Osun state governor, Ademola Adeleke, has revealed how his father discouraged him from being a musician.
He said rather than being a politician, he would have joined the entertainment industry as an artist.
Adeleke, due to his jovial and dancing zeal, is nicknamed ‘Dancing Governor’.
Many of his dancing videos went viral on social media.
Adeleke, who doubles as Davido’s uncle was criticised for always dancing during the campaigning period, and was automatically deemed unfit by some individuals to run a state, while his supporters said such trait showed that he would be socially accessible by all.
During an interview on ARISE TV on Wednesday, the 63-year-old politician 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, and 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, that 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.”
