything, neglecting ourselves. But that’s not fair. It’s not fair on the captain of the family. It’s not fair. And that is why I’ve urged men to be a bit selfish.

Q: So, is there any specific reason why the choice of these three different countries for the tour?

A: London, because of course, you know, this Prostate thing, it affects the black community more than it does the white. And London has a lot of Nigerians there. Germany has a lot of Nigerian community there and even Kenya, yeah, which is our continent, and so, that’s the main focus. Anywhere there is quite a lot of men who are afflicted by this disease, we go there, we go to as many countries. These are just what we have lined up for now. Yeah. I’m sure there will be other things that will flow from this tour.

Q: Share with us a bit about your experience so far with the foundation here in Nigeria. What sort of experiences have you had with men coming forward to open up on their Prostate condition to you?

A: Oh, yeah, I’ve had strangers, total strangers, men I don’t even know, they call my number and they start to vocalise their testimony. They confide in me so much, you know, sometimes I’m even asking them, is all this information necessary? But it is necessary for me to understand where their head and their mind are. And you know, this particular disease or challenge affects men in various ways because as your mind thinketh…because good and bad things will keep happening to people, but we all react in different ways. And that is why I made it a duty to be out there to talk about my plight, so other men will not hide behind fear or hiding behind all hope is lost. And the community of the people I talk to on a daily has expanded so much, but you see, I’m always doing things that speak to my soul. I don’t do things just for doing it or to chase clout, they must speak to my soul. And that is why I’ve remained consistent, tenacious, and audacious about most of the things that I do.

But I must confess that this idea of starting a foundation was not Mr. Oputa’s idea in the first place. It was my very good friend, schoolmate, called Leo Stan Ekeh of Zinox Computer, and he was the one who introduced the idea to me. And he said to me, rather than sitting and getting frustrated with what the government is doing or not doing, I know you’re a people’s person, why don’t you face this direction? And ever since he told me that, I have not looked back, because like I said, I do things that speak to my soul and that is why I’m deeply involved.

I’ve been listening to you at several forums, speaking about your own personal experience. Would you say you’re impressed with the degree of response from the men who have been coming out?

I am very, very, very impressed. And if it continues like this, I can’t imagine how many thousands of men will be influenced by my own personal experience as Mr. Oputa and my own courage in dealing with this problem. And I don’t know how to lie. I can’t lie. I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you as it is. And I’ll share some experiences, which will even make the listeners cringe. You know, ah! Did you do that? Did you really do that? Yes, I did. You know, people think that when they see me, they say, ah, but why don’t you ever age? It’s not like I don’t age, of course. I’m getting older and my body is doing something different that I don’t know, that I never planned for, but I just carry everything with a smile, with some happiness. So, when people see me, I think that’s when they see Charly Boy. I think what they’re looking at is the spirit that lives in Charly Boy and that’s why we can’t attribute aging to him like that. It’s the spirit that they see and the spirit is youthful and useful, you can imagine, at 70 something. Well, what am I talking about? If OBJ can be jumping, doing Atilogwu at 90 something, me, I never start.

Q: Talking about Baba, everyone would say he was the star boy of the book launch and many would be hoping he would also be involved in this tour you just spoke about. How involved is he in the tour to Kenya, Germany and London?

A: He’s the host of it all. He’s the one hosting all of that. You know, me and Baba, we are now tied to the waist of each other. I love the man. I love his openness. I love his wits. I love his humor. Baba may not give me money, but Baba has given me what is worth more than money. He’s made a lot of people come to understand the brand that I built years ago. People who are still confused, they say, okay, now I get it because Baba won’t ever support rubbish. So the fact that we’re this bonded signifies something. And we like the same things. We believe that a new and better Nigeria is possible. And that is exactly the whole point. He also wants to see a better Nigeria. I know that people have criticized him in the past to say, well, wasn’t he part of the problem? But it’s just like people who didn’t know who I really was in the past, who mistake the brand Charly Boy and Mr. Oputa, the creator. And like Baba will always say, in darkness, you can decide to see the light. And even in the light, you may decide to see darkness, so it’s up to us. No be all of us get sense. Most of us na mumu, most of us na Olodo. So, to each his own. We, unfortunately, don’t have an enlightened society, because if we did, these criminals will not be anywhere near power.

Q: If hopefully, in the coming months, you’re done with this tour of the three different countries you mentioned, what level are you hoping to take this to next?

A: Globally, and I probably will need to do a movie, a short movie, that I want to present in the next Cannes Festival, you know, something focusing on people living with prostate cancer. Because I intend to take this to a different level, I swear to God. And there may be more talks coming up in the future. So, like I said in the beginning, we’re using 999, the book launch to call attention to men’s health challenges and the Charlie Boy Foundation, what we do and why we’re set up for that.

Q: Going on this tour will certainly be cost-intensive, what sort of sponsorship have you been able to attract, particularly to the foundation to undertake projects of this magnitude?

A: Well, a lot of people are becoming kinder to the cause. A lot of people see the need for that advocacy, because it’s become a pandemic. It’s become a cause of concern for men, especially black men generally all over the world. It’s not just a Nigerian thing, you know. So a lot of people are poised to help out, be it corporate bodies, be it individuals who at one time or the other, either they have a relative that has been so affected or they themselves personally have been so affected. But I like the positive vibes that I’m getting from people. In fact, you know, in our maiden edition that we just had two weeks ago, almost about 95 percent of the bill was paid by Samsung, which was a good thing because the foundation wasn’t that financially buoyant to put up a show like that. And that’s because whatever money we get, we spend it on our outreach, and what do we do? Young people, poor people, people who really don’t have the means or the ways, we say to them, listen, prevention is better than cure. If you are constantly checking, we can offset about 80 percent of the bill, we can pay on your behalf, but we need you to keep an eagle eye on your health. For instance, if you’re hit by Cancer and it becomes really bad and you need to have an operation, you will need N25m to have that operation. So, which one is cheaper? So, regular check-up is the right way to go and that is why we are increasing the volume of this advocacy that we do.

Q: So, you’re still hoping for more sponsorship to come in so the foundation can cater for more men?

A: Of course, it’s the sponsorship from different quarters that will enable us do what I enjoy doing, like I said earlier, doing what speaks to my soul.

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