Far from the usual European spectacle of winter jackets, jeans and boxers, the visiting Nigerian musical group; Iroko, last week gave the French audience a refreshing touch of Africanness. Led by filmmaker –turned- musician, Ola Balogun, Iroko performed to a mixed audience at the UNESCO hall in central Paris, thrilling Europeans and Nigerians with a new brand of contemporary music.

The show was intensified by African percussions of talking drums, Bata, Sekere aside the guitar, saxophone and flutes. Also the artistes’ costumes showcased the beauty of Adire and Aso Oke in diverse styles.

Tagged Colours and Rhythms of Nigeria, the cultural evening portended a major outing for Nigerians in Europe, just as it symbolised a reunion of Africans with their kinsmen in Diapora. In fact, Iroko’s music and dance underscored a cultural statement for a positive and hopeful Africa aside providing a rallying point for Nigerians and their friends in Europe.

Although the show opened at 7pm on Friday, September 21- an hour behind schedule, guests were already seated inside the hall at about 6pm, in anticipation of the Nigerian cultural evening.

The show itself was anchored by Ola Balogun who first introduced some of the numbers and lyrics in the band’s kitty. Then came the first number; Africa, which was rendered in a solemn, danceable pace and which drew the audience to the dancing floor.

The lead singer, Sola, appeared from backstage in a pink Aso oke, adorned with beads and other colourful assessories. She led the band to centre-stage while the drummers, saxophonists and dancers joined in rhythmic order. The first number was like a wake up plea to Africans to embrace their cultural values and seek pathways for unity and love.

The second song; Omo Lere Aye, was a popular highlife number on the importance of children in Africa. It was rendered with a chorus and highlighted by sax on high tempo. The song became so infectious to the audience that the lead singer summoned Mrs Adegbite to the stage for a stint. But the latter was soon joined by Europeans who danced endlessly to the sounds of Iroko music.

The Bamba song followed thereafter as audience members were again treated to a variant of Highlife music. Here, the band thrilled guests in diverse choreographic steps until the audience finally took over the floor while some of them started imitating Iroko dancers’ footsteps. Some of the dancesteps depicted the richness in the three major ethnic groups of Nigeria;Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
Meanwhile, a rather sexy number, entitled Koko saw the band members in elaborate choreography, while another song; Tombo was not only backed by talking drums, but reflected the dance of palmwine drinkers in wild aestacy.

According to Balogun, Tombo which was rendered in fast tempo aimed at celebrating palm wine as a true African liquor, as against the European brandy. He hinted further that Tombo is not only a natural drink, but a significant, medicinal substance widely used in Africa. In all, the band entertained guests to the pulsating sound of Afrosamba- a medley of Salsa, reggae, calypso and Samba- all of which are variants of Highlife music. But the band regretted that it could only bring a handful of its members to Paris for the show, as a larger number could have added more colours to the aesthetic value of the entire performance.

While explaining the relevance of the show to the audience, Madam Katerina Stenou, representative of the Director General of UNESCO hinted that Colours and Rhythms of Nigeria coincided with the international symposium; Music as a means of Dialogue among Cultures. She noted that the symposium hopes to analyse the virtues and capacity of music to inspire tolerance and peace in the world. Stenou who commended Iroko music as a dynamic cultural expression also said: “This concert is a lively reflection of one of our major priorities relative to the promotion of all forms of heritage whose safeguarding constitutes an urgent necessity.”

In the same vein, chief host and Nigeria’s Permanent Ambassador to UNESCO, Professor Michael Abiola Omolewa was grateful to God for making the show a reality. Omolewa who attributed the success of the show to the cooperation and support of the entire staff of the Permanent Delegate also reiterated the richness of Africa’s cultural heritage through such elements like music and dance. He hinted that the choice of Iroko for the show was to further showcase Nigeria to the world using the cultural platform.

For Chief Lateef Adegbite, Seriki of Egbaland who graced the show with his wife, the performance gave Nigeria a befitting outing in France “It was a great evening for Nigeria. I was glad to be part of the presentation of Nigerian music in France and it was quite significant that the audience enjoyed every bit of it. I would have loved if Nigeria had a better government representation, say in the rank of a minister or head of cultural division.”

In his own assessment, Mr Yemi Lijadu, one of the key officials of UNESCO in France said that the show was another platform for Nigerians in Diaspora to remember where they came from. “Each time a show like this came straight from home, it always raises our spirit and we are always proud to have something to show off to people around us that all about us is not negative”.

Also, Siata Guru, a Dance teacher and choreographer explained why she was inspired to dance to Iroko music “Music is a spiritual food for the soul, and in Africa, our music has spiritual value and I think we all (she is an African-American) should connect with that spiritual element as a force to lift us up for cutural and spritual growth.’