Samyak Lalik once said “disability cannot stop me from becoming a complete personality”, such is the case of Tosan Arugha, a bomb blast survivor who have found ability in his disability.
Tosan Davies Arugha, popularly known as Tee-Sax plays the saxophone almost note perfect, but he plays it differently from how you might expect.
The 31-year-old has been dubbed the human saxophone because he makes a sound remarkably similar to the woodwind instrument using just his mouth.
Through coordinated blowing similar to whistling, Arugha thrills audiences with renditions of popular Afrobeats songs from Nigerian performers such as Teni Entertainer and Burna Boy.
Arugha’s story is, however, tinged with tragedy. In 2010, he survived a bomb blast in Nigeria’s oil-rich but volatile Delta region.
The militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), claimed responsibility for the attack which left Arugha hospitalized for six months.
He sustained injuries, including burns to his face, but said music kept him going during the hospital stay.
“Before my third surgery, I realized I could blow music with my mouth. I made music to keep myself happy. I did not want to fall into the circle of boredom. I was in hospital for six months after the incident,” he said
Once he recovered, Arugha took his newly-discovered talent to his church, where he quickly gained recognition at Christian gatherings.
But Arugha didn’t gain prominence until his brother encouraged him to join social media earlier this year.
“He introduced me to social media influencers…who urged me to open an Instagram account to sell myself publicly,” he said.
A graduate of Delta State Polytechnic, southeast Nigeria, Arugha says he is currently perfecting his talent by rehearsing songs and practicing to get better.
“I spend my time working on new music now because I can be called to perform at any time,” he said.
He has however been consistent as he never quit selling himself publicly through frequent Instagram post.
Consistency, being the critical driver for success has indeed paved way for him as he recently got an invitation to discuss the possibility of participating in the America’s Got Talents (ATG) show come 2024.
The statement reads in part “I’m reaching out to see if you’d be interested in discussing the possibility of participating in our show when we begin production on the 2024 season. We’d tentatively begin filming the new season in Los Angeles in March or April 2024.
Performing in our show will help you reach our 12 million viewers each week, being the #1 show on television. Our winner receives $1 million and secures a headlining show in Las Vegas.”
Tosan will however, be attempting to break Guinness World Record, blowing sax with his mouth for 24 hours.
The attempt is set to commence on 29th of this month.
We wish Tosan, the human saxophone, a good success in his attempt.