I came across the works of the first female Juju musician in Nigeria in my days as presenter of the popular ‘Juju Music’ on Metro FM, Lagos. Oladunni Decency sadly passed on at the tender age of twenty-eight. She had an impactful but short career in Juju music, with live gigs and I think two albums to her credit.
I remember being amazed at the disclosure by the late Segun Orebela, my producer, himself a musician who had been a band member of quite a handful of juju musicians. I eventually met with the daughter of Oladunni Decency, we even became friends and exchanged visits for a while before we lost contact.
Juju Music programme thrived on Metro FM and I became popular along with it. I code switched English and Yoruba and had a lovable moniker in ‘Omo Baba Major nilu Ibadan’.
Listeners loved it, loved me and loved the parade of juju musicians and the vital pieces of information about the rise of the musicians, insight into past conflicts, what instruments they played, where they played live, their whereabouts and how they fizzled out. We received piles ad piles of letters then from the listening audience.
Once while presenting, at about 8.30pm, the Manager Progammes then, Delightsome Alfred walked into the studio, you didn’t see such high ranking staff at night back then. She wanted to know what exactly made the programme tick, because in reality, and given my main life as a news anchor and breakfast show host, I didn’t look like what I sounded like on the programme.
But this piece is not about me. It is about the imminent extinction of Juju music as a vibrant genre of indigenous and pop music in Nigeria.
Juju music in its purest form would always be remembered for the efforts of Babatunde King, its originator in 1920, the works of IK Dairo for his juju highlife, my ‘father’, late Fatai Rolling Dollar, Prince Adekunle and others. In- between there was Admiral Dele Abiodun (adawa super), the combo of Segun Adewale and Shina Peters, and a seasn of rivalry between late Dayo Kujore with his 'Soko' extra and Shina Peters’ Afro juju.
I have been passing time listening to the music of both King Sunny Ade and Chief Ebenezer Obey, the emperors of the genre. Both of them have not released new albums in the last ten years, each of them have however gifted the world with more than fifty albums containing classic popular evergreen songs that fans and lovers of juju music continue to enjoy.
While Ebenezer Obey started singing at 15, King Sunny Ade started singing at 17 years old. They both were philosopher singers, performers who maintained live bands, entertained multiple generations and continue to be relevant in their old age.
Ebenezer Obey, now 81 years old, with his inter reformers band has over 40 albums to his credit, which are continually sampled by new generation freestyle pop singers called 'Tungba'.
I grew up listening to King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey, Adawa super – Segun Adewale.
I now fear for the sustenance of the genre.
Like Juju music, Fuji music also has two towering pioneers, late Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister; and Kollington Ayinla who neither performs nor releases albums anymore, yet the genre has continued to thrive as popular music. Front liners like KWAM 1, Saidi Osupa, Adewale Ayuba, Malaika, Pasuma, Obesere and others who have taken the baton of Fuji music and done a remarkably impressive relay with it. They perform at live shows, home and abroad and produce albums frequently.
Unlike its twin genre, there are no more front liners for juju music. We can argue for Yinka Ayefele’s gospel juju, although juju music has intrinsic traits of spirituality, Ayefele’s genre of it appeals more to the Christian faith. It is highly inspiring and enjoyable but it’s not the same.
#Jujumusic #culture #entertainment #popmusic #Nigerianmusic #saturdaynight
Anike-ade Funke Treasure writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
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