MULTIPLE Award-winning female talking drummer, Aralola Olumuyiwa, popularly known as Ara, is not your everyday musician, moreso a female musician. She chose to pick a traditional musical instrument that a woman had never chosen before. How come?

“As a child, I grew up in a house full of men. In my primary school days, I was the head drummer. It started before my primary school though. I was into culture and I was the head of the cultural group. I had been playing some other drums; but the talking drum, I would say, it chose me,” she said in an interview.

Nobody was ready to teach her the rudiments of playing the talking drum, so she summoned courage and taught herself. Today she is playing to large international audiences around the world. She has even entertained former President Bill Clinton, Queen Elizabeth, when she came to Nigeria some years back, and other world leaders.

Unfortunately for the diva, she separated from her husband sometimes back. Though admitting that she also shared part of the blame for the breakup of the marriage, she has, however, learnt one or two things from the whole episode. “Marriage doesn’t change anything. If your spouse isn’t what you want them to be, don’t expect that after marriage things will change,” she said.