Singer Shadow Abraham: How he rose to international prominence in the 70s, now stranded in Nigeria

By Isa Isawade

In October 2025, an old, haggard, frail-looking man staggered into our newsroom in Lagos and roared: “I am Shadow Abraham! I want to see the editor.” After making him to sit and properly introduce himself, we realised we were having before us a once internationally acclaimed rock music star that reigned in the late 70s through 80s to the early 2000s and for whom the late Afrobeat Legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, once organised a press conference to receive when he (Abraham) visited Nigeria from Paris for the first time, after leaving Nigeria in 1972. He once held sway in Europe and dominated its airwaves. Shadow was the toast of music producers both local and international. Promoters were also gunning for him, among whom was the renowned music lover and millionaire businessman S.B Bakare. Saad Abraham Saad with stage name Shadow Abraham, the Omo Yen Wu Mi crooner, was a terrific entertainer for whom concerts were organised across all regions of Nigeria in the 70s. Shadow became a regular face on the covers of major newspapers and magazines in Germany, Spain, Belgium, France and some other European countries. Shadow got married to the youngest famous actress in Holland, Helen De Young in 1976. Till today, two most famous of his albums, ‘Omo Yen Wu Mi’ and ‘Babalawo’ are reportedly being sold by over twenty-six record companies on Google and YouTube across Europe and America. With this enviable successful career over decades, how did the Ilorin, Kwara State born iconic artiste find himself in a state where he has now become a shadow of his former self? The once Fela collabo singer tells the story of his life and journey below:

My artiste’s name is Shadow Abraham while my real name is Saad Abraham Saad. I am from Ilorin, Kwara State. I left Nigeria at tender age as an illiterate. I did not attend school at all. Before that time, however, I went to a Quranic School in Ilorin. I left Lagos to Idi Iroko, at that time, there was no Seme Border. I left Lagos about 4 o’clock and I arrived at Idi Iroko at about 6 o’clock. That time you have to give police one shilling even if you don’t have passport, just give some shillings to the driver who will in turn be passing one Shilling to police, customs officers or any security agent at any checkpoint. So, they asked me for one Shilling. I gave them and I entered Idi Iroko. But I didn’t know where to sleep. I saw a boy going on the road and I called him. I told him that I was from Lagos trying to go to Accra but didn’t have a place to sleep. He said I could follow him, that he would tell his father to allow me sleep in their house. The boy took me to the father, and he allowed me to sleep there that night. I was given food to eat. The following morning, the father took me to a garage where I boarded a 504 Saloon car to Accra.

In Accra, it’s the same story. I didn’t know where to go. I started asking people for help. They asked me where I came from. I said I was from Ilorin. In excitement, they said ‘Ah! There is one man called Alhaji Kaole. So, someone was arranged to take me to Alhaji Kaole. The Alhaji asked me where I came from in Ilorin. I answered that I was from Ile Magaji Number 39F Erubu. he asked: “Who are your parents?” I said my mother is Madam Ayinke Erubu. He said ha! I know Ayinke.” He said so what do you want? I said I wanted to go to Europe, but first I was trying to go little by little. I told him I arrived the previous day and had no money. He asked, “Can you work?” I said yes. He told me to come home with him. He then instructed a boy to take me to the place where they kept cows. I told him I knew about cows, but I tended one. Nevertheless, they took me to the cattle section, where I worked feeding the cows, giving them water, and cleaning the shed. I stayed there for twelve months.

After that, I decided I wanted to go to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. When asked if I knew anyone there, I explained again that my goal was to go to Europe and that I needed to move on. I left Accra for Abidjan, where I met Mr. Polo. Mr. Polo was a drycleaner, but I told him everything about my life. He offered me a place to sleep in his shop, explaining that although he lived elsewhere, he came to the shop every morning. He said no problem I could work with him.

I left Abidjan for Monrovia, capital of Liberia, in order to get an international passport because till that time I didn’t have a passport and I didn’t know how to get it. In Monrovia, they said they could give me a passport. Somebody then advised me to go to the passport office in Freetown, Sierra Leone. They gave me the name of the passport officer there. I left Monrovia and went to Freetown, and I went to the passport office.
I met the passport officer there. He told me he could never give me a passport because I have facial marks. Then I started crying, because that was my last hope. He said I was crying in his office, and if anybody came in and met me crying there, they would think there was something between me and him, which was not true. Then he asked me if I could get the name John Kanoor or Joseph Kanoor. I said yes, I could. He said John Kanoor was the Minister of Education, and Joseph Kanoor was the Minister of Interior. Their father was King Kanoor. So, he said if he gave me one of these names and anybody seeing “Kanoor” in my passport would never ask me questions. I said okay, I prefer John Kanoor. I paid for the passport and went back to my hotel. He told me to come back after three days.

I went back after three days, and then he gave me the passport. I said, “My passport?” He said yes. I shouted, “I can go to Europe!” He said the process was not completed yet. He took me to another office where a woman, who was a director, worked. That was where they issued the yellow card. When we got there, the woman asked me, “John Kanoor, where are you going?” I said I was going to America. She said, “You alone?” I said, “No, with my father.” Then she gave me the yellow card.

The following day, I left for Conakry, Guinea Conakry. After one day in Guinea Conakry, I left for Bamako. After one day in Bamako, I left for Dakar (Senegal). When I got to Dakar, I was asking people how I could go to Spain. They said it was very easy. I just had to go to their office and tell them I wanted to go to Las Palmas. They said ships come to Dakar and go to Marseille, but they must pass through Las Palmas. Any ship coming from South Africa must pass through Las Palmas, which is part of Spain. So I went there, and they told me to pay some money in dollars. They took me with about sixteen people. These people were French, and none of them had a passport. Only I had a passport. They only had a “carte de séjour.” I asked them why they didn’t use passports like me. They said French people don’t need a passport to go to Paris; they only need a carte de séjour. We slept on the lowest floor of the ship. There were bunk beds, one blanket underneath, one to cover, and a pillowcase. In the morning, we arrived at Las Palmas. They showed me the way to the gate. I went there, and the officers looked at my passport and just told me to go. I was surprised. So I entered Las Palmas.

It was very cold. Las Palmas is an island, but it is part of Spain. It is developed, and the people were wonderful. They are Spanish. I was shaking, so I told them I wanted to leave and go into town. They showed me the way. When I stood up, they asked why I was shaking, and I said it was because I was cold. One of them looked at me and gave me his jacket. I wore it, but I was still cold. They warned me that if I ever passed through that place again, I must have a jacket because the temperature there is zero degrees. That was exactly where I was at the time.

I decided to go to the city. I said I needed to get to Madrid, and they told me I would have to take another boat to Cádiz, and from Cádiz, another one to Seville. I followed those instructions, taking a boat to Cádiz and then another to Seville. In Seville, there were two platforms: one led to Madrid and the other to Barcelona. Those were the only two options. I chose the platform going to Madrid. When I arrived in Madrid, I didn’t know anyone and I couldn’t speak Spanish. Whenever I tried to talk to Spanish people, they were dismissive and unwilling to listen or respond. I felt they were not sympathetic at all, and it was difficult to have any kind of conversation with them.

Fortunately, I saw a Black man passing by and approached him. I greeted him and asked where he was from. He said he was from Equatorial Guinean. At that time, I could speak broken English because I had spent five years in Lagos before leaving Nigeria. I was about 16 years old then. I asked where the Nigerian Embassy was. He told me there was no Nigerian Embassy there, only British Embassy. He explained that I would have to go to the British Embassy because British Embassy represented Nigeria there at the time. This was in 1967. He took me there. When I arrived there, the British consular officer tried to interview me. At that time, I could not speak English very well, and I did not understand Spanish. The consular officer said to me, “You are from Nigeria, you don’t speak Spanish, and you don’t speak English very well. What do you want to do here?” I told him I had come to make money. He replied, “You cannot stay here. If you stay, you will die. Spanish people are not like the British. They will not listen to you, especially if you cannot speak their language. You cannot leave the hotel.”

He then said he would call the police to take me and send me back to Lagos. He then went inside. I was scared. So, Ms. Terry, who was the secretary to the consular officer, told me that when the police were called, they would arrive within five minutes. She said the consular officer really meant it. She now took me to the second door of the embassy. There was a building there that was empty, and the gate was open. She said “wait here. Have you eaten anything?” I said no. She left and returned with a warm sandwich, which she gave me to eat. She told me to stay there and said the office would close at 3:30 p.m. When she returned at 3:30, she gave me food again, which I later ate at home. After, she took me to a place called Laser Republic Argentina, where there was a hotel named Hotel Richemont. Behind and below the hotel was a restaurant called Oster Maite. Maite was the name of a very popular Spanish actress.

Ms. Terry introduced me to Maite and explained my situation. Maite said, “This man is very handsome. I like him. I will give him a job.” She told me not to worry and asked Ms. Terry to leave everything to her, that she would take care of me. I stayed at the restaurant, and around 3 o’clock they brought food for me to eat. Later, at about 10 o’clock at night, Maite took me to a place called Cirano, a hotel street in Madrid where she was staying. She took me to a garage opposite the hotel where they kept their cars. She invited workers to clean up a room for me there which they did immediately. She arranged furniture there and said I would be staying there. She said “every morning, you take breakfast with us. I am her with my mother, father, washman and my husband. I have two girls but they are in a boarding school.”

So the following morning, they came to wake me up to be at the dining table with all of them. We ate together but on the third day her father said I should not be allowed to eat with them at the same table again because I opened my mouth too wide when eating. He said I could vomit, that they were seeing the food in my mouth as I ate. They didn’t like that. So, Maite told me: “My father doesn’t want you to eat with us again.” So, you have to go and eat your breakfast in the hotel. “Wait until we leave the house before going to the restaurant to take your breakfast. Father cannot afford to see you take breakfast with us.” I said okay, no problem.

I was there for about six months, then I fought with one guy. Those guys who were working with us, about three of them tried to molest me. I beat up one of them. When Maite came, she was told what happened. Then she said because I could not speak Spanish, I didn’t understand what they were saying. She said what I thought they meant wasn’t what they meant. She then asked me to enroll at a very popular Spanish Language school in Madrid, and I did just that. So, my work pattern changed. I had to start work from 4 ‘o’ clock till 10 ‘O’ clock because I had to go to school in the morning. I was there for five years after which I told Maite that I wanted to go to Paris. She asked me why, I said I wanted to go and learn French. She said “You can learn it here in Spain.” I said “No, I want to go to Paris.” I had to beg her before she released my passport. That day, I got to know that Maite had aleady registered me for residence permit five times on my passport because in Europe, your passport would be stamped yearly for five years after which you can now get five-year residence permit without going to residence office. So, I felt like not going again but my mind said I should go.

Maite gave me about $13,000. I was surprised that they had intention of paying me. I didn’t expect it because they never mentioned it to me that they would pay me. Besides, they used to give me pocket money. I carried the money and was thinking whether to come to Nigeria or go to Paris. My mind said I should go to Paris. When I arrived in Paris, I went to Labour office and showed my passport. They asked me to go to Shorete Nationale where they stamped my passport and I came back. They gave me job where they were making bed. I was working for 8 hours per day. Then, I went to Alliance Franse. I paid for six months, studying French Language three times in a week in the evening. Then my Sierra Leone passport became problem for me because I could not renew it when it expired. I was afraid to go to the Sierra Leonean Embassy because I was not a Sierra Leonean. Maybe they would arrest me if I went there because the passport officer already explained everything to me. Then, I decided to come back to Nigeria. That was in 1972.

I had it in mind before then that anytime I came to Nigeria, I must visit Fela’s house because I used to see Fela’s videos. At the time, Fela was popular all over the world. Every television in the world was playing Fela’s music. I used to admire Fela’s band, very unique. So, as I landed at the airport in Nigeria I went straight to Fela’s house at Mosalasi. I met his secretary, Ekor. He was a Ghanaian. He asked me what I was there for and said I was looking for Fela. He said “For what?” I said I was just from the airport, coming from Paris. He said, ‘Paris! You?” I showed him my passport. He immediately allowed me in. Fela was sleeping when I got there. When he woke up, his aides introduced me to him. I spread German newspapers such as Spiggas, Meriden Morgin Post, who were then writing about me with my photos on them when I was in Germany. When Fela saw this, he was surprised and said, “But nobody knows you here! How come you are well known in that place?” I said I formed a musical group there because I am a very good singer. I attended a music school in Madrid for one year and I went to a scholar centre. I could speak and sing in Paris and a little bit in English. He asked me where I hailed from. I said from Ilorin. Fela said, “No, you can’t be from Ilorin. An Ilorin indigene will go to Europe and become a popular singer like this? No, you must be from Ondo. I can see your face.” I said “Fela, I am not from Ondo, I’m from Ilorin.” Then, he called his driver and ask him to take me to Sunny Ade. On getting there, Sunny tried to speak Ondo Language with me. I didn’t understand what he was saying. I told him I was not from Ondo but Ilorin. He asked, “Are you sure you are from Ilorin?” I said “I must be sure of where I was born, I’m from Ilorin.” He then asked the driver to tell Fela to look for someone going to Ilorin and hand me to the person.

When we got back to Fela, he contacted one man, Alhaji Oloje who was permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence. He came from Ile Oloje in Ilorin, he was very popular. On a Saturday, very early in the morning Alhaji Oloje said they should bring me to him. He then took me to Erudu in Ilorin. On arriving at Erudu, I just saw my mother on the corridor. I said to Alhaji Oloje: “That’s my mother.” As we walked towards my mother, she just collapsed on seeing me. Alhaji then asked me: “Don’t you usually come here?” I said “How can I come here, I have been in Europe for a long time?” Alhaji Oloje was very annoyed with me. He said “You left your mother for eight years unannounced, without even writing home? You are very wicked. She collapsed because she thought you had died.” So, he asked me to stay in a room till he would go back to Lagos.

He sent for me Sunday morning and brought me back to Fela in Lagos. He told Fela that I was an original Ilorin boy, form Aafin in Ilorin. Fela was very surprised. My mother hailed from Ile Magaji while my father came from Ile Omolabi in Oke Imole. Fela and I started discussing business. I told him that I wanted to do record. I became a guest artiste to Fela and he organised a press conference for me in Lagos. Fela respected me a lot, he gave me one pound every morning to take care of my meals for the day. He took me to EMI Record Company at Apapa. He introduced me to the Director who was a white man and also introduced me to Odion Iruoje, an Edo man who was the Producer at EMI Record. Then I made a single record called Babalawo. Front was Babalawo while the back was Omo Yen Wu Mi.

It is Omo Yen Wu Mi that became more popular which some people now want to kill me for. Omo Yen Wu Mi was a music they used to play during a yearly festival at Eleyele, a village of about 40km from Ilorin where my grandfather was staying as a farmer. I was taken there as a boy to know my grandfather because he was not in Ilorin when I was born, he was at Eleyele. So, I used to be with them at the festival. One day, I just decided to sing the song in the public and people started dancing. Then, I made it a record. I made it in the rock way because I had lived in Europe. Fela introduced me to a band called Monomono. John Hastrup was the leader of Monomono. They kept their instruments at Fela’s Shrine. At that time, Fela was using S.B Bakare Hall at Surulere. It was from there that Fela moved to Ikeja. Monomono packaged with me for about one week at Fela’s Shrine before we moved down to the studio at EMI Record Company. I am the composer, writer and singer of Omo Yen Wu Mi but Iroje was the producer. He was the one producing records for EMI. He produced me as Shadow Abraham with the guys I trained with to back me. Iruoje is still in Nigeria, but I don’t know where he stays. The music goes this way: Pan ran ran dun ran, pan ran ran dun ran, Tan dun ran dun ran, Tan dun ran dun ran, Tan ran ran, Tun dun dun, Tun dun dun Tun dun dun dun dan dun dun Dan dan Jeni moro ara o, o ma so baa hidinri o, Ogun leenu leenu leenu, Ogun bi ru mi omo a lenu bi eyi wu mi o Olodumare jen de iri he iri he iri o Edumare, Odumare o o o Odumare, Odumare e nu mi leni omo arari bi Atanda opo o nilu.

No other singer can sing that music in Nigeria except me because it’s the heritage festival of that Eleyele Village. Unless another musician comes from that community of Eleyele. I was in Nigeria from 1972 to 1976 during which time I became very popular here. I recorded the label in 1974. People who were around at that time will remember Shadow Abraham. During the time, Fela introduced me to a man at Jankara Market who sent people to Italy to buy me instruments and rented a 3-bedroom flat for me at Abeokuta Street. I will never forget Fela in my life.

Marriage to Actress Helen De Young

After all these, I left Nigeria in 1976 for Switzerland from to Amsterdam. On August 12, 1976 I got married to an actress called Helen De Young. She was the youngest actress in Holland at that time. But she was very flirt. I managed to stay with her for about six years. I had to divorce her after. She was too flirt, I couldn’t endure it anymore. She would come with a man to the house and say “This is Actor from New York, another Actor from Beru and so on.” We were having problems every time regarding her promiscuity, so I had to divorce her. Besides, she did not have a single kid for me. Many actresses in Europe and America don’t like giving birth because they like to keep their shape. Some actresses marry every four years. After our divorce, I have continued to stay in Amsterdam.

Second coming to Nigeria
I came from Amsterdam to Nigeria in 2015 to renew my passport. Then, I visited a Church in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State where someone informed me that my songs were being sold all over the place. I tried to find out and discovered that someone sold my music without my consent to a company in London called Sound Way Record Company England Limited which has also been selling same to other companies all over the world. You know that time they had not started to put photo on the back of albums, they only put ordinary paper with hole in the middle.

I wrote the company via an email to say I am Shadow Abraham, a musician from Nigeria. Stop selling my music otherwise, I will sue you to court. In just four hours, the company replied to my mail. I kept the paper in Amsterdam. The company said “Are you sure because we signed papers and paid the person who brought your music to us?” They then revealed the identity of the culprit which happened to be an EMI’s musical agent (his name is withheld by this medium for lack of documentary evidence currently). Sound Way said the agent sold ‘Omo yen wu mi’ to them at the sum of sixty thousand pounds in 2007. This I was told by the Director of Sound Way Record Company England Limited, Paoula J. Duran. I told them I didn’t know about that. I said I’m the composer, writer, singer and owner of that music.

I went to Ivory Music Company at Alausa, Lagos which EMI handed over to when leaving Nigeria to demand explanation for selling my music without my permission. The then Artist Manager of EMI who was working for the new company confirmed to me that the said agent sold the music. He invited the man to his office to meet me. When he arrived and was confronted with the reason he was sent for, he created a scene that made his escape possible. I have not set my eyes on him again.

After this incident, I went to a lawyer at Alapere, Austin Ige, and explained everything to him. Ige called Paoula of Sound Way and requested for an amicable agreement. The company sent the agreement to him. He printed it out in two copies and asked me to sign it. I said I needed time to study the agreement before signing it. He countered that I should trust him as my lawyer and persuaded me to sign the agreement which I did. Ige told me that the company wanted me to sign another agreement called licence agreement and pay me 1,000 pounds for each agreement, making a total of 2,000 pounds. Ige asked me to go to a bank to collect the money on instruction of Sound Way. When I got to the bank, I was told that there was no such payment order from anyone. I left the bank in frustration.

After a while, I decided to consult another lawyer at Bamgboshe Street, Lagos Island (name withheld). He accepted to take up my case and contacted Sound Way. Sound Way again forwarded the amicable agreement to the new lawyer and told him same thing they told Lawyer Ige that the lawyer would prepare a second agreement for me to sign called licence agreement so that they would be paying me directly. They also told him that they would pay 2,000 pounds as agreement fees for the two agreements. The lawyer then asked me to sign the licence agreement which I also did. He said the agreement stipulated that the company would be paying me sales proceeds of the music every six months. The company then paid the agreement fees to the lawyer who collected the money without informing me. When I got to know through Paoula that Sound Way had paid the money to him, I confronted him but he denied after which I went to the police station at Kam salem, Obalende. He was arrested and brought to the station. At the station, he confessed that he collected the money and that it was in his bank account and the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the station ordered two policemen to follow us to the bank where he withdrew the money. At the station, his commission was given to him and the balance handed to me.

Attack by assassins in Dakar
I came back to Nigeria again in August 2025 to renew the passport and then proceed to London to sue those companies. When I was done with the passport renewal, I left Nigeria in September and headed for Dakar, Senegal because I needed to see Youssou N’Dour, the most popular artiste in Senegal. He’s also an international figure, sometimes we meet overseas and work together. I wanted to ask him to introduce me to some of the instruments that I want to put in my next recording and to record the instruments and take to Europe where I can transfer it to the song. I wrote Paoula J. Duran of Sound Way Company while I was in Dakar to send to me all proceeds that belong to me according to the licence agreement. He replied that my account was in negative. I was surprised to hear this because the company has not paid anything to me since signing the agreement about four years ago.

I tried to sue the company while I was in Senegal but was told that they could not be sued from there unless I went to London. I was told the same thing in Nigeria. I then prepared to leave for London when I was attacked by some unknown gunmen who collected all my possessions and clubbed me into coma. They broke my legs, ribs, hit me in the eyes, ears, removed my teeth and repeatedly smashed iron rod on my head until I became unconscious. You can see all the wounds on me, even my back, rips (he rolled up his clothes to reveal scars of the attack all over his body). I was also dragged on the road to for them to be sure that I was dead. I survived only by providence. It was a Good Samaritan who saw me in the pool of blood by the road side that used his car to rush me to a hospital where I was revived before taking me to the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar for onward repatriation to Nigeria. I lost everything on me to the attackers- my bag, clothes, Nigerian Passport, mobile phone, music composition file, PMAN I.D Card, my address book, 2,200 Euros I was taking to London to fight my case, my credit cards and bank account details. I will not know whether those criminals have withdrawn all my money in the account until I get back to Amsterdam. The companies and their agents must have sponsored the Mafia to assassinate me so I wouldn’t get to London to sue them.

Stranded in Nigeria
Now, I am stranded in Nigeria. I have no money to renew my Nigeria Passport and to buy ticket to London. Till this moment I have not received a dime from Sound Way in spite of the fact that they have continued to sell my music to companies around the world. As of now, over 26 companies are illegally selling my music on Google and YouTube. I need to sue them, retrieve my money and bring it to Nigeria. How can so many companies be selling my music since 2007 without me getting kobo. It is indescribable. Till now they are still selling my music, on Google, on YouTube, everywhere. You google search right now, you will discover many companies selling Omo Yen Wu Mi. They are selling my music in America, in Europe, all over the world. There is even an Indian company called Ceine selling my music. All those companies are based in London. It’s their branches in London that are selling my music all over the place. The Great Britain Music Company in London is also selling my music.

Save My Soul
I need the help of God. I need financial and moral supports of Nigerians. Since August 2025 when I lost everything in the attack and was deported back to Nigeria, I have been living in untold hardship- homeless, no money, no food, no clothes, no family and no friends because I’ve been away from Nigeria from childhood. I have been sleeping in the open, on the streets in front of people’s shops. There’s a kind Igbo man who allows me to sleep in front of his shops, by 6am I go to the Catholic Church on Toyin Street to brush my mouth and bath. My health is deteriorating fast because I was to continue treatment in Nigeria after the initial medical treatment given to me in Dakar before bringing me to Nigeria but there is no money to continue treatment. It’s even difficult to get food to eat. On my lucky days, I eat once daily. Sometimes I won’t have anything to eat in two days. My body is becoming swollen and painful, I barely walk. I am dying. I beg kind-hearted Nigerians to please help me. Don’t let my life end in this painful manner, in penury while people are sitting on my wealth. I need money to feed, to go to the hospital and restore my health. I need just a room to lay my head here. I need money to renew my passport and go to London to hire a lawyer so I can recover my money from those companies. I have a lot of money to collect from them. In Europe, copyright infringement attracts a fine of $5m which is equivalent to £4m. I must fight for my right and collect my proceeds from each of the companies. I cannot even go back to Amsterdam where I live because the attackers stole my passport and money along other key items. I need help so I can live again. Those who can help in other means than cash such as legal representation, healthcare and materials are also welcome. Please, save my life.