After blowbacks, Asake, dad mend fences

 In three days, the seeming dirty linen in the private life of Afrobeats singer, Ahmed Ololade Odunsi (aka Asake), rented the air and created a buzz on social media. On Friday, March 14, a video of Fatai Odunsi, who is Asake’s father, appealing to the public for financial assistance, citing severe health challenges, surfaced online. In the now-viral video, the elderly Odunsi revealed that he has been battling stroke since 2022 and has been abandoned by his celebrity son for reasons unknown.

The elderly Odunsi claimed he was a responsible father, who was present in the life of his son as he was the only product of the short-lived union between himself and Asake’s mum, whose name was simply given as Falilat. He also noted that the last time he spoke or chatted with Asake was in 2022 and he has neither picked his calls or supported him financially as a child should do to his parents. The video elicited reactions from several quarters – with most coming from social media. While reactions were flying about, some blamed Asake’s mother for inciting the singer against his father. Others insisted the senior Odunsi was a deadbeat father, who wanted to reap from where he did not sow.

Investigations revealed that Asake has a chummy relationship with his mother, whom he says he adores. On March 5, 2025, Asake took to his X account to celebrate his mother. He wrote, “Happy birthday to the most amazing mom. Your love and support mean the world to me. I’m so grateful for you every day. Love you more than anything.”

In what seemed to be a direct response to his father’s claim, the Grammy nominee and former YBNL signee, claimed he did his best to take care of his father but his father wants to cajole him. In the musical response released on his official Instagram pages, Asake claimed it’s hard to satisfy everyone but he will keep doing his best till he passes on. In his words, “You can’t please everyone, you can’t please the world. But anything you are doing, just do it for God. My own father wants to cajole me, and I have sent so much money to him. I have struggled for so many years, but they want to make life tire me.”

Asake’s cryptic response on social media further elicited claims from supporters of his father, who claimed his father was very present in his life. The supporters insisted that Odunsi was responsible for taking care of Asake when he parted ways with his mum in 1998 and the star singer was just three years old. The supporters went further to blame Asake’s mother for masterminding his decision to stay away and abandon his father. The supporters claimed she did this to get back at Odunsi after parting ways with him over 27 years ago. It was during the back and forth that the existence of an 11-year-old girl, said to be Asake’s first daughter, was brought to the fore. Odunsi’s supporters had backed up their claims of Asake’s abandonment of his father with the claims that he also abandoned his own child.

After much accusations and counter accusations, the music sensation reached out to his father and made amends with him following the public fallout. On Sunday, March 16, in a short video, Odunsi revealed that Asake had reached out and promised to support him. He went further to say the singer has committed to purchasing a new house for him as he’s currently shopping for a house for him and promises to cover his medical expenses by booking a doctor’s appointment in the highbrow Lekki area for him. He said he’s happy with his son and prayed endlessly for his success at all times.

“His mother ought to ask him when he last saw me. That was what got me angry, but we have sorted out all the problems. We are no longer fighting. Asake said he will do everything that I want. We have settled, no more problems. They are now looking for a new house that he will buy for me. He has settled everything,” he said in the video.

On taking responsibilities of his daughter, Odunsi said Asake has also agreed to take full responsibility for his 11-year-old daughter, Zeenat. “He has never denied his child, but he has now promised to take full responsibility for the child,” Odunsi said in the video.

Sesan Adeniji reacted to the first video from Odunsi saying, “To imagine Asake’s alleged father fails to use his first public appearance to reconnect by saying “Son, I still love. Forgive me if I have wronged you.” But instead he used his name to beg and also dent his image by saying “he has not picked my call” is bonkers entitlement. Any father that publicly chastises his son indirectly for allegedly not helping financially (no matter the circumstances. I know we sometimes need help), may win the battle of public opinion but arguably have failed to act as a father. Use love to connect and not pressure.”

Adeniji responded again after Asake and his father settled their rift saying, “Asake has done the transaction. His father said “We have spoken. He’s about to buy me a house. Fight is over…(paraphrasing).” Arguably, sometimes, the level of love you get from some of your family members is transactional. Get money and God’s grace.”

Reacting to the public fallout, Sheriffdeen Ojon Olorunfemi said, “Egbon Malo (as Odunsi is widely referred to) and my uncle, Ambaliu Olorunfemi, worked together as Local Government Council traffic officials. He (Asake) inherited all the talents of his father, both in singing and drumming. During his struggles to succeed in life, Allah made me become involved in his life in one way or the other, through his mother, who informed me about his music career. Ahmed himself contacted me via WhatsApp after his mother shared my contact information with him. I recall praying for him for several days. As I always say, no prayer goes to waste.

“While I cannot definitively say whether my prayers were answered, I can see that all that I told his mother about Ahmed is manifesting in his life now. I thank God for his life, and I advise him not to neglect his father if he wishes to continue prospering in life. Thinking about his son neglecting him caused his stroke in 2022 and also delaying the healing on time. My name is Alfa Sheriff Islander Omo Oju Olokun, Isale-Eko, Lagos Island.

“Anyone who doesn’t know Malo, Ahmed, and Iya Asake but you’re online, calling his father all sorts of names and saying he didn’t care for Ahmed just to get traffic on your page and monetisation money, God will judge you negatively in this holy month. Because none of you people saying rubbish know this family more than we people in Isale-Eko. We both lived together in Isale Eko with these people or family, and we know each other better! Baraka Jumath and Ramadan Kareem”

On his part, Wale Balogun said, “Egbon, I don’t want to say anything about the matter from the onset, but the way people are accusing Bro Malo of neglecting Asake was really disappointing and annoying at the same time. Bro Malo used to live in my family house at No. 4, Ojuyewa Lane with Hammed for years before they moved to Okiti. So I know much about these people. Iya Hammed (Sis Fali) was eku eda. I don’t know what could have happened later on that made her turn her child against his dad. Even if Asake doesn’t want to take care of his father, she is in the right position to let the boy do the needful. From now on, I won’t keep quiet in people’s comment sections anymore because no parent deserves this kind of treatment in old age.”

Reacting to the fallout, Wale Olaleye, the deputy editor at ThisDay Newspaper wrote, “It is heartbreaking to actually realise that Portable is more sensible than Asake. He should have shut his mouth. Sad!”

On her part, Canadian based Nigerian media strategist and women advocate, Esther Ijewere, took another point in her submission of the fallout. She wrote, “I had to dig through before I found this photo of Asake from his GQ feature in April 2024. I was looking for an image that reflected both my emotions as a child and his silent response to the ongoing saga. I once left a comment when he changed his look, covering his face with tattoos. I said he was either rebranding or masking a pain he wasn’t ready to confront.

“The truth about his childhood remains unclear, aside from scattered blog posts, some painting his father in a bad light, others portraying his mother as bitter and harsh. But I am in no position to judge the father who allegedly raised him partially and then abandoned him, nor will I throw his mother under the bus. What I do know is that Asake deserves love from his family, not a public spectacle that leaves him open to criticism. In all our hot takes, I hope we remember that beneath the fame, there is a child in this body who likely longs to hear something other than “I need money.” Artists who sing about loneliness or try to detach from vulnerability are often battling deep internal struggles. There’s a void they are trying to fill. Something they crave but cannot seem to find.

“Rejection, especially from a parent, can shape a child’s entire existence. It creates a lifelong battle of defensiveness, a feeling of always being misunderstood. A child who grows up hearing “I love you” moves through life differently than one who hears “I don’t want anything to do with you.” Some wounds cannot be healed by money, fame, or influence. True healing requires conscious effort from within.We can’t force it on people either. You can tell a person to forgive without asking them to forget their lived experience. Rather than judge, I choose to send light and love to this incredible artist. No child should grow up in a world where age and cultural expectations suppress their emotions. Children raised this way often become defensive adults, struggling to express themselves, or they shut people out completely. To parents: Please, don’t let the world raise your talented children for you. Be present. Be intentional. Be the voice they hear before the noise of the world tries to define them. A child who feels truly seen and loved at home will have less to prove to the world. I wish him well.”