Many of you saw the “Ribbons and Roses” Masterclass—the velvet baritone of the icon Bongos Ikwue, the impeccable production by Edi Lawani, and that historic “drummer’s duel” between Laolu Akins and Richard Cole. It was world-class. It was timeless.
But for me, the vibration went deeper.
In 1986, I was just a teenager in Makurdi, sitting with my brother Innocent Idibia (2Baba) @@idbia @official2baba 2baba Idibia glued to the NTA screen. We didn’t just watch Bongos Ikwue; we studied him. We dreamed. My prayer back then was to one day be even better and bigger than the man on the screen.
That dream took us to Otukpo in the early 90s. Alongside 2Baba and the legendary Fidel Shamel Tse Rasta Shamel , we had a face-to-face encounter with Bongos while performing with the Nigerian Police Band in Oturkpo.
That moment changed my life forever. It shifted my DNA as an artist.
Seeing him on stage last Saturday, performing “Still Searching” and “Mariama” with the same soul and grace, was a full-circle moment. To see the masters like Laolu Akins (BLO) and Richard Cole (The Groovies) trade bars was a reminder that Class is Permanent.
I AM NOT JUST THE ANCESTOR OR THE ORACLE
WE ARE THE PRODUCTS OF LEGENDS. WE ARE THE KEEPERS OF THE FLAME.
I REMAIN
BABA OJONUGWA J.F
