Artistes Who Grew Up With TV Series 3

When ‘Guitar Boy,’ Sir Victor Uwaifo, announced to the world in September 2018 that: “I have just bagged my Ph.D from the University of Benin, Glory be to God”, my mind went back to 50 years ago when I first met the legendary musician as a curious primary school pupil in Ado-Ekiti, now the capital of Ekiti State.

For over a week, Inland Club, the elite assembly of Ado-Ekiti then, widely displayed posters of Uwaifo’s show to be hosted on a Sunday afternoon. I was living with my brother who, fortunately for me, was on afternoon duty on that Sunday at Ado-Ekiti Textiles Industry where he worked. So, I was free to hang around the club house early enough before the show, praying to have a glimpse of the star.

A red sports car packed almost behind the club house caught my attention, and something told me that must be Uwaifo’s car. Strangely, this boldness came all over me, and I managed to sneak into the compound. Behold, the superstar was all with himself.

“I am going to be a king in our compound today to narrate to everybody that I actually came face to face with the “Guitar Boy”, I told myself.

I was dazed because I didn’t know how to greet him but, strangely again, he waved and said: “How are you, boy”. The local Ekiti boy in confusion just replied: “Sir?”. Uwaifor went into the club. I dashed out singing: “If you see Mammy Water o…………….”

The local Ekiti boy later grew up to become a journalist who was to have several encounters with one of his greatest musical idols.

But one thing struck my mind during this first but very brief encounter. The man I saw possessed magic. He had it all over him. Not a magician, but the kind of magic that singles out a star from the crowd. Not only a music star, but a man blessed with so many talents. He radiated magic.

Yes, Victor Uwaifo is a man of many parts and a master of all!

For instance, not many are aware that Victor Uwaifo was a broadcaster. He started his professional life as a broadcaster with the then NBC, Ikoyi. But that was after his education at Yaba College of Technology. This was a take-off platform which differentiated him from most musicians of his time.

As a musician, Sir Victor Uwaifo has always displayed class, quite different from others. A perfect showman who preferred creativity to stereotyped showmanship.

As a broadcaster, for instance, he understood the influence of the broadcast media to the development of the entertainment industry, and to the artiste particularly. This, naturally, instructed his closeness to the media for the development of his career through the television. He practically grew up with the TV in Nigeria.

Also as a sculptor, Victor Uwaifo is in a class of his own. In 2017, he was inducted into the UNESCO’s Human Living Treasure Legends for his contributions particularly in the fields of academics, invention, fine and applied arts, culture and music.

By the time Victor Uwaifo was 80 last March 6^th, he has packed a lot of unrivalled achievements into his life as a musician with three university degrees. He remains a classic superstar, one of the greatest sculptors of his time and accomplished politician.

Born March 6, 1941, Sir Victor Uwaifo is recognized as the most educated performing music legend, musical instruments inventor, writer, university lecturer and the first Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism in Nigeria.

The Federal Government honored him in 1983 as a Member of the Order of the Niger (MON). He was actually the first Nigerian musician to bag such honour. Victor Uwaifo is documented among “Men and Women of Distinction in the Commonwealth”, and the first musician to win a Gold Disc in Africa with ‘Joromi’, one of his greatest works, among other numerous life achievements.

Was there any war? Were there wars? It was difficult as it is still unclear today, to say there were musical wars, particularly on the air waves.  But let’s laugh over some, and also analyse their results.

I am not really sure that the late Rex Lawson took marijuana, but it was well known that Fela started with Mirinda soft drink. The story was that educated Fela was so jealous of Rex Lawson’s massive popularity, powered majorly by the defunct NBC in its daily contents.

Fela had his Koola Lobitos, right, but was very uncomfortable with Rex Lawson who was better known in the nearly identical brand of music they played. Perhaps, instead of a positive research into his own music, he did the unthinkable. One day, he went to Rex Lawson’s house to challenge him to a music duel, calling him “Amugbo” in the process.

The duel did not take place, but Fela ended up a hemp smoker and a propagator of it. But that’s a diversion. Fela went into his positive memory, just a little later.  One day, his research which included a journey into late James Brown’s soul music, produced what he never thought of, and he was to shout “Eureka” to EMI Records, “Jeun Koku” was produced, Afrobeat was born, and the journey of Nigeria’s greatest musician to stardom kicked off. Until Fela went into political songs, his music made the first list of the radio stations. Even then, the political songs did not hit the air waves but the streets because there were no private broadcast stations at that time and Fela was already a troublesome enigma. One thing came out of this war, if there was a war, Rex Lawson who died shortly after the Nigeria Civil war in a ghastly auto crash, lives forever in our minds with his evergreen works. And Fela made Nigeria proud to become the first world-class musician.

The story of King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey is even more thrilling. The two started almost about the same time, the latter a little earlier. But they were both struggling with identities on the air waves, and probably did not immediately get the fact that they were toying with other musicians’ ideas.

While Obey’s early works had touches of legendary I.K Dairo and Orlando Owoh, Sunny Ade was all weather music, with more focus on Tunde Nightingale. He actually started as Sunny Adex and His All Weather Band. His first record, “Alanu Loluwa” sold a terrible fifteen copies, but Sunny was dancing about the town because of the appreciable level of the air appeal it enjoyed.

Then the “war”, which was actually a product of visible levels of popularity on air, and by extension, among fans. Theirs, was actually a war in the true sense of it, but believe it as imaginary, because a settlement was arranged for them by the Late I.K Dairo and Late Adeolu Akinsanya.

 Before the settlement, however, the two had not-so-smooth experiences in their efforts to carve out individual, unique styles. The results; a new Ebenezer Obey with “Board Member” and a new Sunny Ade with “Ile Labo Sinmi oko” two great works released about the same time with massive support on the air waves.

Even after the first settlement of their “war”, we still heard such songs as “Orin toni tumo, orin tomogbon wa”,  “Egbon ngbo kira kira”, “Let them say” and “Aso ija mi tiya”.

To put it properly, WNTV was at the centre of this, and the abattoir of the wars. This is where most Nigeria artistes cut their teeth to stardom. Name them: Babasala, Duro ladipo, Ogunmola, Ogungbe, I.sho Pepper, Fela, Roy Chicago, Victor Olaiya, I.K Dairo, King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, Dele Abiodun, Pick Peters, all of them and others.

And the staff had their preferences, which kept the “war” active. The most noticeable of these “war” on air was Ebenezer Obey and Sunny Ade before his crowning. There was a story of how a committee on the monthly musical shows and presentation almost divided the house, and how internal political dexterity or expertise in public relations were deployed to let the two dominate the air waves on a semi permanent basis.

And let me digress to a funny, but significant event, few years ago. One day, on my way to Ibadan from Lagos, I assisted to take KSA and Dele Abiodun to the venue of a Juju Band Leaders Association event. Already on sit were: Late Fatai Rolling Dollar, Ebenezer Obey and Pick Peters. A re-arrangement was made to allow KSA sit with Obey while Dele Abiodun sat with Peters.

Immediately, my mind went into history. The only one missing here was Babasala who was no longer a musician. A sitting row featuring, Rolling Dollars, (Obey’s former mentor), Obey, KSA, Dele Abiodun and Pick Peters was a delight but the young journalists covering the event didn’t pick this. I actually called Tope Olukole’s attention to this, explaining to him that these are the “karambanis” of our music scene in the 70’s, beginning from middle of 60’s.

There was a story that was not ascertained; that Obey left with some members of Fatai’s band when he was forming his own, and that Sunny Ade took Bob Aladeniyi, the only one that did not go with Obey. Was this true? In any case, we are still talking of wars, such as the one between Obey and Sunny Ade on one hand, Dele Abiodun and Pick Peters on the other.

Today, however, we are witnesses to glorious careers of the two, spanning some fifty years, propagating Nigeria’s cultural juju music to the world through identifiable individual brands.

Can we visit fuji music and the “war lords” who eventually stabilised the brand as one of Nigeria’s respected cultural music? Great Late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister and dynamic Kolyinton Ayinla, were friends before they became musical enemies.

And again, the quality of supports from the air waves triggered researches into their individual music. And they chose god fathers.  Barrister chose Ebenezer Obey while Kolyinton picked KSA. Not too funny!

Real or imaginary, the war was settled. In 1983, I had an interview with the Late Barrister where he said “war times were tough”. In his opinion, “Omohun a maa bu nyan”, referring to Kolyinton’s prowess in abusive songs. Notably, however, the two gave us, stable individual brands and qualitative fuji music.

But was there really any war? Not any, but musical competitions that were part of Nigeria’s history to greatness and importance in world’s cultural music. Competitions breed quality, and quality breeds greatness. So we can still enjoy the war on the air waves as our new generation artistes- Wizkid, Davido, Olamide etc. inherit the “war”. Luckily they push themselves into innovations, propelled by the “war” among them, to make Nigeria great with their brands of hip-pop music.

Death is an inevitable end for any living soul. One of the painful distastes it leaves behind is the agony of a vacuum it forcefully creates without any option for either the family or the community.

Since the exit of some notable music celebrities from Nigerian domestic scene, it has become pretty difficult to ascertain whether the proverbial rolling stone of Nigerian music is truly progressing or gradually fading away, gathering no moss. To me, according to the facts and figures we have on ground there’s one undebatable fact that if Nigerian music would not be said to be fading and retrogressing, definitely it has lost its cutting edge.

When comparative analysis is drawn between the post independence and this digital age, what is being served today in terms of lyrics, depth, content, rhythms, focus, influence, direction, education and message scores below average.

Two decades ago some of us started raising alarm on the deteriorating and depreciating state of Nigerian music, going by the rate at which it started losing its flavour and content, but it seemed no one cares. Today, the Nigerian music scene is a shadow of itself.

A nation hitherto blessed and endowed with creative artistes across the various genres of music such as the people’s mouthpiece Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a Freedom Fighter in the mould of Sunny Okosuns, Moralist/Social Crusader, Christy Essien Igbokwe, Nico Mbarga, have lost its touch, essence, value and impact on the same generation it is supposed to guide.

Where are the likes of highly philosophical songs of late Haruna Ishola, Stephen Osadebe and Yusuf Olatunji?

I have heard some of our leaders confessing to inspirational and motivational tonic drawn from the rhythmic and lyrical succour of that Juju music maestro, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey. Unfortunately, what abounds today in the name of music production is an empty vessel, barrage of unwarranted noisemaking and decorated eggshells without yoke.

I can remember how musicians of old have had to oblige themselves by looking into the society, people’s sufferings and societal challenges to make a balanced report in their albums. By so doing, these ‘learned’ musicians would end up educating, informing and enlightening the populace. Most importantly they will end up assuaging the feelings of the citizens which invariably will boost the patriotic instincts as well as build trust in the government of the day.

Today, such sense of duty has been lost which is a reason why this generation is suffering.

The present melancholic atmosphere as generated by the global economy has plunged all human endeavours including music industry into a state of depression, undue aggression and pitiable recession. The pathetic story about this development is how we all stand aside and look. As it is, we are all culpable if we stand akimbo and become indifferent to how all factors and agents of anti-depression are allowed to be washed away.

Music, without doubt is a powerful antidepressant. Not only that, music has been discovered to be a strong communication link, a potent force in generational gap. Lately, the country is awashed with stories of suicide cases among teenagers and other Juvenile Delinquencies. It is my belief that such decadence is largely due to the failure and collapse of our aesthetic values, of which music plays a predominant role.

You will agree with me that music teaches, educates, heals, soothes, relieves, inspires, grows, corrects and enlightens. Yeah, music elevates the spirit and leads the spirit aright. Music salvages broken and confused heart from destruction.

In this age, the best form of communication a teenager understands and enjoys much better is done through his/her earphone device. Fact is, these teenagers will listen with rapt attention to their friends, peers, colleagues and music better than their parents, teachers and even the society.

Why can’t we come to their level of communication if that’s what it will cost us to save this generation from all the suicide mission of this world. It is time to return music to its good old days. The days of in depth lyrics, quality content and compact rhythms.

 Arise, Broadcasters!

The culpable crime among today’s broadcasting stations is as tragic as painful. These professionals have opted out of serving the public with rich and valuable music in search of empty junks and hollow music being served now, under the guise of creating and providing ‘trending music’.

Nowadays, to make matters worse, any piece of music goes on air regardless of its vulgarity and obscenity, once the singer is able to pay the bill . This has been the psychological oppression the viewers and listeners are subjected to, with no less pretence by the government owned Radio and Television stations at the expense of tax payers money.

The tragedy now is, where comes the inspirational flow of this present generation? Where lies the creative source of the present-day youth? I know the answer is blowing in the wind. The ANSWER is nothing but only that empty bombardment of heavy digitalised electric drums that can only find solace in the eardrums of shisha smokers. Don’t ever stop the ever-soothing, healing, inspirational music. There lies the fond memories of yesterday, strength for today and the vision for tomorrow.

 If music is food of love, play on, and give me the excess of it.