The proprietor and principal of Abifab College, Ikorodu, Lagos, Abidemi Faboye, has spoken about Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad,
The secondary school is the one Mohbad attended.
The man tells GRACE EDEMA about the memories he has of the late singer
How would you describe Mohbad?
I knew him when he enrolled in my school in 2013. His elder sister, Blessing, also graduated from the school in 2013. He was brought from a public school, and he was a quiet boy. He was tall and slim. It was years after secondary school that he added weight.
How old was he when he joined your school?
He was 17 years old, and was a bit more mature than some of his classmates. He wrote the National Examination Council senior secondary certificate exam in 2015, and made his papers in one sitting. He spent two years in the school, and there was a transformation in his life. He always called me, ‘daddy’. I always wanted my students to call me ‘Abifab’ or ‘Mr Abifab’, but he found it difficult to call me that. Whenever Promise (Ilerioluwa) called me ‘daddy’, I would tell him to call me ‘Abifab’; and he would just laugh.
What kind of student was he?
He was in commercial class, and he had very good results. I would not say he was an excellent student, but he was above average. He was an easygoing person, who only played occasionally. He never made trouble.
He wanted to study Accounting, and I told him there was no way he could do that without mathematics. So, he improved in mathematics and financial accounting.
Did you know he was a member of the Marlian group?
When I heard that he was a member of the Marlian group, I was surprised. I doubted if he could cope with such group. Although he was mature, I felt he must have mixed with a few others who joined the record label. I prayed that God would be with him, because after he left school, we did not communicate regularly.
Did he show any sign of his musical talent while he was in school?