Salawa Abeni Alidu, widely acclaimed as the Queen of Waka Music, was born on 5 May 1961 in Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria. Of Ijebu-Yoruba heritage, she traces her lineage to Ijebu Waterside in Ogun State.
Her early life was modest, and while records suggest she did not pursue extensive formal education, her natural musical ability and early participation in community performances defined her formative years. Unlike some of her contemporaries who trained formally or within church music traditions, Salawa’s artistic path was shaped through cultural gatherings and the Yoruba-Islamic musical style known as waka.
Waka, an Islamic-influenced Yoruba genre traditionally performed by women, long predates both juju and fuji. It historically functioned as a form of praise-singing, moral commentary, and celebration at social gatherings.
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The Rise of Waka Music and Early Career
Salawa Abeni’s professional breakthrough arrived in 1976 when she released her debut album, Late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, under Leader Records, founded by Lateef Adepoju. The record achieved remarkable success, reportedly selling over one million copies according to the label’s reports, a feat unprecedented for a female Yoruba artist at the time.
This success established Salawa as a national figure and brought waka music into mainstream Nigerian consciousness. Before her emergence, women in Yoruba traditional music were often confined to supporting roles; Salawa’s achievement redefined the possibilities for female artistry in a male-dominated industry.
Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, she released multiple albums with Leader Records, each blending Yoruba poetic recitation (ewì), Islamic devotional rhythm, and danceable percussion. Her lyrics explored moral values, womanhood, and social responsibility, earning her a reputation for balancing cultural authenticity with modern sensibilities.
Transition and Collaboration with Kollington Ayinla
By the mid-1980s, Salawa Abeni’s professional relationship with Leader Records came to an end due to creative and managerial differences. Around this time, she began collaborating with General Kollington Ayinla, one of the leading figures of fuji music, another Yoruba-derived genre rooted in Islamic praise traditions.
Their musical collaboration and eventual marriage represented a cultural fusion between waka and fuji, two genres often viewed as gendered opposites, waka being female-led and fuji male-led. The partnership captivated the Nigerian public and produced memorable performances that expanded the expressive range of Yoruba traditional music.
Although they later separated in the early 1990s, their union produced children and left a lasting artistic legacy. In a 2025 interview with TheCable Nigeria, Kollington Ayinla reaffirmed his enduring respect for Salawa Abeni, describing her as “still my wife in spirit”, an acknowledgment of their shared musical and familial bond rather than a legal assertion.
Coronation as Queen of Waka Music.
In 1992, the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, formally conferred on Salawa Abeni the title “Queen of Waka Music.” This public coronation, widely reported in Nigerian media, recognised her as the foremost modern custodian of waka and a pioneer in its commercial success.
The Alaafin’s honour placed her among a select group of Yoruba musicians whose influence extended beyond entertainment into cultural identity, alongside contemporaries such as King Sunny Adé and Chief Ebenezer Obey. This recognition institutionalised her role in preserving and modernising a vital Yoruba art form.
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Artistry, Themes, and Musical Influence
Salawa Abeni’s artistry is distinguished by her ability to modernise waka without losing its traditional integrity. Her compositions incorporate Western instruments, layered percussion, and conversational Yoruba poetry. Songs such as Beware, Comforter, and Good Morning Nigeria demonstrate her skill in blending humour, spiritual reflection, and social commentary.
Her work emphasises moral discipline, respect for elders, and spiritual devotion, themes resonant with Yoruba-Islamic values. Through her clear diction and command of the Yoruba language, she turned waka into both an artistic and educational form.
Abeni’s musical innovation opened doors for future generations of female artists. Performers including Alhaja Kuburatu Alaragbo and other women in Yoruba-Islamic music traditions have publicly acknowledged her influence. Even male artists such as Alhaji Alao Malaika have recognised her cultural impact and the broader respect she brought to Yoruba traditional music.
Her success also helped blur the divide between waka and fuji, enabling greater gender inclusion in Nigerian traditional music. Today, female musicians across multiple genres continue to cite her as a trailblazer who legitimised women’s visibility on major performance stages.
Personal Life and Resilience
Despite her professional triumphs, Salawa Abeni’s life has included personal trials. She lost her son, Idris Adepoju, in a road accident around 2000, a tragedy she commemorated publicly in 2020, twenty years later, as reported by PM News Nigeria.
Throughout her career, she has maintained a reputation for dignity, humility, and composure. In 2020, she faced an attempted blackmail involving private photographs but responded by releasing the images herself, turning the event into a powerful statement on personal integrity and resilience. The incident further reinforced her public image as a figure of moral strength and courage.
In interviews, Abeni frequently speaks about the importance of discipline, gratitude, and respect within the entertainment industry. Her candour and avoidance of scandal have sustained her as one of Nigeria’s most admired female performers.
Legacy and Continuing Influence
Nearly five decades after her debut, Salawa Abeni remains active in music and public life. Her songs are regularly played on Nigerian radio, and her albums continue to circulate through digital platforms and cultural retrospectives.
Waka music, once a community-based women’s form, has gained institutional recognition partly due to her lifelong dedication. Salawa Abeni’s pioneering role paved the way for subsequent generations of female musicians, from traditional Islamic singers to contemporary Nigerian pop icons such as Asa, Tiwa Savage, and Yemi Alade, who now perform in an industry more open to female leadership because of the foundation she laid.
Her life and career also offer valuable insights for scholars studying gender, religion, and performance in postcolonial Nigeria. Through her music, Abeni has demonstrated that tradition and modernity can coexist, that Yoruba cultural expression can adapt to changing times while maintaining its moral and linguistic depth.
Author’s Note.
Salawa Abeni’s story is one of innovation, perseverance, and cultural stewardship. From her modest beginnings in Epe to her groundbreaking debut in 1976, and her 1992 coronation by the Alaafin of Oyo, she has consistently redefined what it means to be a woman in traditional Nigerian music.
Her partnership with Kollington Ayinla bridged two musical worlds; her artistry elevated waka to a national art form; and her personal resilience has made her a moral exemplar in Nigeria’s entertainment history.
Today, she stands as both a custodian of Yoruba heritage and a symbol of progress for Nigerian women in music. Her voice, rich, poetic, and powerful, continues to echo across generations, preserving the legacy of waka as a living art form that binds faith, culture, and identity.
References:
TheCable Nigeria (2025) – “Kollington Ayinla: Salawa Abeni still my wife, her husband is merely borrowing her.”
PM News Nigeria (2020) – “Salawa Abeni remembers late son, Idris, 20 years after his death.”
Premium Times Nigeria (2022) – “Salawa Abeni: Waka Queen who redefined Yoruba music.”
African Music Library (2019) – “Waka Music and its Evolution in Nigeria.”
Falola, Toyin & Adebayo, Akanmu (eds.) – Music and Cultural Identity in Nigeria. Ibadan University Press, 2019.
