Ademola Adeleke, the Osun State governor, on Wednesday, stated that he would have been a musician and not a politician if he was not discouraged by his father.
The governor is nicknamed ‘Dancing Governor’ due to his cheerful dances in public, many of which went viral on social media, and is an uncle to Nigerian music star David Adeleke (Davido). His dances became a subject during his governorship campaign as his opponents said he was unfit for the serious job of governance, while his supporters said such traits showed that he would be socially accessible by all.
The 63-year-old politician, while answering questions during an interview on ARISE TV, said he had wanted to be a musician since childhood.
He said, “Actually, I was supposed to be a musician right away. But my father, when we were growing up in the sixties, didn’t allow it. They didn’t believe that somebody should go and do music. They just wanted you to go to school. So, he discouraged me. But I know that I have that talent. It’s the talent I passed on to my nephew and my son.
“If you play music now, I don’t know how I would just start dancing. My body would just start moving without knowing it.
“I got to America in 1981. The name of my school at that time in Alabama was Jacksonville State University. It was in the countryside. At that time, the school was having their anniversary, a lot of activities were happening there. So I picked the dancing part. So, after the stages, we got to the finals.
“So, to cut the long story short, I won. I remember vividly the president of our school was trying to pronounce my name – Ademola Adeleke – he called me Jackson. And at that time, Michael Jackson was reigning. So that’s how I got the name Jackson.”
