Two Members Fight Over Rolling Dollar's Band

Two band members of the late highlife maestro, Fatai Olagunju, a.k.a, Fatai Rolling Dollar, are at loggerheads over who heads the group.

The band members–70-year-old Eji Oyewole and Biodun Bakare had a heated argument over the leadership of the band at a night of tribute organised by the Actors Guild of Nigeria to honour Olagunju on July 28.

The ceremony, which took place at the Ojez' Night Club, Surulere went on smoothly until Nollywood director and movie producer, Charles Inojie, who acted as the master of ceremonies at the event, called on the members of Fatai Rolling Dollar band to entertain the guests with some of the late veteran musician's popular songs.

As the lead guitarist, Oyewole mounted the stage and started singing, another member of the band, Bakare, who was among the audience, stood up and accused the guitarist of poor rendition of Rolling Dollars songs.

Bakare subsequently snatched the microphone from Oyewole.
"This man is an enemy of Fatai Rolling Dollar... You see how he is trying to spoil the man's songs. Both of them had a quarrel in America when we went there for a performance and Fatai did not speak to him before he died," he alleged.

Armed with two microphones, Bakare went ahead and rendered some of the late highlife musician's hit songs including 'Won Kere Si Number Wa'.

Buoyed by the cheering crowd, Bakare refused to stop, ignoring the MC who had signalled to him to stop.
It took the intervention of another theatre veteran, Dejumo Lewis, to get him off the stage.

When asked about his reaction, Oyewole said he bore no ill feelings towards his fellow band member.
"I do not attach any seriousness to his statement; you know when somebody is under the influence of alcohol, he can say anything. I know that he would not say all those things with a clear mind," he said.